AI-Powered Email Classification Workflow | n8n Automation

Built an intelligent email automation system using n8n that automatically reads incoming emails, classifies them by department using AI, and forwards them to the right team without any human input.

The workflow connects directly to Gmail and triggers the moment a new email arrives. A JavaScript node extracts the key email details, including sender, subject, body, and date, before passing them to an AI Agent powered by GPT-4o-mini. The AI reads the email content and classifies it into one of six departments: Sales, Customer Service, HR, Finance, Operations, or Other.

A Switch node then routes the email down the correct branch, and a Gmail node automatically forwards it to the right department inbox with a clear label in the subject line.

What it does:

Monitors a Gmail inbox in real time

Extracts and cleans email data automatically

Uses AI to classify emails by department

Routes and forwards emails to the correct team

Fully automated with zero manual sorting required

Result: Emails that would normally sit unread or require manual sorting now reach the right department within seconds of arriving.

Nice implementation. The production question is what happens to ambiguous emails. I usually add a confidence threshold, an “unclassified” review queue, and retention of the original message so a routing mistake can be corrected without losing context.