Automated Lead Intent Classification and Task Creation - n8n Workflow

Sales & Marketing Teams: Seeking to instantly qualify and prioritize inbound leads based on communication intent.
Operations Managers: Aiming to standardize follow-up procedures and ensure high lead velocity.
n8n Users: Looking for advanced n8n templates that combine Google Sheets, ClickUp, and Azure OpenAI integration.
Anyone: Who wants to leverage an advanced n8n node agent for structured data classification.

Manually sorting through incoming lead replies to determine intent (Demo Request, Pricing Inquiry, Objection) is time-consuming and prone to human error. This comprehensive n8n workflow solves this by providing a hands-off automation solution.

The system utilizes a scheduled n8n trigger to check Google Sheets for new replies. It then sends the lead message to a highly accurate Azure OpenAI GPT-4 model, which classifies the intent into structured data. This structured output is used by subsequent n8n node logic to dynamically create tasks in ClickUp, assigning specific due dates and descriptions based on the lead's need (e.g., Demo requests get a 2-day due date; pricing inquiries are prioritized with a 1-day due date).

This robust n8n workflow saves significant time—up to 2-3 hours daily on manual lead qualification—and ensures every lead receives a consistent, prompt, and appropriate follow-up, drastically improving conversion rates. This is a crucial n8n templates example for modern sales operations.

The entire process of this n8n workflow is executed automatically based on a schedule:

1. Scheduled Start: The automation starts with a Schedule Trigger, acting as the primary n8n trigger, running every 15 minutes to initiate the lead check.


2. Data Ingestion: The Google Sheets - Read New Replies n8n node fetches new lead entries from a designated sheet.


3. Data Preparation: The Prepare Data for Classification n8n node standardizes the lead data (name, email, reply message) into a clean format, ensuring resilience even if some input fields are inconsistent.


4. AI Classification (The Core n8n Node Logic): The data is fed into the AI Intent Classification agent, which uses the Azure OpenAI Chat Model (GPT-4) guided by a detailed system prompt. This prompt forces the AI to classify the intent (e.g., DEMOREQUEST, PRICINGINQUIRY) and suggest the required next steps, pipeline stage, and task due date based on the lead reply. The Structured Output Parser guarantees the result is perfectly formed JSON.


5. Extraction and Routing: The Extract Intent Result n8n node isolates the AI's classification results, and the Switch - Intent Router n8n node directs the flow to the correct branch based on the classified intent.


6. Dynamic Task Mapping: Four separate Set n8n nodes dynamically calculate the task parameters (nextStep, dueDate) specific to the intent (e.g., Demo, Pricing, Objection, or Default).


7. Task Creation: The ClickUp - Create Task n8n node generates the official follow-up task, using the mapped data for the task name, description, and dynamic due date.


8. Checklist Addition (HTTP API): Finally, a loop of HTTP Request n8n nodes is executed to call the ClickUp API, adding a standard follow-up checklist item to the newly created task, ensuring structure and accountability for the sales team.

To deploy this powerful n8n workflow, follow these setup steps:

1. Import the n8n Templates: Copy the provided JSON and import it into your n8n instance.


2. Google Sheets Credentials: Configure the Google Sheets - Read New Replies node with OAuth2 credentials and ensure the sheet ID and tab name (GHL-Replies) match your setup. The sheet must contain columns like leadId, name, email, and reply.


3. Azure OpenAI Credentials: Set up your Azure OpenAI API credential for the Azure OpenAI Chat Model n8n node. Verify that you have access to a GPT-4 deployment.


4. ClickUp Credentials and IDs: Add your ClickUp API credentials. In the ClickUp - Create Task n8n node and the subsequent HTTP Request n8n nodes, replace the placeholder IDs (YOURCLICKUPTEAMID, YOURCLICKUPSPACEID, YOURCLICKUPFOLDERID, YOURCLICKUPLISTID) with your actual workspace identifiers.


5. Activate: Save the n8n workflow and toggle it to 'Active' to start the scheduled process.

The core functionality of this n8n workflow relies on the following key n8n node types:

Schedule Trigger: This is the initial n8n trigger, configured to run every 15 minutes to poll for new data, ensuring timely lead processing.
Google Sheets (Read New Replies): Fetches new rows incrementally from the specified sheet and table, providing the raw lead data.
Set (Prepare Data for Classification): A crucial preparation n8n node that standardizes and maps incoming column data to uniform internal variables for the AI agent.
AI Intent Classification (Langchain Agent): The central decision-making n8n node. It uses the input text and a defined system prompt to classify the lead's intent using Azure GPT-4.
Structured Output Parser: Ensures the AI's complex classification result is extracted as reliable, structured JSON, making downstream logic easy to implement.
Switch (Intent Router): A core logic n8n node that conditionally routes the flow based on the exact string value of the AI-classified intent field.
Set (Map Next Steps Nodes): These four parallel n8n nodes define the unique task parameters, utilizing Luxon expressions ($now.plus(X, 'days')) to calculate the dynamic dueDate based on urgency.
ClickUp (Create Task): Executes the creation of the follow-up task in ClickUp, integrating dynamically generated task names and due dates from preceding n8n nodes.

• HTTP Request (ClickUp API): Used for advanced ClickUp interactions, specifically creating and adding items to checklists on the newly created tasks, bypassing standard n8n node limitations for complex API calls.