# Build an n8n AI agent that saves social media ideas to Google Sheets > A free one-page cheat sheet for an n8n AI agent: chat trigger, AI Agent, system message, OpenAI model, Simple Memory and a Google Sheets tool. Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/cheat-sheets/n8n-ai-agent-google-sheets · Updated 2026-10-01 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com) [Lesson cheat sheet](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/cheat-sheets#kind-lesson) · One page · US letter · [n8n](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/tool/n8n) By [Robert Breen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about) · Published October 1, 2026 · From the free lesson [n8n AI Agent Tutorial: Save Social Media Ideas to Google Sheets](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/n8n-ai-agent-tutorial-google-sheets) A free one-page cheat sheet for an n8n AI agent: chat trigger, AI Agent, system message, OpenAI model, Simple Memory and a Google Sheets tool. [Download the free PDF (81 KB)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/cheat-sheets/n8n-ai-agent-google-sheets.pdf)Print this sheet Free, no sign-up and no email needed. It prints on one letter-size page; the whole sheet is below. *▶*StepthroughFree printable cheat sheet · learn.ynteractive.com Build an n8n AI agent that saves social media ideas to Google Sheets Almost every n8n agent has the same parts: a trigger, the AI Agent node with a system message, a chat model, memory and a tool. This is the build from the free n8n AI agent lesson. ## Before you build - At platform.openai.com, click **Add to credit balance** first. A key with no credit only returns errors. It is billed separately from ChatGPT. - **+ Create new secret key**, name it after what uses it (**n8n agent**) and copy it. OpenAI shows it only once. - Make a sheet called **Social Media Ideas** with headers Platform, Post Topic, Hook, Description and Call to Action. ## Build it in n8n 1. **Create workflow**, **Add first step…**, then **On chat message**. 2. Click **+** and add **AI Agent**. **+ Add Option**, **System Message**, paste the prompt below. 3. Under **Chat Model**: **OpenAI Chat Model**, **+ Create new credential**, paste the key, **Save**. Pick **gpt-5-mini**. 4. Under **Memory**: **Simple Memory**. 5. Under **Tool**: **Google Sheets Tool**. Sign in with Google, set **Operation** to **Append Row**, pick the **Document** and **Sheet1**. 6. Click the **✦** next to each column so the model fills it in. ## The system message Copy ```text You are a social media content assistant for BrightPath Marketing. The target audience is business owners and marketing managers. For each idea, return: - Platform - Post Topic - Hook - Short Description - Suggested Call to Action When the user asks you to save the ideas, use the Google Sheets tool to store each idea. Do not invent statistics or make unsupported claims. ``` Cut from the lesson's system message. Swap in your own company. ## Test it - Click **Open chat**, ask for social media post ideas and click **Send**. - Then tell it to save them. It writes one row per idea. - Red warning on the agent? It has no chat model yet. - Without memory, "save those ideas" fails, because every message starts from nothing. **Remember:** Name the sheet columns like the fields in your system message. That match is what lets the agent fill each column on its own. Practice it free: [n8n AI Agent Tutorial: Save Social Media Ideas to Google Sheets](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/n8n-ai-agent) at learn.ynteractive.com/modules/n8n-ai-agent. This sheet: learn.ynteractive.com/content/cheat-sheets/n8n-ai-agent-google-sheets. BrightPath Marketing is a made-up business from the lesson. By Robert Breen, October 1, 2026. ## Practice it in the free lesson **n8n AI Agent Tutorial: Save Social Media Ideas to Google Sheets**. Build an AI agent for BrightPath Marketing that generates social media post ideas and saves them to Google Sheets — chat trigger, AI Agent, system prompt, model, memory, and the Sheets tool. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of n8n, it checks your work as you go, and “Do it for me” finishes any step you get stuck on. Free, and nothing touches your real accounts. [Start the free lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/n8n-ai-agent) [Or read the full step-by-step guide](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/n8n-ai-agent-tutorial-google-sheets) ## Related terms Plain-English definitions, each with an example from a free lesson. [Chat Trigger](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/chat-trigger) · [AI Agent node](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/ai-agent-node) · [System prompt (system message)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/system-prompt) · [Chat model](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/chat-model) · [Agent memory](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/agent-memory) · [Append row](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/append-row) · [API key](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/api-key) · [AI agent](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/ai-agent) [The full AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary) ## Related prompts - [AI agent system message prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/agent-system-message-draft-prompt): Draft the system message for an n8n AI Agent: who it is, what it knows, its rules and how it writes, including a rule never to… - [Social post ideas prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/social-post-ideas-prompt): A four-part ChatGPT prompt for social post ideas built on your services and real customer questions: platform, hook and call to… - [Email subject lines prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/email-subject-lines-prompt): Get ten honest subject lines for a finished email, each with preview text and a character count, grouped by approach so you can… - [Client monthly report prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/client-monthly-report-prompt): Turn your agency's monthly numbers and work log into a client report: what changed, what you did, what's next. Every number… [All free prompt templates](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts) ## More cheat sheets - [Lovable + n8n Form Flow Cheat Sheet](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/cheat-sheets/lovable-n8n-form-flow): A free one-page cheat sheet: a Lovable form posts to an n8n webhook, and an AI Agent logs it in Google Sheets and replies by Gmail. - [AI Glossary Cheat Sheet: 30 Terms in Plain English](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/cheat-sheets/ai-glossary-top-30): A free one-page cheat sheet of 30 AI and automation terms in plain English: models, prompts, n8n workflows, apps and data. - [n8n Basics Cheat Sheet: Triggers, Items, Webhooks](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/cheat-sheets/n8n-basics): A free one-page cheat sheet of n8n basics: triggers, expressions, items, executions, the workflow timezone and webhook test vs production URLs. 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