# A Support Agent That Answers from Your Own Docs

> Build an n8n chat agent that answers only from your policies in a Google Doc, refuses what it should and hands off to a person. Free lesson.

Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n · Updated 2026-10-10 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com)

## Practice it step by step

[Start the free practice](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/support-agent-docs)

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, about 13 minutes, and nothing touches your real accounts. [Open full screen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/support-agent-docs)

Free · Live now · [Business Automations](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/course/business-automations) · [n8n](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/tool/n8n) · OpenAI · Google Docs · Gmail · ~13 min · 32 steps · Advanced

Updated October 10, 2026. Built against the tool’s current screens and checked step by step. [How we check this lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about#how-we-check)

A website [chatbot](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/chatbot) that guesses is worse than no chatbot at all. In this free lesson you turn a basic [n8n](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/tool/n8n) chat agent into a support agent that answers only from your own policies in a Google Doc, says so when it doesn't know, never gives legal advice, and hands the conversation to a person by email when it should.

## At a glance

| Question | Answer |
| --- | --- |
| What you build | Turn an n8n chat agent into a support agent that answers only from your policies in a Google Doc, refuses what it should, and hands off to a person by email. |
| Tools | n8n |
| Time | About 13 minutes, 32 steps in 5 parts |
| Level | Advanced, no coding needed |
| Cost | Free |
| Ways to learn it | [Practice it step by step](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/support-agent-docs), watch the video, read the guide with screenshots |

### The 5 parts, in short

1. Set the rules: Open the agent, Add an option, System Message, Write the rules, and 1 more step.
2. Read your docs: Add a tool, Search for Google Docs, Google Docs Tool, Operation, and 3 more steps.
3. Hand off to a person: Add another tool, Search for Gmail, Gmail Tool, Send it to the office, and 6 more steps.
4. Test it: Open the chat, Ask a policy question, Ask something it must refuse, Ask for a person, and 1 more step.
5. Put it on your site: Open the chat trigger, Make it public, Close the node, Publish, and 1 more step.

**Start here first:** [AI Receipt Extractor: Receipts to Google Sheets with n8n](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/ai-receipt-extractor-n8n-google-sheets) (module 1 of Business Automations)

**In the course:** [Part 9 · n8n Automation Toolkit](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/course/part-9-n8n-automation-toolkit) (Module 43 of the [full course](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/course))

**Part of:** [Business Automations with n8n](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/paths/business-automations-n8n) (step 6 of 7). Next up: [Litescrape in n8n: Swap SerpApi for a Cheaper Search API](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/litescrape-n8n-serpapi-alternative)

## A Support Agent That Answers from Your Own Docs: step-by-step guide with screenshots

**About the screenshots.** They come from Stepthrough’s simulated practice environment (a practice copy of n8n), not the live tool, so no real account appears. The buttons and labels match the real screens the lesson was built against. Practice it yourself free at learn.ynteractive.com.

- Tools: n8n
- Time: about 13 minutes, 32 steps in 5 parts
- Level: beginner, no coding needed

### Part 1: Set the rules

#### Step 1: Open the agent

You run the office at Larkspur Property Management, and tenants ask the same questions all day. Pets, parking, rent due dates. Let's turn a basic chat agent into a support agent that answers only from your own policies, and passes anything else to a person. This is the agent from the first-agent module. Double-click the [AI Agent](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/ai-agent).

![The n8n workflow canvas in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 1 of 32 (Open the agent): the cursor is on “AI Agent”, highlighted.](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-01.webp)

**Step 1 of 32.** This is the chat agent from the first-agent module: a chat trigger, an **AI Agent**, a model and memory. Double-click **AI Agent**.

#### Step 2: Add an option

![An n8n node’s settings window in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 2 of 32 (Add an option): the cursor is on “Add Option”, highlighted.](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-02.webp)

**Step 2 of 32.** Click **Add Option**.

#### Step 3: System Message

[System Message](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/system-prompt).

![A dropdown menu in n8n in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 3 of 32 (System Message): the cursor is on “System Message”, highlighted.](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-03.webp)

**Step 3 of 32.** Choose **System Message**.

#### Step 4: Write the rules

The most important line: answer only from the policies document, and if the answer isn't there, say so. Then it lists when to hand off to a person, what to collect first, and what to say in an emergency.

![An n8n node’s settings window in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 4 of 32 (Write the rules): the system message is filled in (“You answer tenant questions for Larkspur…”).](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-04.webp)

**Step 4 of 32.** Paste the system message: answer only from the policies document, never guess, and when to hand off.

```text
You answer tenant questions for Larkspur Property Management in a website chat.

Answer ONLY from the "Larkspur tenant FAQ and policies" document. Read it with your Google Docs tool before every answer.
If the answer isn't in the document, say you don't know. Never guess, and never give legal advice.

Hand off to a person when:
- the document doesn't answer the question,
- the tenant asks for a person, or is upset,
- it's about a payment dispute, a lease change or an emergency.
To hand off: ask for their name, unit and best phone number, then email the office with your Gmail tool. Tell them someone from the office will call them within one business day.
For emergencies (fire, gas smell, flooding), tell them to call 911 or the 24/7 maintenance line first: (555) 018-4400.

Be friendly and short: 2 to 4 sentences.
```

#### Step 5: Close the node

Close it.

![An n8n node’s settings window in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 5 of 32 (Close the node): the cursor is on “Close the node”, highlighted.](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-05.webp)

**Step 5 of 32.** Close the agent.

### Part 2: Read your docs

#### Step 6: Add a tool

Now give it the document.

![The n8n workflow canvas in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 6 of 32 (Add a tool): the cursor is on “+”, highlighted.](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-06.webp)

**Step 6 of 32.** Click the **+** under **Tool**.

#### Step 7: Search for Google Docs

![The n8n node list in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 7 of 32 (Search for Google Docs): the docs is filled in (“docs”).](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-07.webp)

**Step 7 of 32.** Type **docs**.

#### Step 8: Google Docs Tool

Google Docs Tool.

![The n8n node list in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 8 of 32 (Google Docs Tool): the cursor is on “Google Docs Tool”, highlighted.](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-08.webp)

**Step 8 of 32.** Click **Google Docs Tool**. It is a few rows down, under DocSpring and DocuSeal.

#### Step 9: Operation

Your Google account is already connected. Careful: the operation says Create. We want the agent to read, not write.

![An n8n node’s settings window in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 9 of 32 (Operation): the cursor is on “Google Docs account”, highlighted.](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-09.webp)

**Step 9 of 32.** Your **Google Docs account** is connected. **Operation** says **Create**. Open it.

#### Step 10: Get

![A dropdown menu in n8n in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 10 of 32 (Get): the cursor is on “Get”, highlighted.](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-10.webp)

**Step 10 of 32.** Choose **Get**.

#### Step 11: Point it at your policies

Keep it all in one Google Doc, and when a policy changes, change the doc. The agent reads the latest version every time.

![An n8n node’s settings window in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 11 of 32 (Point it at your policies): the link is filled in (“https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LkSp9rPmFaq…”).](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-11.webp)

**Step 11 of 32.** Paste the link to **Larkspur tenant FAQ and policies** into **Doc ID or URL**.

#### Step 12: Close the node

Close it.

![An n8n node’s settings window in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 12 of 32 (Close the node): the cursor is on “Close the node”, highlighted.](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-12.webp)

**Step 12 of 32.** Close the tool.

### Part 3: Hand off to a person

#### Step 13: Add another tool

Next, the handoff.

![The n8n workflow canvas in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 13 of 32 (Add another tool): the cursor is on “+”, highlighted.](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-13.webp)

**Step 13 of 32.** Click the **+** under **Tool** again.

#### Step 14: Search for Gmail

![The n8n node list in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 14 of 32 (Search for Gmail): the gmail is filled in (“gmail”).](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-14.webp)

**Step 14 of 32.** Type **gmail**.

#### Step 15: Gmail Tool

Gmail Tool.

![The n8n node list in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 15 of 32 (Gmail Tool): the cursor is on “Gmail Tool”, highlighted.](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-15.webp)

**Step 15 of 32.** Under **Other Tools**, click **Gmail Tool**. (The **Gmail** at the top, under Human in the Loop, is a different node.)

#### Step 16: Send it to the office

It's already set to send a message. In To, type the office address. This tool only ever emails your own staff, never the tenant.

![An n8n node’s settings window in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 16 of 32 (Send it to the office): the email is filled in (“office@larkspurpm.example”).](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-16.webp)

**Step 16 of 32.** **Message** and **Send** are already set. In **To**, type **office@larkspurpm.example**.

#### Step 17: Let the agent write the subject

The agent knows what the problem is, so let it write the subject.

![An n8n node’s settings window in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 17 of 32 (Let the agent write the subject): the cursor is on “Subject”, highlighted.](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-17.webp)

**Step 17 of 32.** Next to **Subject**, click the ✦ button.

#### Step 18: And the message

And the sparkle next to Message. It'll include the tenant's name, unit, phone number and question.

![An n8n node’s settings window in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 18 of 32 (And the message): the cursor is on “Message”, highlighted.](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-18.webp)

**Step 18 of 32.** Next to **Message**, click the ✦ button.

#### Step 19: Add option

![An n8n node’s settings window in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 19 of 32 (Add option): the cursor is on “Add option”, highlighted.](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-19.webp)

**Step 19 of 32.** Click **Add option**.

#### Step 20: Append n8n Attribution

Append n eight n Attribution.

![A dropdown menu in n8n in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 20 of 32 (Append n8n Attribution): the cursor is on “Append n8n Attribution”, highlighted.](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-20.webp)

**Step 20 of 32.** Choose **Append n8n Attribution**.

#### Step 21: Turn it off

Turn it off. Your staff know where it came from.

![An n8n node’s settings window in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 21 of 32 (Turn it off): the cursor is on “off”, highlighted.](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-21.webp)

**Step 21 of 32.** Click the toggle to turn it **off**.

#### Step 22: Close the node

Close it.

![An n8n node’s settings window in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 22 of 32 (Close the node): the cursor is on “Close the node”, highlighted.](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-22.webp)

**Step 22 of 32.** Close the tool.

### Part 4: Test it

#### Step 23: Open the chat

Time to test it like a tenant.

![The n8n workflow editor in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 23 of 32 (Open the chat): the cursor is on “Open chat”, highlighted.](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-23.webp)

**Step 23 of 32.** Click **Open chat**.

#### Step 24: Ask a policy question

First, a question the document answers. Ask about a cat.

![The n8n chat test panel in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 24 of 32 (Ask a policy question): the question is filled in (“Can I have a cat in my apartment?”).](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-24.webp)

**Step 24 of 32.** Ask the first question.

#### Step 25: Ask something it must refuse

It read the document first, and answered from it: a three hundred dollar deposit, two pets per unit. Now the important test. Ask something it must not answer.

![The n8n chat test panel in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 25 of 32 (Ask something it must refuse): the question is filled in (“My landlord in my last place kept my deposit.…”).](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-25.webp)

**Step 25 of 32.** It read the doc and answered: $300 pet deposit, two pets. Now ask something it should refuse.

#### Step 26: Ask for a person

It said it can't help and didn't make anything up. Good. Last test: an upset tenant who wants a person.

![The n8n chat test panel in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 26 of 32 (Ask for a person): the question is filled in (“I was charged a late fee but I paid on time. I…”).](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-26.webp)

**Step 26 of 32.** It refused and pointed to the right kind of help. Now ask for a person, with your details.

#### Step 27: Close the chat

This time it used the Gmail tool. The office has Ana's name, unit, number and the problem, and Ana knows someone will call. Close the chat.

![The n8n chat test panel in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 27 of 32 (Close the chat): the cursor is on “Gmail Tool”, highlighted.](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-27.webp)

**Step 27 of 32.** It used **Gmail Tool**: the office got Ana's name, unit, number and the problem. Close the chat.

### Part 5: Put it on your site

#### Step 28: Open the chat trigger

Now put it on your website. Double-click the chat trigger.

![The n8n workflow canvas in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 28 of 32 (Open the chat trigger): the cursor is on “When chat message received”, highlighted.](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-28.webp)

**Step 28 of 32.** Double-click **When chat message received**.

#### Step 29: Make it public

Turn on Make Chat Publicly Available. You get a chat page link, or choose Embedded Chat to put the chat bubble on your own site.

![An n8n node’s settings window in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 29 of 32 (Make it public): the cursor is on “Make Chat Publicly Available”, highlighted.](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-29.webp)

**Step 29 of 32.** Turn on **Make Chat Publicly Available**.

#### Step 30: Close the node

![An n8n node’s settings window in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 30 of 32 (Close the node): the cursor is on “Close the node”, highlighted.](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-30.webp)

**Step 30 of 32.** Close it.

#### Step 31: Publish

![The n8n workflow editor in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 31 of 32 (Publish): the cursor is on “Publish”, highlighted.](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-31.webp)

**Step 31 of 32.** Click **Publish**.

#### Step 32: Publish it

Keep the version name and click Publish. Read the chats and the handoff emails for the first week, and add anything people ask that the document doesn't cover yet.

![The n8n Publish dialog in Stepthrough’s practice copy, step 32 of 32 (Publish it): the cursor is on “Version name”, highlighted.](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/guide/support-agent-docs/step-32.webp)

**Step 32 of 32.** Keep the **Version name** and click **Publish**.

### Now do it yourself, free

Reading the steps is a start. Doing them is how it sticks. The interactive lesson puts you in a practice copy of n8n: you do every step yourself, it checks your work, and “Do it for me” finishes any step you get stuck on. Nothing touches your real accounts.

[Practice “A Support Agent That Answers from Your Own Docs” step by step](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/support-agent-docs?after=guide)

## A Support Agent That Answers from Your Own Docs: video walkthrough

The whole lesson in 2:23, narrated step by step.

**Simulated practice environment.** Recorded in Stepthrough’s simulated practice environment, not the live tool. Practice it yourself free at learn.ynteractive.com.

2:23 · 5 chapters · 32 steps · narrated with the lesson’s own voice-over

### Chapters

Click a chapter to jump the video there.

1. [0:00 Set the rules](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=0#watch)
2. [0:33 Read your docs](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=33#watch)
3. [0:59 Hand off to a person](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=59#watch)
4. [1:30 Test it](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=90#watch)
5. [1:56 Put it on your site](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=116#watch)

### Now do it yourself, free

Watching is the warm-up. The interactive lesson puts you in a practice copy of n8n: you do every step yourself, it checks your work, and “Do it for me” finishes any step you get stuck on. Nothing touches your real accounts.

[Practice “A Support Agent That Answers from Your Own Docs” step by step](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/support-agent-docs?after=video)

### Full transcript

#### Set the rules

[0:00](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=0#watch) You run the office at Larkspur Property Management, and tenants ask the same questions all day. Pets, parking, rent due dates. Let's turn a basic chat agent into a support agent that answers only from your own policies, and passes anything else to a person. This is the agent from the first-agent module. Double-click the AI Agent.

[0:17](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=17#watch) Click Add Option.

[0:18](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=18#watch) System Message.

[0:20](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=20#watch) Paste this. The most important line: answer only from the policies document, and if the answer isn't there, say so. Then it lists when to hand off to a person, what to collect first, and what to say in an emergency.

[0:31](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=31#watch) Close it.

#### Read your docs

[0:33](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=33#watch) Now give it the document. Click the plus under Tool.

[0:36](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=36#watch) Type docs.

[0:37](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=37#watch) Google Docs Tool.

[0:39](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=39#watch) Your Google account is already connected. Careful: the operation says Create. We want the agent to read, not write. Open Operation.

[0:47](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=47#watch) Choose Get.

[0:48](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=48#watch) Paste the link to your FAQ and policies document. Keep it all in one Google Doc, and when a policy changes, change the doc. The agent reads the latest version every time.

[0:57](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=57#watch) Close it.

#### Hand off to a person

[0:58](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=58#watch) Next, the handoff. Click the plus under Tool again.

[1:01](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=61#watch) Type gmail.

[1:02](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=62#watch) Gmail Tool.

[1:04](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=64#watch) It's already set to send a message. In To, type the office address. This tool only ever emails your own staff, never the tenant.

[1:11](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=71#watch) The agent knows what the problem is, so let it write the subject. Click the sparkle next to Subject.

[1:17](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=77#watch) And the sparkle next to Message. It'll include the tenant's name, unit, phone number and question.

[1:22](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=82#watch) Click Add option.

[1:24](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=84#watch) Append n eight n Attribution.

[1:26](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=86#watch) Turn it off. Your staff know where it came from.

[1:28](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=88#watch) Close it.

#### Test it

[1:29](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=89#watch) Time to test it like a tenant. Click Open chat.

[1:32](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=92#watch) First, a question the document answers. Ask about a cat.

[1:35](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=95#watch) It read the document first, and answered from it: a three hundred dollar deposit, two pets per unit. Now the important test. Ask something it must not answer.

[1:42](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=102#watch) It said it can't help and didn't make anything up. Good. Last test: an upset tenant who wants a person.

[1:49](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=109#watch) This time it used the Gmail tool. The office has Ana's name, unit, number and the problem, and Ana knows someone will call. Close the chat.

#### Put it on your site

[1:56](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=116#watch) Now put it on your website. Double-click the chat trigger.

[1:59](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=119#watch) Turn on Make Chat Publicly Available. You get a chat page link, or choose Embedded Chat to put the chat bubble on your own site.

[2:05](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=125#watch) Close it.

[2:06](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=126#watch) Click Publish.

[2:08](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=128#watch) Keep the version name and click Publish. Read the chats and the handoff emails for the first week, and add anything people ask that the document doesn't cover yet.

[2:16](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n?t=136#watch) Simple as that. We show you and you do it. Sign up below to learn AI automation for free.

## What you will build

You run the office at Larkspur Property Management, a made-up company. You start from the agent built in the first-agent module: When chat message received, an [AI Agent](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/n8n-ai-agent-tutorial-google-sheets), an OpenAI Chat Model and Simple Memory. You give the agent a system message with its rules, add a Google Docs tool that reads the tenant FAQ and policies document, and add a [Gmail](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/tool/gmail) tool that emails the office for a handoff.

Then you test it with three questions. A tenant asks whether cats are allowed, and the agent reads the document and answers: yes, a $300 pet deposit and two pets per unit. A tenant asks whether they can sue a former landlord, and the agent says it can't help and points to a tenant rights office or a lawyer. A tenant disputing a late fee asks for a person, and the agent emails the office with her name, unit, phone number and the problem, then tells her someone will call within one business day. Finally you make the chat public and publish it.

## Why it doesn't make things up

Two things work together. The system message tells the agent to answer only from the policies document and to say it doesn't know otherwise. The Google Docs tool gives it that document every time, so the answer comes from your words, not from the model's general knowledge. Testing a question it must refuse is the part most people skip, and it's the one that tells you whether the rules hold.

Reading the whole document on each question is simple and works well for a few pages of FAQ and policies. For a long handbook, a vector store (often called RAG) finds just the relevant passages instead, which is faster and cheaper.

## Gotchas worth knowing

- The Google Docs tool's Operation defaults to Create. Switch it to Get, or the agent could make new documents instead of reading yours.
- Keep one document as the source of truth. When a policy changes, change the doc and the agent uses the new version on the next question.
- The handoff tool emails your own staff only, never the customer.
- Gmail adds a line saying the email was sent automatically with n8n unless you add Append n8n Attribution and turn it off.
- Test URLs and the editor chat only work while you're in n8n. After you publish, use the chat's public link or embed it.

## What you need

- An n8n account: n8n Cloud from about €20 a month with a free trial, or the free self-hosted Community Edition.
- An OpenAI API key with a little credit.
- Google Docs and Gmail connected in n8n, and your FAQ and policies in one Google Doc.

## Keep it honest

Tell visitors they're chatting with an AI assistant, and give emergencies a phone number, not a chat. Read the first week of chats and handoff emails, and add to the document whatever people asked that it couldn't answer. The agent shares only what's in your document, so don't put private or internal-only information in it.

## Try it yourself, free

Reading the steps is a start. Doing them is how it sticks. The interactive module walks you through every click in a practice copy of n8n, checks each step, and never touches your real accounts.

[Start “A Support Agent That Answers from Your Own Docs”](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/support-agent-docs)

[All free Stepthrough videos](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/videos)

## Frequently asked questions

**How does the interactive lesson work?**

Each step is shown to you first on the left (Watch). Then you do it yourself in a practice copy on the right (Your turn), and every click is checked. If you get stuck, press Do it for me. It is a practice copy, so no real accounts are touched.

**Is this free?**

Stepthrough is completely free. Running the agent for real needs your own n8n account, an OpenAI API key with some credit, and Google Docs and Gmail.

**Is this RAG?**

It's the simplest version of the same idea: the agent retrieves your document before it answers. For a few pages that's all you need. For long documents, a vector store retrieves only the relevant parts.

**Can it hand off to Slack instead of email?**

Yes. Swap the Gmail Tool for the Slack tool and post to a channel your team watches.

**Can I put it on my website?**

Yes. In the chat trigger, turn on Make Chat Publicly Available. Hosted Chat gives you a link, and Embedded Chat lets you add the chat widget to your own site.

[Start this module free](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/support-agent-docs)

- Previous in Business Automations: [Gmail AI Triage: Auto-Label Every Email and Draft Replies](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/gmail-ai-triage-labels-drafts-n8n)

## More in Business Automations

- [AI Receipt Extractor: Receipts to Google Sheets with n8n](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/ai-receipt-extractor-n8n-google-sheets): Drop a photo of a receipt into an n8n chat. An AI agent reads it, pulls out the date, vendor and amount, picks a category, and adds a row to Google Sheets.
- [AI Email Responder: Draft Gmail Replies Automatically with n8n](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/ai-email-responder-gmail-drafts-n8n): Build an n8n agent that watches your Gmail, reads each new customer email, and writes a reply as a draft in the same thread, ready for you to check and send.
- [Daily Job Alerts: Email Each Tech Their Jobs from Google Sheets with n8n](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/n8n-daily-job-alerts-google-sheets-gmail): Every morning at 7, n8n reads a plumbing company's jobs sheet, skips anything not assigned yet, and emails each job to the tech it's assigned to — customer, address…

[All 5 modules in Business Automations](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/course/business-automations)

## More n8n tutorials

- [n8n AI Agent Tutorial: Save Social Media Ideas to Google Sheets](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/n8n-ai-agent-tutorial-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…
- [Lovable + n8n: Build a Web App with an AI Backend](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/lovable-n8n-web-app-ai-backend): Build a contact form in Lovable and connect it to an n8n workflow — webhook trigger, AI Agent, Google Sheets, Gmail, and a Respond node that ties it all together.
- [Build an AI Follow-Up Agent for HVAC Service Calls](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/hvac-service-follow-up-ai-agent-n8n): Build an AI agent for Cedar Ridge Heating & Air that writes follow-up messages for completed service calls and saves them to Google Sheets — chat trigger, AI Agent…
- [Build an AI Service Request Form for Your HVAC Company](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/hvac-service-request-form-ai-lovable-n8n): Build a service request form in Lovable for Cedar Ridge Heating & Air and connect it to n8n — the AI agent sorts each job into repair, maintenance, install or…
- [Build an AI Job Follow-Up Agent for Electricians](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/electrician-job-follow-up-ai-agent-n8n): Build an AI agent for Oak & Wire Electric that writes follow-up messages after completed jobs and tracks them in Google Sheets — chat trigger, AI Agent, system prompt…
- [Build an AI Quote Request Form for Electrical Contractors](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/electrical-quote-request-form-ai-lovable-n8n): Build a quote request form in Lovable and connect it to an n8n workflow — webhook trigger, an AI Agent that drafts an initial estimate note, Google Sheets, Gmail, and a…

## Terms in this lesson

Plain-English definitions, each with an example from a free lesson.

[Chatbot](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/chatbot) · [AI agent](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/ai-agent) · [Chat model](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/chat-model) · [OpenAI](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/openai) · [Agent memory](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/agent-memory) · [System prompt (system message)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/system-prompt)

[The full AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary)

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