Build your first AI agent in n8n
ChatGPT answers. An agent does something with the answer.
The guide in text
An agent is different from a chatbot because it can act.
The Google Sheets tool is what lets it write rows instead of just talking. From the n8n AI agent lessons on Stepthrough.
Businesses and people in the examples are made up. The steps, screens and wording come from the free lesson and the Stepthrough glossary and prompt library.
Do it yourself, free
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 lessonRelated terms
Plain-English definitions, each with an example from a free lesson.
Related prompts
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- SEO meta description prompt: Write short search-result descriptions for your web pages: what the page offers, who it is for and one reason to click, inside…
- 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…
From the blog
n8n Simple Memory Explained for Beginnersn8n Simple Memory explained: what it keeps, why "save those ideas to the sheet" needs it, how email agents key it by thread, and when an agent needs none.
Oct 10, 2026 6 min read
What Is an API Key? Connect OpenAI to n8n SafelyAn API key is a secret password that lets one app use another. How to create an OpenAI key for n8n, why it needs credit, and how to keep it safe.
Oct 9, 2026 5 min read
n8n Triggers Explained: Which One Starts Your Workflow?n8n triggers explained: schedule, Gmail, chat, webhook and form triggers, how to test each one, and how the trigger changes your AI Agent's prompt.
Oct 1, 2026 7 min read
More visual guides
5 Steps to an n8n AI Agent That Saves to Google SheetsA visual guide: build an n8n AI agent that writes social media ideas and saves each one as a Google Sheets row, in 5 steps from the free lesson.
Step-by-step guide 7 slides
Myth: An AI Model Looks Things Up Before It AnswersMyth vs fact: by default a large language model answers from its training plus your prompt. Web search or file lookup is a separate step.
Myth vs fact One graphic
What Is an AI Agent? A Visual GuideA visual guide to AI agents: AI that decides which steps to take and uses tools to take them, shown in a real n8n lesson, with tips to keep it safe.
AI term explained 4 slides