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Build a Facebook Messenger AI chatbot with OpenAI and Pinecone RAG

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Created by: Tristan V || tristanv

Tristan V

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Last update 15 hours ago

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Quickstart Guide: Facebook Messenger Chatbot with Pinecone RAG

Step-by-step instructions to get this workflow running in n8n.

Prerequisites

  • Self-hosted n8n instance (v1.113.0+ recommended)
  • Community nodes enabled in n8n
  • Facebook Page (you must be an admin)
  • OpenAI account
  • Pinecone account (free Starter plan works)

Workflow Architecture

This workflow uses two webhooks with the same URL path but different HTTP methods:

Webhook Method Purpose
Facebook Verification Webhook GET Handles Facebook's webhook verification
Facebook Message Webhook POST Receives incoming messages

Both webhooks share the same URL: https://your-n8n.com/webhook/facebook-messenger-webhook

n8n automatically routes requests based on HTTP method:

  • GET requests → Verification flow
  • POST requests → Message processing flow

RAG Enhancement

User Message → Batching → AI Agent ─┬─ OpenAI Chat Model
                                    ├─ Conversation Memory
                                    └─ Pinecone Assistant Tool (RAG)
                                              │
                                              ▼
                                    Search your documents
                                              │
                                              ▼
                                    Answer with citations

Step 1: Install the Pinecone Assistant Community Node

The Pinecone Assistant node is a community node that must be installed separately.

  1. In n8n, go to Settings → Community Nodes
  2. Click Install a community node
  3. Enter: @pinecone-database/n8n-nodes-pinecone-assistant
  4. Click Install
  5. Restart n8n if prompted

Note: Community nodes must be enabled in your n8n instance. For Docker, set N8N_COMMUNITY_PACKAGES_ALLOW_INSTALL=true.

Step 2: Create Pinecone Account & Assistant

2.1 Create Pinecone Account

  1. Go to Pinecone
  2. Sign up for a free account (Starter plan includes 100 files per assistant)
  3. Complete the onboarding

2.2 Create an Assistant

  1. In the Pinecone console, go to Assistants
  2. Click Create Assistant
  3. Name it n8n-assistant (or choose your own name)
  4. Select your preferred region
  5. Click Create

2.3 Upload Your Documents

  1. Click on your newly created assistant
  2. Go to the Files tab
  3. Click Upload Files
  4. Upload your documents (PDFs, text files, etc.)
  5. Wait for processing to complete

2.4 Get Your Pinecone API Key

  1. In the Pinecone console, click on your profile/account
  2. Go to API Keys
  3. Copy your API key (or create a new one)

Step 3: Get Your OpenAI API Key

  1. Go to OpenAI Platform
  2. Sign in with your OpenAI account
  3. Click Create new secret key
  4. Copy and save the API key

Step 4: Create Facebook App & Get Page Access Token

4.1 Create Facebook App

  1. Go to Facebook Developers
  2. Click My Apps → Create App
  3. Select Other → Next
  4. Select Business → Next
  5. Enter app name and contact email
  6. Click Create App

4.2 Add Messenger Product

  1. In your app dashboard, scroll to Add products to your app
  2. Find Messenger and click Set up

4.3 Connect Your Facebook Page

  1. In Messenger settings, find Access Tokens section
  2. Click Add or Remove Pages
  3. Select your Facebook Page and grant permissions
  4. Click Done

4.4 Generate Page Access Token

  1. Back in Messenger settings, find your page in the list
  2. Click Generate Token
  3. Copy and save the token

Step 5: Create Your Verify Token

The verify token is a secret string for Facebook webhook verification.

  1. Create a random string (e.g., my-secret-token-12345)
  2. Save this value - you'll need it in Steps 7 and 10

Step 6: Create n8n Credentials

6.1 Pinecone Credential

  1. In n8n, go to Credentials → Add Credential
  2. Search for "Pinecone" (or "Pinecone API")
  3. Configure:
    • Name: Pinecone API
    • API Key: Paste your Pinecone API key from Step 2.4
  4. Click Save

6.2 OpenAI API Credential

  1. In n8n, go to Credentials → Add Credential
  2. Search for "OpenAI API"
  3. Configure:
    • Name: OpenAI API
    • API Key: Paste your OpenAI API key from Step 3
  4. Click Save

6.3 Facebook Graph API Credential

  1. In n8n, go to Credentials → Add Credential
  2. Search for "Facebook Graph API"
  3. Configure:
    • Name: Facebook Page Access Token
    • Access Token: Paste your Page Access Token from Step 4.4
  4. Click Save

Step 7: Import the Workflow

  1. In n8n, click Add Workflow → Import from File
  2. Select the workflow.json file from this folder
  3. The workflow will open in the editor

7.1 Configure the Verify Token

  1. Find the "Is Token Valid?" node
  2. Click on the node to open its settings
  3. In the conditions, find Value 2 that shows YOUR_VERIFY_TOKEN_HERE
  4. Replace it with your verify token from Step 5

7.2 Configure the Pinecone Assistant Name

  1. Find the "Get context snippets in Pinecone Assistant" node
  2. Click on the node to open its settings
  3. Change Assistant Name from n8n-assistant to your actual assistant name (from Step 2.2)

Step 8: Connect Credentials to Nodes

8.1 Connect Facebook Credential

Update these 3 nodes with your Facebook credential:

  1. Click on "Send Seen Indicator" → Select your Facebook Page Access Token credential
  2. Click on "Send Typing Indicator" → Select your Facebook Page Access Token credential
  3. Click on "Send Response to User" → Select your Facebook Page Access Token credential

8.2 Connect OpenAI Credential

  1. Click on "OpenAI Chat Model" → Select your OpenAI API credential

8.3 Connect Pinecone Credential

  1. Click on "Get context snippets in Pinecone Assistant" → Select your Pinecone API credential

Step 9: Publish the Workflow

  1. Click Save to save the workflow
  2. Click the Publish button to make the workflow live
  3. Copy the webhook URL (e.g., https://your-n8n.com/webhook/facebook-messenger-webhook)

Step 10: Configure Facebook Webhook

  1. Go to Facebook Developers → Your App → Messenger Settings
  2. Find Webhooks section
  3. Click Add Callback URL
  4. Enter:
    • Callback URL: Your n8n webhook URL from Step 9
    • Verify Token: Same value from Step 5
  5. Click Verify and Save
  6. After verification, subscribe to webhook fields:
    • messages (required)
    • messaging_postbacks (recommended)

Step 11: Test Your Chatbot

11.1 Add Test Users (if needed)

With Standard Access, only users with app roles can message the bot:

  1. Go to your Facebook App → App Roles → Roles
  2. Add users as Testers
  3. Those users must accept the invitation

11.2 Send a Test Message

  1. Open Facebook Messenger
  2. Search for your Facebook Page
  3. Try these test messages:
    • "Hello!" - Should get a friendly greeting
    • "What information do you have?" - Should search your documents
    • "Tell me about [topic in your docs]" - Should return relevant information with context

How Pinecone RAG Works

User asks: "What are your return policies?"
         │
         ▼
┌─────────────────────────┐
│  AI Agent receives msg  │
└─────────┬───────────────┘
          │
          ▼
┌─────────────────────────┐
│  Calls Pinecone Tool    │ → Searches your documents
└─────────┬───────────────┘
          │
          ▼
┌─────────────────────────┐
│  Gets relevant snippets │ ← "Return Policy.pdf: Items can be..."
└─────────┬───────────────┘
          │
          ▼
┌─────────────────────────┐
│  AI formulates answer   │ → "According to our policy, items can be..."
└─────────────────────────┘

Troubleshooting

Problem Solution
"Pinecone Assistant Tool" not found Ensure community node is installed (Step 1)
"No relevant information found" Upload more documents to your Pinecone Assistant
Webhook verification fails Check verify token matches in n8n and Facebook
No response from bot Check n8n execution logs for errors
"Error validating access token" Regenerate Page Access Token in Facebook
AI Agent not using Pinecone tool After import, open the "AI Agent1" node, make a small edit to the system message (e.g., add a space), and save. This re-initializes the tool bindings.

Customization

Change the AI Behavior

Edit the "AI Agent1" node's system message to:

  • Adjust how it cites sources
  • Change personality/tone
  • Add specific instructions for your use case

Change the Assistant

Update the "Get context snippets in Pinecone Assistant" node to use a different assistant name.

Adjust Response Length

The workflow truncates responses to 1900 characters for Messenger. Edit the "Format Response" node to change this.

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