Quick overview
This template ingests internal docs into an in-memory vector knowledge base using OpenAI embeddings, then runs a public support chat powered by Anthropic Claude that answers only from that knowledge and escalates unanswered requests to a Gmail inbox while logging all Q&A to an n8n Data Table.
How it works
- Receives knowledge-base entries from an n8n Form trigger with a source title and free-text content.
- Splits the submitted content into chunks, generates OpenAI embeddings, and stores the vectors in an in-memory vector store keyed as
company_kb.
- Exposes a public chat endpoint where customers submit support questions.
- Uses an Anthropic Claude agent with short-term conversation memory to first search the
company_kb vector store and respond only using retrieved passages.
- If the knowledge base does not contain the answer or the user requests a human, the agent sends an escalation email via Gmail with the question and context.
- Logs each question, the agent’s answer, the session ID, and a timestamp to an n8n Data Table.
Setup
- Add credentials for OpenAI (Embeddings) and Anthropic (Claude) and select the correct model in the Claude node.
- Connect a Gmail OAuth2 credential and set the destination support email address in the escalation email tool.
- Create or select an n8n Data Table named
support_chat_log (or update the workflow to use your table).
- Publish the Form and Chat triggers and share their URLs as needed (use the form internally for ingestion and the chat URL for customers).
Requirements
- n8n instance with the Data Table feature enabled
- Anthropic API key (Claude) — the agent's reasoning
- OpenAI API key — embeddings for the vector store
- Gmail account connected via OAuth2 — human escalation
Customization
- Swap the in-memory vector store for Pinecone / Qdrant / Supabase to persist the knowledge base across restarts (production-grade)
- Replace the paste-text form with a file-upload field to ingest PDFs and DOCX
- Add more agent tools: create a ticket in your helpdesk, look up an order, book a call
- Change the escalation channel to Slack, WhatsApp, or a helpdesk instead of email
- Embed the hosted chat on your website, or expose it as a webhook for your own UI
Additional info
Grounded, not generative-guessing: the agent answers only from your documents and escalates instead of hallucinating — the #1 trust issue buyers have with AI support.
Both flows share the company_kb key, so ingestion and answering stay in sync.
Universal fit: SaaS, e-commerce, clinics, agencies, education, real estate anyone with an FAQ and an inbox.