How to Build an AI Email Triage System with n8n (Step-by-Step Guide)

How to Build an AI Email Triage System with n8n (Step-by-Step Guide) If you've ever stared at an inbox with 200+ unread emails wondering where to even start, you already know the problem. Email is still the backbone of business communication, but it's also one of the biggest productivity killers. The average knowledge worker spends 28% of their workday managing email. What if an AI could read every incoming email, classify its urgency, route it to the right person, and draft a response — all before you even open your inbox? In this guide, we'll build exactly that: an AI-powered email triage system using n8n workflow automation. No proprietary SaaS lock-in. Fully self-hostable. Production-ready. What We're Building Our AI email triage workflow will: Monitor an inbox for new emails (Gmail/IMAP) Classify each email by urgency and category using an LLM Route emails to the right team member or channel Draft smart replies for routine messages Escalate urgent items via Slack/Teams notificatio