Business automation is an essential part of modern businesses, and it does not have to be hard!
Several automation tools exist, such as Zapier, Make, n8n that allow automations between systems, services, databases, you name it!
I recently created and published a n8n workflow to deliver Google News to your Gmail inbox.
This template serves business leaders and marketers and
anyone who wants to track industry developments without wasting their weekly
time on endless feed browsing.
Overview
The workflow fetches daily GoogleNews digest based on your selected topics, before sending them to your
Gmail inbox for verification, allowing you to select appropriate stories to share.
NOTE: The workflow operates through community nodes which function exclusively on n8n self-hosted platforms.
If you want to know how to easily run a self-hosted n8n
instance it on your infrastructure, I will be happy to help you in a free
call.
Why this matters
The fast pace of news development creates challenges for
executives and content teams who need to maintain strategic focus while
handling client work and operational responsibilities. The workflow simplifies
this process. The system delivers AI-generated news summaries which are ready
for immediate use in social media content and newsletter creation and blog post
publication.
The system functions as a research assistant which removes
unnecessary information from news articles before presenting you with a
simplified summary for easy approval or next batch retrieval.
How it works
⏰ Set your schedule –
Decide when the digest lands in your inbox (daily, weekly, or custom).
🔎 Curate your focus
– Define your topic or keyword, and the workflow fetches trending Google News
stories.
🤖 AI formatting –
Articles are polished into professional HTML for easy reading.
📧 Inbox delivery –
A curated digest arrives directly in your Gmail, ready for review.
❌ Decline & refine –
If it’s not what you need, decline it and the workflow automatically fetches
the next batch of curated stories.
Tools used
The following accounts are required to configure the
workflow:
- AirTable
- Gmail
- SerpApi
- OpenAI
Customization options
The workflow can be customized to tailor operations according to your business requirements.
- You can modify the schedule to match your content distribution frequency.
- You can specify different keywords to obtain the right information.
- You can modify the number of articles in each batch (default is 10) to match your review preferences.
- You can personalize the approval email design to match your company branding elements.
Final thoughts
The n8n workflow enables content pipeline managers to
eliminate the process of news collection and preparation. The system enables
you to make important decisions about content distribution to your audience
while eliminating time spent on news collection and formatting.
You can download the template for free here and run it on your n8n instance.
Book a call to learn more
about n8n automation workflows and tools.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What is the workflow described in this post?
A: The article explains how to use n8n (a self-hosted automation tool) to set up an automated process that fetches daily digests from Google News based on your selected topics or keywords, formats the results (including AI-summaries) and then sends them to your Gmail inbox for approval or publication.
Q: Who can benefit from using this Google News digest workflow?
A: Content managers, marketing teams, business executives, bloggers or anyone who wants to stay on top of news in their industry without manually scanning dozens of feeds can benefit. The workflow works as a research assistant that reduces noise, delivers curated summaries and saves time.
Q: What tools or services are required to implement this workflow?
A: According to the blog post, you’ll need accounts or APIs from:
• Airtable (for metadata/storage)
• Gmail (for email delivery/approval)
• SerpApi (to pull Google News data)
• OpenAI (for summarising or polishing the content)
Q: Does this workflow work on a cloud instance of n8n or only self-hosted?
A: You’ll need a self-hosted n8n instance (not just the cloud-hosted one) in order to run it properly.
Q: How customizable is the workflow?
A: Quite customizable. You can:
• Define when the digest is sent (daily, weekly or custom schedule)
• Pick your keywords/topics for the news fetch
• Set how many articles are included in each batch (default is 10)
• Edit the approval email design (branding, layout, etc)
Q: How does the approval process work?
A: Once the articles are fetched and summarised, the digest is delivered to your Gmail inbox. You review the set of stories and can approve or reject them. If you reject the batch, the workflow automatically fetches the next set of curated stories so you get more usable content.
Q: What are the main benefits of automating Google News digests with n8n?
A: Key benefits include:
• Saving time on manual news-monitoring and feed browsing
• Getting ready-to-use summaries (AI-powered) instead of raw articles
• Maintaining content flow for newsletters, blogs, social posts without constant manual effort
• Ensuring you stay updated on industry developments without being overwhelmed
Q: Are there any prerequisites or things to check before starting?
A: Yes. You’ll want to ensure you have:
• A working self-hosted n8n instance up and running
• Access/credentials to the required services (Airtable, Gmail, SerpApi, OpenAI)
• Defined topics/keywords you want to monitor
• Some understanding of how to customise n8n workflows (adding nodes, modifying schedule, branding email)
Q: How can I get the workflow template?
A: You can download the free workflow template from n8n’s template library.
Q: Is this solution suitable for large enterprises or just small teams?
A: While the workflow is accessible and useful for individuals and small teams, the principles scale: you can define multiple keyword clusters, send digests to different teams, integrate further downstream automation (e.g., publish to CMS, schedule social posts). The blog suggests it is relevant for business leaders and marketers tracking industry development. (Massimo Bensi)
Q: How does using AI summarisation contribute in this workflow?
A: The workflow uses an AI (via OpenAI) to polish or summarise fetched news articles into professional HTML summaries that are easier to read and review. This means you skip the “raw article” step and get content that’s near ready for sharing or repurposing. (Massimo Bensi)
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