Turn a Google Drive document into a live chat assistant. Visitors get fast, consistent answers based only on your approved content. Ideal for teams that want controlled replies for pre sales questions and FAQs.

Here is how it works. A manual run creates the AI assistant and pulls a selected Google Doc from Google Drive, converting it to a PDF. The file is uploaded to OpenAI and linked to the assistant. A chat trigger listens for new messages and passes them to the assistant with short term memory, so answers follow the conversation. The Google Drive step handles document conversion, and the update step attaches the file to the assistant for controlled, on brand replies.

Setup is simple. You need the Google Drive file and an OpenAI API key. Expect faster replies, fewer repeated questions for your staff, and easy content updates by editing the doc. This is great for travel info, product FAQs, pricing notes, and policies. Teams can test runs manually, then handle live chat with a clear source of truth. The result is quicker response time and better lead engagement without extra headcount.

• Manual test trigger to create and validate the assistant before going live.
• Google Drive download with automatic Docs to PDF conversion for clean ingestion.
• OpenAI assistant creation with custom instructions that restrict answers to the file.
• File upload to OpenAI with assistants purpose for secure knowledge storage.
• Assistant update step that attaches the uploaded file to the assistant.
• Chat trigger that starts runs when a new chat message arrives.
• Window Buffer Memory to keep recent messages so the assistant stays on context.
• Single assistant endpoint used for ongoing visitor conversations.

• Reduce manual Q and A from hours per day to minutes
• Streamline visitor replies by up to 60% using one source of truth
• Improve answer consistency by limiting responses to your document
• Handle up to 5 times more chats with the same team size
• Update content once in Google Drive and sync it to chat

1. Import the template into n8n: Create a new workflow in n8n > Click the three dots menu > Select 'Import from File' > Choose the downloaded JSON file.
2. You'll need accounts with Google Drive and OpenAI. See the Tools Required section above for links to create accounts with these services.
3. In n8n Cloud, open the Google Drive node. In the Credential field, click Create new credential, choose Google Drive OAuth2, and follow the on screen steps. Grant access to the Drive that holds the source document.
4. In the Google Drive node, set Operation to Download. Select your document by file ID or use the picker. Turn on conversion to PDF and set the binary property name to data.pdf.
5. Open the OpenAI nodes. For each one, choose Create new credential and paste your OpenAI API key from your OpenAI account API page. Save and test the connection.
6. In the OpenAI Assistant Create node, pick your model and write simple instructions that tell the bot to use only the attached file to answer.
7. In the OpenAI File Upload node, set Binary property to data.pdf and Purpose to assistants so the file is stored for the assistant.
8. In the OpenAI Assistant Update node, select the assistant ID. You can either select an existing assistant or map the ID from the create step using an expression. Add the uploaded file ID from the upload node to file_ids.
9. Open the Chat Trigger node and confirm it is connected to the Assistant node. Check that Window Buffer Memory is linked to the Assistant ai_memory input.
10. Click Test workflow to run the manual path. Confirm the Google Drive file downloads, the file uploads to OpenAI, and the assistant updates without errors. Note the returned file ID in the execution data.
11. Send a chat message through the chat trigger interface. Check that the reply matches the content of your document. If you see access errors, confirm the Drive file permissions and that the file converted to PDF correctly.