Collect a research request, run deep web research in the background, and deliver a clear report into Notion. Great for marketing and content teams that need quick competitive, topic, or market research. The user submits a short brief and answers a few simple clarifying questions.

A form trigger starts the flow, then AI creates search queries and follow up questions. The system launches an async subworkflow that loops through AI generated queries, scrapes sources with Apify, and compiles learnings using a reasoning model. Depth and breadth settings control how many rounds and sources are explored, so you can switch from quick checks to deep dives. Results are turned into markdown, converted into Notion blocks, and written to a Notion page. An auth check handles Apify token errors and an empty content path prevents bad uploads.

Setup needs OpenAI or Google Gemini for text generation, Apify for web scraping, and a Notion database for output. Expect research time to drop from hours to under an hour, with a consistent structure your team can reuse. Use it for content briefs, competitor scans, market trend notes, and product research summaries.

• Form trigger collects the brief and loops through clarifying questions using dynamic forms.
• Async subworkflow runs research in the background so users can close the browser.
• AI generates SERP queries with a structured output parser for clean, predictable data.
• Depth and breadth controls govern how many iterations and sources are explored.
• Web scraping via Apify with an auth error check to stop bad runs early.
• Reasoning model compiles learnings from scraped pages into concise insights.
• Markdown output is converted to Notion blocks and appended to a report page.
• Notion status updates mark pages as in progress and done for clear tracking.
• Empty content paths and validation steps prevent broken or blank uploads.

• Reduce manual research from 6 hours to 45 minutes per topic
• Automate up to 80 percent of repetitive searching and copying
• Improve report consistency by writing to a standard Notion page
• Handle 5 to 10 subqueries per topic based on depth settings
• Connect OpenAI, Google Gemini, Apify, and Notion in one flow
• Cut copy and paste errors by moving data programmatically

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 Notion, OpenAI, Google Gemini and Apify. See the Tools Required section above for links to create accounts with these services.
3. Open each OpenAI Chat Model node, choose Credential to connect with, click Create new credential, and paste your OpenAI API key from your OpenAI account. Set the model to o3 mini or your preferred model.
4. Open the Google Gemini Chat Model node, create a new credential, and paste your API key from Google AI Studio. Save and test the connection.
5. Open the RAG Web Browser HTTP Request node. Create credentials for Apify by adding your personal access token. If both header and query auth are used, create each as shown in the node and assign them.
6. In the Notion nodes, create a new Notion credential with your internal integration token. In Notion, share your target database with the integration so it can read and write.
7. Check the Create Row and Upload to Notion Page nodes. Map your database properties like Title, Status, and Tags to the fields used in the nodes.
8. Open the form trigger node and confirm the path is set. Copy the production webhook URL from n8n and open it in a browser to load the form.
9. Set depth and breadth in the JobType Router or related Set nodes to control how many subqueries and loops run per request.
10. Review the Generate SERP Queries prompt. Adjust max queries and wording to match your use case and budget.
11. Run a test: submit a topic via the form, answer the clarifying questions, and verify a Notion page is created, marked in progress, and later updated with the final report.
12. Troubleshoot common issues: If the Is Apify Auth Error path triggers, recheck your Apify token. If blocks fail to upload, inspect Valid Blocks and Parse JSON blocks nodes. If no sources are found, increase depth or adjust the initial query.