Phase 1 – Build an n8n Gmail Classification and Draft-Reply Workflow

We are a private healthcare service receiving a significant number of repetitive customer enquiries through Gmail. We want an n8n specialist to build Phase 1 of an email-response automation system. This initial phase will classify straightforward enquiries and prepare approved Gmail reply drafts for staff to review. The system must never send emails automatically. If Phase 1 is delivered successfully, there will be an opportunity to complete a more detailed Phase 2 involving test availability, pricing, quotations and medical requisition forms. Applicants should quote for Phase 1 only. Phase 1 scope The initial workflow should recognise and prepare drafts for the following straightforward enquiry categories: 1. Patients under 18 We only test patients aged 18 or over. The workflow should identify enquiries relating to children, teenagers or patients under 18 and create a draft using our approved response. If the patient’s age is unclear, the email should be flagged for human review. 2. Clinic locations and opening times The workflow should identify which clinic or area the customer is asking about and create a draft containing the appropriate approved: Clinic address Opening days and times Booking information Booking link If the requested location cannot be identified confidently, the email should be flagged for human review. 3. Health insurance The workflow should identify questions relating to health insurance, reimbursement or insurer coverage. It should prepare a draft using our approved wording, explaining that reimbursement depends on the customer’s individual policy and cannot be guaranteed by us. 4. Other or uncertain enquiries The following should not receive a detailed automated draft during Phase 1: Requests for particular blood tests Lists of requested tests Pricing or quotation requests Doctor’s requisition forms Emails containing medical attachments Questions about blood results Requests for clinical or medical advice Complaints Emails that cannot be classified confidently These emails should be labelled AI – Human Review. If an email contains both a straightforward enquiry and a test, price, clinical or requisition-related question, the entire email should be sent for human review. The workflow should not prepare an incomplete response. Required Phase 1 workflow The n8n workflow should: Monitor a designated Gmail inbox or Gmail label for new incoming messages. Ignore internal emails, newsletters, automated notifications, results emails and obvious spam. Classify each relevant email into one of the approved Phase 1 categories. Extract only the limited information required, such as: Sender’s first name Patient age, if stated Requested clinic or location Whether the enquiry relates to insurance Retrieve factual information from an approved Google Sheet or similar controlled source. Create a draft reply in the original Gmail conversation. Never send an email automatically. Apply an appropriate Gmail label, for example: AI – Draft Ready AI – Human Review AI – Processed AI – Error Prevent duplicate drafts if the same email is processed more than once. Log the email ID, classification, status, confidence level and any errors in a Google Sheet. Notify us if the workflow fails. Route any uncertain or out-of-scope email to human review. The system may use rules, AI classification or a combination of both. Applicants should explain their proposed approach and why it is appropriate. Approved knowledge source We will provide: Approved response templates Our policy on testing patients under 18 Approved clinic locations and opening times Booking links Approved insurance wording Anonymised example enquiries for testing The workflow must only use this approved information. It must not search the internet for clinic, medical, insurance or operational information. The knowledge source should be structured so that we can update locations, opening times, booking links and approved wording without rebuilding the n8n workflow. Explicitly excluded from Phase 1 The following are not part of this project: Automatic test availability checks Test-name or biomarker extraction Blood-test price matching Itemised quotations Comparing individual tests with panels Reading requisition forms Reading or interpreting attachments Providing medical or clinical advice Interpreting blood results Automatically sending emails Please do not include these features in the Phase 1 price. Potential Phase 2 If Phase 1 is completed successfully, Phase 2 may include: Extracting test names from customer emails Matching abbreviations and alternative test names Checking a controlled test catalogue Creating itemised price quotations Including turnaround times and preparation requirements Identifying appropriate test panels Reading doctor’s requisition forms and attachments More advanced routing and escalation Additional email categories Phase 2 will be scoped and priced separately after Phase 1 has been tested. We would prefer to continue working with the same freelancer if Phase 1 is reliable, understandable and well documented. Data protection and security These emails may contain personal and health-related information. Therefore: Development and testing should use anonymised examples wherever possible. Real customer emails must not be downloaded, copied or retained outside the approved systems. Any AI processing should receive only the minimum information necessary. Customer information must not be used for model training. All Gmail, n8n, Google and AI credentials must remain under our ownership and control. Gmail must be connected using OAuth. We will not share email passwords. The freelancer must explain where email content will be processed, transmitted and temporarily stored. The freelancer must be willing to sign appropriate confidentiality and data-processing terms before receiving access to live systems. The workflow must be built in accounts owned and controlled by us. Phase 1 deliverables The completed project must include: A fully configured and tested n8n workflow Gmail drafts created in the correct email threads Google Sheet or equivalent knowledge-source structure Approved classification rules and AI prompts Gmail labels Duplicate-prevention logic Processing and error logs Failure notifications Testing against supplied anonymised emails Exported n8n workflow JSON Written setup and maintenance instructions A recorded handover video Fourteen days of post-launch support for genuine bugs The workflow should be understandable and maintainable by a non-technical business owner after handover. Essential experience Please only apply if you have demonstrable experience with: n8n Gmail triggers and Gmail OAuth Creating draft replies in existing Gmail threads Google Sheets AI classification or structured data extraction Error handling and duplicate prevention Secure handling of personal or sensitive information Experience working with healthcare or another regulated industry would be beneficial. When applying Please begin your proposal with the words: PHASE 1 – DRAFT ONLY This confirms that you understand the initial scope and that emails must never be sent automatically. Please include: Examples of similar n8n and Gmail workflows you have built. A brief explanation of how you would structure this Phase 1 workflow. Whether you would use rules, AI classification or a combination of both. How you would prevent duplicate drafts. How you would ensure drafts remain in the original Gmail conversation. What customer information would leave Gmail and where it would be processed or stored. Whether you recommend n8n Cloud or a self-hosted instance and why. Your fixed price for Phase 1 only. Your estimated delivery time. What information or access you would require from us. Confirmation that you would be interested in completing Phase 2 if Phase 1 is successful. We prefer a focused, dependable and maintainable workflow over an unnecessarily complicated autonomous AI agent.