Let AI draft replies to emails you label
Add a label to any email and a polite reply draft appears in Gmail a few minutes later. You review and press send.
What you need
- A Gmail account
- An OpenAI API key
- A Gmail label called needs-reply
Steps
Create the label
In Gmail, create a label called needs-reply. You decide which emails get a draft by adding this label.
Watch for labeled emails
Set the trigger to new emails with the label needs-reply.
Write the draft with AI
Send the sender, subject, and email text to OpenAI. Prompt idea: "Write a short, friendly reply in my voice. Keep it under 120 words. If you need information you don't have, write [ASK] in its place."
Save it as a draft
Create a Gmail draft in the same thread. Nothing is sent automatically.
Build it in your tool
Gmail > Watch emails (filter by label), OpenAI > Create a completion, Gmail > Create a draft. Schedule every 15 minutes or hourly.
Gmail Trigger (search label:needs-reply), OpenAI (Message a model), Gmail (Create draft in the same thread).
Gmail > New labeled email, ChatGPT/OpenAI step, Gmail > Create draft reply.
- n8n workflowDraft file: it imports into n8n (checked with n8n 2.43) but has not been run with real accounts yet. In n8n: create a workflow, open the menu, choose Import from file, then connect your own accounts.Download .json
- Make blueprintComing once this recipe has been built and tested in Make. Follow the Make notes above for now.Not yet
What it costs per month
| Tool | Monthly usage | Cheapest plan that fits |
|---|---|---|
| MakeCheapestPricing page | 3,280 credits How we countedChecking every 15 minutes is 2,880 checks a month (1 credit each, even when empty) + 200 emails x 2 (OpenAI, draft) = 3,280. Checking hourly instead brings it to 1,120. |
$16/moCore plan$12/mo billed yearly |
| n8nPricing page | 200 executions How we countedn8n only starts an execution when the trigger finds a new email. |
$24/moCloud Starter plan$20/mo billed yearlyOr $0 for the software if you self-host the free Community Edition (you pay for your own server). |
| ZapierPricing page | 400 tasks How we counted200 x 2 actions (AI, draft) = 400. Polling checks are free on Zapier. |
$29.99/moProfessional 750 plan$19.99/mo billed yearlyMulti-step Zap, so the free plan (two steps only) doesn't work. |
Assumption: 200 labeled emails a month, tool checks every 15 minutes. Prices in USD, checked 2026-10-17 on the official pricing pages. The plan shown is the cheapest that covers this recipe alone; if you run several automations, add their usage together.
This recipe uses OpenAI. The AI usage is billed separately by OpenAI on your own API key and is not included above. See OpenAI API pricing.
Watch out for
- Always read the draft before sending. AI can get facts wrong.
- Remove the label after sending, or the next run might pick it up again depending on your tool.