n8n AI Agent Creation

Walkthrough on building a basic AI-powered agent in n8n, covering workflow fundamentals, webhook triggers, AI model integration, testing, and deployment — perfect for viewers new to automation and agent development.

This presentation introduces the foundational concepts of building an autonomous agent using n8n, an open-source workflow automation platform. Designed for beginners and IEEE audiences, it walks through creating a simple yet powerful agent that accepts user input via a webhook, processes it with an AI model, and responds automatically — all without writing code. The session highlights core building blocks such as triggers, nodes, mapping, output formatting, and activation. Beyond the hands-on demonstration, the talk also touches on best practices for deployment, logging, and branching logic to help evolve a basic agent into a more intelligent system. Security recommendations are included to help viewers understand how to safeguard API keys, restrict access, and sanitize user input — essential considerations for real-world automation and enterprise usage. By the end of the session, participants will understand how to create a working agent in n8n, how AI can enhance workflow automation, and how to continue scaling their agent capabilities for practical use cases in research, engineering, and operations.