ChatGPTResearchDataAI score · 77/100AI-assisted edit · no obvious prompt-injection riskn8n.io

SMS Course Enquiry Assistant

Twilio receives SMS → n8n AI Agent queries Airtable course database → SMS reply with call logging

Some experienceStepsWorkflowPromptTip
Who
Operators or developers who need to build an n8n automation with a Twilio number and an Airtable database
You get
Students send an SMS and the AI queries the course database and replies by SMS; conversations are logged to Airtable for analysis and lead follow-up
You need
n8n · Airtable · Twilio

Constraints

Prerequisites: n8n instance, Twilio account (with a number that can send/receive SMS), Airtable account (with a course database), OpenAI API key. Costs: Twilio per-message, OpenAI per-token, Airtable free tier available. After importing the n8n template, configure three credentials (Twilio API, Airtable Token, OpenAI API), set the Twilio number webhook to the workflow URL, and replace the course data as needed.

What they did

jimleuk published an official n8n template demonstrating how to build an AI assistant that answers course enquiries over Twilio SMS. The workflow contains 12 nodes: Twilio Trigger receives the SMS, Get User Message extracts the message body and session ID, Course Assistant Agent (GPT-4o mini) decides which Airtable tools to call (get schema, search courses, list professors, list departments), then sends the answer back via Twilio and appends the Q&A to an Airtable Call Log table.

How it went

The author describes the template as "simple yet capable": the AI Agent first understands the database schema, retrieves value lists, then generates its own filter_by_formula query to search courses (author_report). The template page shows 3742 views.

Worth knowing

1. Airtable filter_by_formula syntax has been updated; the systemMessage explicitly requires AND()/OR()/FIND() wrappers and >=/<= for time comparisons. 2. The course database can be replaced with inventory, deliveries, or other business data, but schema and tool descriptions must be adjusted manually. 3. The template uses GPT-4o mini with a Memory node for conversation context. 4. This site has not executed the workflow; node parameters and connections are parsed from workflow.json, and compatibility with current Twilio webhook and Airtable APIs has not been verified.

Steps

  1. Import template and configure credentials

    Open the template page at https://n8n.io/workflows/3499/ and import the workflow into your n8n instance. Go to Credentials and add: Twilio API (Account SID + Auth Token), Airtable Personal Access Token, and OpenAI API Key. Link each credential to its corresponding node.

  2. Set up Twilio webhook forwarding

    Log in to Twilio Console, navigate to your phone number settings. Under Messaging → A message comes in, choose Webhook and enter the full Webhook URL shown in the n8n Twilio Trigger node (typically https://your-n8n-instance/webhook/...). Save. Incoming SMS to this number will now trigger the workflow.

  3. Configure the Airtable course database

    The template defaults to the sample Airtable base (Northvale Institute of Technology Courses 2025-2026). To use your own data, replace the base and table parameters in nodes: Search Available Courses, Get Course Database Schema, Get List of Professors, Get List of Departments, and Append to Call Log. The author notes that course data can be swapped for inventory, deliveries, or any other business data.

  4. Configure the AI Agent system message

    Open the Course Assistant Agent node and ensure promptType is set to define. Replace options.systemMessage with the following verbatim text (includes updated Airtable filter_by_formula syntax guidance):

  5. Safety tip: human confirmation before action

    Safety tip (editorial safety note, not the template author's practice): before the agent actually writes to Airtable or sends SMS to anyone, have a human confirm the record and the message.

  6. Test with an SMS query

    Send an SMS to the configured number with one of the example questions:

    Execution prompt · Source text。Example SMS sent by user to the Twilio number 1

    Can you help me find suitable courses to fill my Wednesday mornings?

    Execution prompt · Source text。Example SMS sent by user to the Twilio number 2

    Which courses are being instructed by profession Lee?

    Execution prompt · Source text。Example SMS sent by user to the Twilio number 3

    I'm interested in creative arts. What courses are available which could be relevant to me?

Prompt you can copy

Execution prompt · Source text。Text it to the connected Twilio number

This block is the prompt. Ads are never placed here.

Can you help me find suitable courses to fill my Wednesday mornings?

To change the assistant personality or query scope, edit the systemMessage in the Course Assistant Agent node. To adjust the database structure, update the base/table parameters in all Airtable nodes accordingly.

Source

AI-powered student assistant for course information via Twilio SMS · jimleuk · n8n.io · 2025-04-09T15:37:15.063Z

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