Auto-Generate AI Market Research Reports with n8n: Perplexity + Claude + Google Trends + Autype

Enter product info → SerpAPI fetches trends & competitor data → Perplexity AI deep research → Claude writes report → Autype renders PDF → save to Google Drive

Who

Product managers, startup founders, strategists, and consultants who need quick market research reports for investor decks, board meetings, or strategic positioning

You get

Fill a form to automatically fetch Google Trends and competitor search data, then produce a professionally styled PDF report via AI research and writing, saved to Google Drive

You need

n8n · serpapi · perplexity · autype · google-drive

Steps

1. Setup: Configure form and data sources

   Import the workflow template into n8n. Configure the Market Research Form node: it collects productName, industry, productDescription, and language (dropdown: English/German/French/Spanish). Prepare credentials for three parallel data sources: Google Trends and Search Competitors share a SerpAPI credential; Download Markdown Syntax is an HTTP Request node that fetches https://autype.com/llm-resources/markdown-syntax.md with no extra credential needed.

2. Merge research context

   The Prepare Research Context Code node merges form data, Google Trends interest data (last 6 months), competitor search results (top 10), and Autype Markdown syntax reference into a single JSON object with productName, industry, productDescription, language, trendsSummary, competitorSearchResults, and markdownSyntax.

   Execution prompt · Source text。Prepare Research Context node JS Code field

   Copy prompt

   const items = $input.all();
   const form = $('Market Research Form').first().json;
   
   // Extract Google Trends data
   let trendsSummary = 'No Google Trends data available.';
   for (const item of items) {
     const d = item.json;
     if (d.interest_over_time?.timeline_data) {
       const timeline = d.interest_over_time.timeline_data;
       const latest = timeline.slice(-6);
       trendsSummary = 'Google Trends interest (last 6 months):\n';
       for (const point of latest) {
         const value = point.values?.[0]?.extracted_value || 0;
         trendsSummary += `- ${point.date}: ${value}/100\n`;
       }
       break;
     }
   }
   
   // Extract competitor search results
   let competitorSearchResults = '';
   for (const item of items) {
     const d = item.json;
     if (d.organic_results) {
       competitorSearchResults = d.organic_results
         .slice(0, 10)
         .map((r, i) => `${i + 1}. ${r.title}\n   ${r.snippet || ''}\n   ${r.link}`)
         .join('\n');
       break;
     }
   }
   
   // Extract markdown syntax
   let markdownSyntax = '';
   for (const item of items) {
     const d = item.json;
     if (d.data && typeof d.data === 'string' && d.data.includes('Markdown')) {
       markdownSyntax = d.data;
       break;
     }
   }
   
   return [{
     json: {
       productName: form.productName,
       industry: form.industry,
       productDescription: form.productDescription,
       language: form.language || 'English',
       trendsSummary,
       competitorSearchResults,
       markdownSyntax
     }
   }];

3. AI deep market research

   The AI Research Agent node calls OpenRouter Perplexity (model perplexity/sonar-pro). It receives the merged context and performs deep market and competitor analysis. Connect the OpenRouter Perplexity sub-node to the AI Research Agent's ai_languageModel socket.

   Execution prompt · Source text。AI Research Agent node System Message field

   Copy prompt

   You are a senior market research analyst with access to real-time web data. Your job is to conduct thorough competitive and market analysis. Be factual, specific, and data-driven. Always identify real companies and real data points. Structure your response clearly with sections for market overview, competitor profiles, trends, and positioning.

   Execution prompt · Source text。AI Research Agent node User Prompt field

   Copy prompt

   =Conduct deep market research for the following product:
   
   **Product:** {{ $json.productName }}
   **Industry:** {{ $json.industry }}
   **Description:** {{ $json.productDescription }}
   
   Here are Google Search results about competitors in this market:
   {{ $json.competitorSearchResults }}
   
   Here is Google Trends data for this industry:
   {{ $json.trendsSummary }}
   
   Based on this data and your real-time web knowledge, provide:
   1. A comprehensive market overview (market size, growth rate, key drivers, challenges)
   2. Identify the top 5-8 competitors and for each: name, website, key features, pricing model, target audience, strengths, weaknesses
   3. Current market trends and predictions for the next 2 years
   4. Where the user's product ({{ $json.productName }}) fits in this landscape
   
   Be specific and factual. Include numbers, percentages, and dates where possible.
   Write in: {{ $json.language }}

4. Prepare report input

   The Prepare Report Input Code node recomposes the AI Research Agent output (researchOutput) with form data, language, trends summary, and Markdown syntax reference, then passes it to the AI Report Writer.

   Execution prompt · Source text。Prepare Report Input node JS Code field

   Copy prompt

   const researchOutput = $json.output;
   const form = $('Market Research Form').first().json;
   const context = $('Prepare Research Context').first().json;
   
   return [{
     json: {
       researchData: researchOutput,
       productName: form.productName,
       industry: form.industry,
       productDescription: form.productDescription,
       language: context.language,
       trendsSummary: context.trendsSummary,
       markdownSyntax: context.markdownSyntax
     }
   }];

5. AI report writing

   The AI Report Writer node calls OpenRouter Anthropic Claude (model anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6). It generates a structured market research report in Autype Extended Markdown using the research data, trend data, Markdown syntax reference, and title page template. Connect the OpenRouter Anthropic Claude sub-node to the AI Report Writer's ai_languageModel socket.

   Execution prompt · Source text。AI Report Writer node System Message field

   Copy prompt

   =You are a senior market research analyst writing professional reports.
   
   You MUST write the report using Autype Extended Markdown syntax. Here is the full syntax reference:
   
   {{ $json.markdownSyntax }}
   
   ---
   
   IMPORTANT RENDERING CONSTRAINTS:
   - NEVER use   -- they cannot be processed by the renderer.
   - Page breaks before h1 and h2 headings are inserted AUTOMATICALLY by the rendering engine via the defaults. Do NOT insert manual page breaks (---) before headings.
   - For blockquotes (> syntax), you may ONLY set `color` and `borderColor` as inline attributes. Example: `> {color=#1e40af borderColor=#3b82f6} Key takeaway text here`. Do not set background, padding, indent, or other blockquote attributes.
   - Use standard Markdown horizontal rules (---) ONLY for visual separation where no heading follows, since headings already force page breaks.
   
   Report structure (use these exact sections with ## headings):
   1. Executive Summary
   2. Market Overview (size, growth rate, key drivers)
   3. Trend Analysis (include Google Trends data interpretation)
   4. Competitive Landscape (table comparing competitors)
   5. SWOT Analysis (use a table for the user's product)
   6. Key Findings & Recommendations
   7. Sources
   
   Formatting rules:
   - Use ## for main sections, ### for subsections
   - Use tables (with :::table wrapper for styling) for competitor comparisons and SWOT analysis
   - Use **bold** for key metrics and findings
   - Use > blockquotes for key takeaways (only with color and borderColor attributes)
   - Use numbered lists for recommendations
   - Keep the report between 1500 and 3000 words
   - Be factual and specific -- include numbers, percentages, and dates
   - Do NOT wrap the output in markdown code fences
   - Output ONLY the markdown content, nothing else

   Execution prompt · Source text。AI Report Writer node User Prompt field

   Copy prompt

   =Write a professional market research report for **{{ $json.productName }}** in the **{{ $json.industry }}** market.
   
   Product description: {{ $json.productDescription }}
   
   Use the following research data to write the report:
   
   --- RESEARCH DATA (from Perplexity AI) ---
   {{ $json.researchData }}
   
   --- GOOGLE TRENDS DATA ---
   {{ $json.trendsSummary }}
   
   Write the report in: {{ $json.language }}
   
   --- USE THIS TEMPLATE AS TITLE PAGE AND TOC ---
   
   ```
   ---page{align=center}---
   
   ![](https://img.icons8.com/?size=100&id=4910&format=png&color=000000){align=center}
   
   <h1 align="center">REPORT NAME</h1>
   
   <h1 align="center">PRODUCT – PRODUCT DESCRIPTION (2/3Words)</h1>
   
   ---spacer{height=4}---
   
   | **Created:** {{date}} 
   | **Segment:** SEGMENT 
   | **Language:** LANG
   
   ---/page---
   
   ::toc{title="Inhaltsverzeichnis" maxLevel=3}
   
   ---
   
   ...
   ```

6. Render PDF and output

   The Prepare Render Payload Code node cleans the AI output (strips code fences) and generates a filename as market-research-{slug}-{YYYY-MM-DD}.pdf. The Render Report PDF Autype node renders Markdown to PDF with Open Sans font, professional heading hierarchy (h1 28pt/h2 22pt/h3 18pt), automatic page breaks, chart colors, header/footer. Finally the Save Report to Drive node uploads to Google Drive; replace YOUR_FOLDER_ID with the actual target folder ID.

   Execution prompt · Source text。Prepare Render Payload node JS Code field

   Copy prompt

   const markdown = $json.output;
   const form = $('Market Research Form').first().json;
   const today = new Date().toISOString().split('T')[0];
   
   // Clean up: strip code fences if the LLM wrapped the output
   let content = markdown;
   if (content.startsWith('```')) {
     content = content.replace(/^```(?:markdown)?\n?/, '').replace(/\n?```$/, '');
   }
   
   const slug = form.productName.toLowerCase().replace(/[^a-z0-9]+/g, '-');
   
   return [{
     json: {
       content,
       title: `Market Research Report: ${form.productName} - ${form.industry}`,
       filename: `market-research-${slug}-${today}.pdf`
     }
   }];

   Execution prompt · Source text。Render Report PDF node defaults JSON field

   Copy prompt

   {
     "fontFamily": "Open Sans",
     "fontSize": 11,
     "color": "#1a1a1a",
     "lineHeight": 1.6,
     "spacing": {
       "before": { "h1": 24, "h2": 20, "h3": 16, "h4": 14, "h5": 12, "h6": 10, "text": 0, "table": 12, "list": 10, "image": 12, "code": 12, "chart": 12, "math": 10, "blockquote": 20 },
       "after": { "h1": 16, "h2": 14, "h3": 12, "h4": 10, "h5": 8, "h6": 6, "text": 10, "table": 16, "list": 10, "image": 16, "code": 16, "chart": 16, "math": 15, "blockquote": 20 }
     },
     "chart": {
       "colors": ["#3b82f6", "#ef4444", "#10b981", "#f59e0b", "#8b5cf6"],
       "borderColors": ["#2563eb", "#dc2626", "#059669", "#d97706", "#7c3aed"]
     },
     "styles": {
       "h1": { "color": "#000000", "fontSize": 28, "fontWeight": "bold", "pageBreakBefore": true },
       "h2": { "color": "#333333", "fontSize": 22, "fontWeight": "bold", "pageBreakBefore": true },
       "h3": { "color": "#444444", "fontSize": 18, "fontWeight": "bold" },
       "h4": { "fontSize": 16, "fontWeight": "bold" },
       "h5": { "fontSize": 14, "fontWeight": "normal" },
       "h6": { "fontSize": 12, "fontWeight": "normal" },
       "text": { "fontSize": 11 },
       "blockquote": { "indentLeft": 0, "indentRight": 0 }
     },
     "header": {
       "left": { "type": "text", "content": [{ "text": "SearchIT Inc.", "color": "#6700FF", "fontSize": 10, "fontWeight": "bold" }] },
       "right": { "src": "https://img.icons8.com/?size=100&id=HLcedHsnUGdr&format=png&color=6700FF", "type": "image", "width": 50 },
       "center": "",
       "excludeFirstPage": true
     },
     "footer": {
       "left": "",
       "right": "",
       "center": "Page {{pageNumber}}",
       "excludeFirstPage": true
     }
   }

You are an n8n workflow setup assistant. The user wants to recreate the 'Auto-Generate AI Market Research Reports' template. Assist in this order:
1. Confirm the user has a self-hosted n8n instance (community nodes required);
2. Check that n8n-nodes-autype and n8n-nodes-serpapi are installed;
3. Guide creating four credentials: SerpAPI, OpenRouter (two copies, same key allowed), Autype API key, Google Drive OAuth2;
4. After importing the workflow JSON, verify credential assignment per node;
5. Remind to replace YOUR_FOLDER_ID in the Save Report to Drive node with an actual folder ID;
6. Suggest testing with sample data before first production run.