Auto-Extract Meeting Transcripts from Gmail and Route to Slack & Google Sheets

Input: Unread emails with Transcripts label in Gmail; Processing: n8n extracts body, OpenAI generates summary and action items, routes by priority; Output: Slack notification + dual Google Sheets archive

Who

Team ops or admin staff already using n8n who need automated processing of meeting transcript emails

You get

Automatically extract summaries and action items from new transcript emails, push urgent items to Slack, log everything to Google Sheets Meetings/ActionItems tabs

You need

n8n · gmail · google-sheets · openai · slack

Steps

1. Configure trigger and credentials

   Import the workflow template into n8n. Connect Gmail OAuth2, Google Sheets OAuth2, OpenAI, and Slack OAuth2 credentials. Create a Transcripts label in Gmail and ensure transcript emails arrive there as unread. Create two tabs in Google Sheets: Meetings and ActionItems.

2. Extract email transcript text

   When the Gmail trigger detects a new unread email under the Transcripts label, the Setup Meeting Configuration node loads settings (Sheet ID, Slack channels, urgency threshold), and the Extract Email Transcript node extracts meeting metadata and transcript text from the email body.

3. Deduplicate and filter processed emails

   The Read Log from Google Sheets node reads historical meeting records. The Identify Duplicate Meetings node compares message ID or meeting hash against the log; if matched, processing is skipped. The If Unique Meeting Identified node controls whether to continue.

4. OpenAI generates meeting analysis

   Send the transcript to the OpenAI Meeting Analysis node to produce a JSON analysis containing summary, decisions, risks, and structured action items. The source does not provide the node's system/user prompt text (template sanitization); review or customize after importing into n8n.

5. Parse results and route by priority

   The Parse Analysis Results node parses and normalizes action items. The Route Based on Priority node classifies results as urgent, standard, or FYI based on priority and the URGENT_HOURS_THRESHOLD.

6. Slack notification and FYI handling

   For urgent/standard items, the Prepare Slack Notification node formats the message, Post to Slack Channel sends it to the appropriate channel, and Verify Slack Message Delivery confirms receipt. FYI items go to Generate FYI Log Entry without producing a Slack message.

7. Archive to Google Sheets

   The Append Meeting to Google Sheets node writes the meeting record to the Meetings tab. The Derive Action Items node extracts action items, If Action Items Exist checks for presence, and if present, Insert Action Items to Sheets writes each as a separate row in the ActionItems tab.

You are assisting with reproducing n8n template 17028: automated meeting transcript email processing. Please confirm in order: 1) n8n instance version ≥1.50; 2) OAuth2 credentials connected for Gmail, Google Sheets, Slack and OpenAI API key; 3) Google Sheet with Meetings/ActionItems tabs created and Sheet ID obtained; 4) Transcripts label created in Gmail. After confirmation, import the template and configure node credentials and parameters sequentially, paying special attention to the OpenAI node prompt, parsing regex in code nodes, and routing thresholds against team needs.