Auto-send weekly personalized pet health tips with n8n, GPT-4o-mini, Gmail and Google Sheets

Google Sheets pet data → filter and age calculation → GPT-4o-mini climate-aware tips → Gmail delivery with logging

Who

Pet care businesses, veterinary clinics, pet subscription services, animal shelters

You get

Weekly automated emails with AI-generated, location and age-specific pet health advice

You need

n8n · gmail · google-sheets

Steps

1. Prepare spreadsheets and test data

   Create two sheets in Google Sheets. The Pets sheet has columns: Email, Owner_Name, Pet_Name, Pet_Type, Date_of_Birth, Country (ISO), Status, Last_Email_Sent. The Email_Log sheet has columns: Timestamp, Parent_Email, Pet_Name, Tip_Category, Status. Add 2-3 test pets to Pets with Status = Active and Country in ISO format (e.g., US, UK, AU).

2. Import workflow and configure credentials and sheet IDs

   Import the workflow template into n8n. Add three credentials: openAiApi (OpenAI API key), gmailOAuth2 (Gmail authorization), googleSheetsOAuth2Api (Google Sheets authorization). Then update the documentId in three nodes: 'Load Pet Info' → your Pets sheet ID; 'Update Last_Email_Sent Date' → same Pets sheet ID; 'Log to Email_Log Sheet' → your Email_Log sheet ID.

   Setup guidance · Editorial suggestion。Setup assistant starter prompt; confirm inputs, permissions, and node configuration

   Copy prompt

   Help me set up this n8n workflow based on:
   1. Source template: https://n8n.io/workflows/9714/
   2. Required credentials: OpenAI API key, Gmail OAuth2, Google Sheets OAuth2
   3. Two Google Sheets needed: Pets (Email, Owner_Name, Pet_Name, Pet_Type, Date_of_Birth, Country (ISO), Status, Last_Email_Sent) and Email_Log (Timestamp, Parent_Email, Pet_Name, Tip_Category, Status)
   4. After import, update the documentId in three Google Sheets nodes to your actual sheet IDs
   5. Test manually with 1 active pet first, verify the email content, then enable the Monday 9am schedule trigger
   
   Note: Choose only one email provider (Gmail by default; to use SendGrid, disable the Gmail node and enable the SendGrid node).

3. Set filtering rules and age calculation

   The workflow runs two code nodes automatically: 'Filter: Active + 7-Day Check' keeps only rows where Status = Active and Last_Email_Sent is empty or older than 7 days; 'Calculate Pet Age' converts Date_of_Birth to a readable age (e.g., '2 years and 3 months') and adds pet_age_months and pet_age fields.

   Execution prompt · Source text。JS Code field of the 'Filter: Active + 7-Day Check' node

   Copy prompt

   const items = $input.all();
   
   return items.filter(item => {
     // Must be Active status
     if (item.json.Status !== 'Active') return false;
     
     // Never sent email = include
     if (!item.json.Last_Email_Sent) return true;
     
     // Sent >7 days ago = include
     const daysSince = (Date.now() - new Date(item.json.Last_Email_Sent)) / (1000*60*60*24);
     return daysSince > 7;
   });

   Execution prompt · Source text。JS Code field of the 'Calculate Pet Age' node

   Copy prompt

   const items = $input.all();
   
   return items.map(item => {
     const birthDate = new Date(item.json.Date_of_Birth);
     const ageInMs = Date.now() - birthDate;
     const ageMonths = Math.floor(ageInMs / (1000 * 60 * 60 * 24 * 30.44));
     const ageYears = Math.floor(ageMonths / 12);
     const remainingMonths = ageMonths % 12;
     
     let petAge;
     if (ageMonths < 12) {
       petAge = `${ageMonths} month${ageMonths !== 1 ? 's' : ''}`;
     } else if (remainingMonths === 0) {
       petAge = `${ageYears} year${ageYears !== 1 ? 's' : ''}`;
     } else {
       petAge = `${ageYears} year${ageYears !== 1 ? 's' : ''} and ${remainingMonths} month${remainingMonths !== 1 ? 's' : ''}`;
     }
     
     return {
       json: {
         ...item.json,
         pet_age_months: ageMonths,
         pet_age: petAge
       }
     };
   });

4. Configure AI prompt for personalized tip generation

   The 'Generate Personalized Tip' node calls GPT-4o-mini (temperature=0.7). The system message sets a veterinary wellness expert role, requiring AAHA/WSAVA-aligned advice tailored to life stage with seasonal considerations. The user message passes pet name, type, age in months, country ISO code, and current date, requesting JSON output with topic, headline, content, and category.

   Execution prompt · Source text。System message field of the 'Generate Personalized Tip' node

   Copy prompt

   =You are a veterinary wellness expert providing evidence-based weekly tips for pet owners.
   
   Guidelines:
   - Align with AAHA/WSAVA veterinary standards
   - Tailor advice to pet type and life stage
   - Include seasonal considerations ({{ $now.format('MMMM') }})
   - Be warm but professional
   - Always recommend vet consultation for medical concerns

   Execution prompt · Source text。User message field of the 'Generate Personalized Tip' node

   Copy prompt

   =Generate a personalized pet care tip for:
   - Pet name: {{ $json.Pet_Name }}
   - Pet type: {{ $json.Pet_Type }}
   - Pet age: {{ $json.pet_age_months }} months
   - Location: Country ISO is {{ $json['Country (ISO)'] }}
   - Current date: {{ $now.format('MMMM YYYY') }}
   
   Requirements:
   - Veterinary-aligned and breed-appropriate advice
   - **Climate-specific** (consider hemisphere, season in {{ $json['Country (ISO)'] }})
   - Region-specific risks (parasites, weather hazards)
   - Actionable advice (2-3 sentences)
   - Brief headline (under 10 words)
   - Life stage: puppy/kitten (<12mo), adult (1-7yr), senior (7+yr)
   
   Examples:
   - UK October: rain gear, indoor exercise, fireworks anxiety
   - Australia October: spring heat, snake awareness, hydration
   - Canada October: early cold prep, paw protection
   
   Format as JSON:
   {
     "topic": "Brief topic title",
     "headline": "Engaging headline for {{ $json.Pet_Name }}",
     "content": "2-3 sentence tip with location-specific advice",
     "category": "Nutrition/Exercise/Health/Behavior/Safety"
   }

5. Configure email sending, sheet update, and activity logging

   [First-test safety] Before the first test, disable "Send Health Tip using Gmail", or set sendTo to your own test inbox; only enable real sends after "Format Email Data" looks correct. The 'Format Email Data' code node parses the GPT JSON response, extracts topic, headline, content, and category, and merges them with pet data into a unified format. The 'Send Health Tip using Gmail' node sends an HTML email to {{ $json.email }} with subject {{ $json.tip_headline }} and body containing greeting, tip headline, content, and sign-off. After sending, 'Update Last_Email_Sent Date' updates the Pets sheet's Last_Email_Sent timestamp matched by Email column. 'Log to Email_Log Sheet' writes Timestamp, Parent_Email, Pet_Name, Tip_Category, and Status to the Email_Log sheet. Finally, 'Wait 2 Seconds' controls processing pace.

   Execution prompt · Source text。JS Code field of the 'Format Email Data' node

   Copy prompt

   // Get pet data from Calculate Pet Age node
   const petData = $('Calculate Pet Age').item.json;
   const aiResponse = $json.message.content;
   
   const cleanResponse = aiResponse.replace(/```json\n?/g, '').replace(/```\n?/g, '').trim();
   
   let tipData;
   try {
     tipData = JSON.parse(cleanResponse);
   } catch (e) {
     tipData = {
       topic: 'Weekly Pet Care Tip',
       headline: `Important advice for ${petData.Pet_Name}`,
       content: cleanResponse,
       category: 'General'
     };
   }
   
   return {
     json: {
       email: petData.Email,
       owner_name: petData.Owner_Name,
       pet_name: petData.Pet_Name,
       pet_type: petData.Pet_Type,
       pet_age: petData.pet_age,
       pet_age_months: petData.pet_age_months,
       tip_topic: tipData.topic,
       tip_headline: tipData.headline,
       tip_content: tipData.content,
       tip_category: tipData.category,
       row_number: petData.row_number
     }
   };

   Execution prompt · Source text。Message field (HTML) of the 'Send Health Tip using Gmail' node

   Copy prompt

   =<p>Hi {{ $json.owner_name }},</p>
   
   <h3>{{ $json.tip_headline }}</h3>
   
   <p>{{ $json.tip_content }}</p>
   
   
   <p>Stay pawsitive! 🐾<br>
   <em>PetCare Team</em></p>

Help me set up this n8n workflow based on:
1. Source template: https://n8n.io/workflows/9714/
2. Required credentials: OpenAI API key, Gmail OAuth2, Google Sheets OAuth2
3. Two Google Sheets needed: Pets (Email, Owner_Name, Pet_Name, Pet_Type, Date_of_Birth, Country (ISO), Status, Last_Email_Sent) and Email_Log (Timestamp, Parent_Email, Pet_Name, Tip_Category, Status)
4. After import, update the documentId in three Google Sheets nodes to your actual sheet IDs
5. Test manually with 1 active pet first, verify the email content, then enable the Monday 9am schedule trigger

Note: Choose only one email provider (Gmail by default; to use SendGrid, disable the Gmail node and enable the SendGrid node).