🤖 Build your first AI research agent today

No coding required. Replaces expensive freelancers. 2 hours to set up. Here's how...a

Author

Amit Arora
July 27, 2025

Welcome back!

In our last edition, we explored what AI agents are, discovered the power of n8n and MCP, and understood why this technology is revolutionising how we work.

If you haven’t read it, you can read it right now will just take 5 mins.

Today, we're rolling up our sleeves and actually building one.

🧠What We're Building Today

Today, we're building a powerful research and content creation agent that will transform how you handle information gathering and content production.

Source: aixplain

This AI assistant will:

  • Research any topic across multiple online sources

  • Analyse and synthesise information from articles, reports, and websites

  • Create comprehensive summaries and insights

  • Generate well-structured content based on research findings

  • Automatically format and organise everything into professional documents

Imagine this: You type "research AI chatbot market" and go grab coffee.

30 minutes later, you have a 10-page market analysis in your Google Drive.

Complete with competitor breakdown, market size, trends, and actionable recommendations.

That's what we're building. And it takes about 2 hours to set up.

Step 1: Get Your Tools Ready (20 minutes)

Your AI Brain

You need something smart enough to analyse research and write reports.

Go with OpenAI:

  1. Hit up platform.openai.com

  2. Create account, add $20-30 (research uses more tokens)

  3. Grab your API key

  4. Save it somewhere safe

Pro tip: Use GPT-4o. It's worth the extra cost for research quality.

Watch this video to learn how you can get your API keys

Your Building Platform

Get n8n cloud:

  1. Visit n8n.cloud

  2. Start free trial

  3. Poke around the dashboard

Takes 5 minutes. Seriously.

Connect Your Apps

Google Drive (where reports get saved):

  1. Click "Credentials" in n8n

  2. Add "Google Drive"

  3. Connect your account

  4. Test it

You can read this article to know how to connect it: Click here

Gmail (for notifications): Same process. Connect and test.

Done? Good. Now we build.

Step 2: Build Your Research Machine (45 minutes)

The Plan

We're building a market research assistant that:

  • Takes your research topic

  • Searches the entire internet

  • Creates professional reports

  • Saves everything to Drive

  • Emails you when done

Start Your Workflow

  1. Click "Add Workflow" in n8n

  2. Name it "Research Machine"

  3. You'll see a blank canvas

Add the Trigger

  1. Click "+" and find "Manual Trigger"

  2. Add a text input called "research_topic"

  3. This is where you'll type what to research

Simple. You type, it researches.

Add Web Search

Time to give your agent eyes on the internet.

  1. Add "HTTP Request" node

  2. Set it up for Tavily search:

    • Method: GET

    • URL: https://api.tavily.com/search

    • Add your Tavily API key in headers

  3. Get the Tavily key from tavily.com (free tier works)

Add the AI Brain

This is where magic happens.

  1. Add "AI Agent" node

  2. Connect it after a web search

  3. Configure it:

    • Model: GPT-4o

    • API Key: Your OpenAI key

    • System Prompt:

You're an expert market researcher.

Take the search results and create a professional report with:

1. Executive Summary (3 key findings)
2. Market Overview
3. Key Players & Competitors
4. Trends & Opportunities  
5. Recommendations

Write like a consultant. Use bullet points. Cite sources.
Make it actionable.

Save the Report

  1. Add "Google Drive" node

  2. Set to "Create Document"

  3. Configure:

    • Name: Research Report - {{research_topic}} - {{$now}}

    • Content: Your AI's report

    • Folder: "Research Reports" (create this first)

Get Notified

  1. Add "Gmail" node

  2. Set to "Send Email"

  3. Send yourself:

    • Subject: Research Complete: {{research_topic}}

    • Body: "Your report is ready in Google Drive!"

Test It

  1. Click "Execute Workflow"

  2. Type "AI chatbot market 2024"

  3. Watch the magic happen

If it works, you just replaced a $150 freelancer with a $3 AI agent.

Step 3: Supercharge with MCP (30 minutes)

Time to make your agent ridiculously powerful.

Install MCP

  1. Go to Settings → Community Nodes

  2. Install n8n-nodes-mcp

  3. Wait for it to finish

Add Multiple Sources

Enhanced Web Search:

  1. Add "MCP Client" node

  2. Configure for Tavily:

Now your agent has access to better search results.

Upgrade Your Prompt

You're an advanced market researcher with multiple data sources.

For each research request:
1. Search web for general market info
2. Find recent news and developments
3. Look for industry reports
4. Analyze competitors

Create reports with:
- Executive Summary
- Market Size & Growth
- Competitive Landscape
- Recent News & Developments
- Future Outlook
- Action Items

Always cite sources. Be specific. Make it valuable.

Test the Upgrade

Research something current, like "OpenAI competitors 2024."

You should get more comprehensive results with recent news.

Step 4: Add Content Creation (30 minutes)

Why stop at research? Let's create content too.

Add Content Branch

After your research is complete:

  1. Add another "AI Agent" node

  2. Set the prompt:

Transform this research into content:

1. Blog post outline (7 main points)
2. 3 LinkedIn posts
3. 3 Twitter posts  
4. Presentation talking points

Make it engaging. Add hashtags. Include CTAs.
Tailor for each platform.

Multiple Outputs

Create separate documents:

  • Research Report (Google Docs)

  • Blog Outline (Google Docs)

  • Social Content (Google Sheets)

Schedule Everything

Add Google Calendar integration:

  • Auto-schedule content publishing dates

  • Set review reminders

  • Plan content campaigns

Your homework: Build the research agent this week.

Don't overthink it. Don't make it perfect.

Just make it work.

Pick one topic you've been meaning to research. Feed it to your agent. See what happens.

Share your wins!

Hit reply and tell me:

  • What you researched

  • How much time did you save

  • What blew your mind

  • Where did you get stuck

I read every email. The best stories get featured next week.

Before You Go

Help me help more people:

I just shared my newsletter with a directory

It will take 30 seconds to leave a review.

But it helps me reach thousands more people who need to learn this stuff.

Your support means everything. Seriously

New to AI but curious about what's possible?

Subscribe here for weekly tutorials that actually make sense.

No jargon, no hype, just step-by-step guides you can follow.

Reply

or to participate.