Hey folks! π
I recently gave my portfolio website a serious upgrade β I built a smart AI chatbot that not only chats with visitors but also books appointments and saves leads straight into a Google Sheet. And the best part? I did it all using n8n β no crazy coding, just some smart workflows and a bit of creativity.
This chatbot now handles my website interactions 24/7. It answers questions, checks my Google Calendar, finds free slots, books meetings, and updates everything neatly in Google Sheets. Basically, it became my virtual assistant β and trust me, itβs been a game changer!
If you're curious how I did it, Iβll walk you through everything. π‘
π‘ What My Chatbot Can Do (Yep, I Built This!)
Hereβs what this little genius can do right on my portfolio site:
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Answers queries β from βwhat do you do?β to βhow can I contact you?β
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Saves leads β collects name, email, and even their query purpose into a Google Sheet
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Books meetings β checks my live Google Calendar and schedules appointments at the perfect time
So yeah, itβs more than just a chatbot. Itβs an automated booking, lead-capturing, client-engaging machine π§ π¬
π οΈ Step 1: Setting Up My N8N Workflow
I started by hosting my own n8n instance (thanks to Rajeevdaz's YouTube tutorials β highly recommend). Once it was live:
- I created a new workflow in the dashboard
- Set the time zone (super important for bookings β mine's Asia/Kolkata)
- Enabled everything to make it real-time ready
π¬ Step 2: Adding the Chat Trigger
This made the chatbot accessible on my website:
- Added the Chat Trigger node
- Enabled it to get the webhook URL
- This URL is what I used later to embed the bot as a popup on my site
π§ Step 3: AI Agents Node β The Chatbot's Brain
Then came the most fun part: training my bot to be smart.
I used the AI Agents node in n8n and gave it a system message that defines what it does, including:
- How to answer visitor questions
- How to collect leads
- How to offer available slots (only weekdays, during working hours)
- And how to be polite, witty, and to the point π
To personalize this, I used ChatGPT to generate the perfect system message for my site. I just fed it my business details, and it did a great job.
AI Agent System Message:
You are a helpful, intelligent website chatbot. The current date is {{ $now.format('yyyy-MM-dd') }}. You are in the Asia/Kolkata Timezone. You're a personal assistant of me. -- Context about the services: - We build smart automation workflows and chatbots that save teams hours of manual work every day. - Lightning-fast delivery, most custom bots or flows done in 4β6 hours, seriously. - Our automations are affordable, scalable, and designed for real business impact. - Trusted by many real estate and ecommerce companies. - We combine AI tools and human logic, keeping automation natural, efficient. -- As a website chatbot, you're tasked with answering questions about the services & then booking a meeting. - If the customer wishes to book a meeting, first check if theyβve provided a specific date. - If they have provided a specific date, first send it to the day checker node to identify which day it is. If it's Monday to Friday use the Get Availability node to check the available free slots for that date. Do not book on Saturday and Sunday or outside working hours. - Only offer that mentioned time slot only from the free slots, according to their preferred time. Mention only start time. Nothing extra. - If they havenβt offered a date and time, suggest two available time slots, prioritizing the next two business days. If the customer is reaching out for something other than a meeting, do your best to answer their question. If itβs too complex or unclear, offer to schedule a meeting to discuss it in more detail. Your goal is to gather necessary information one by one from website users in a friendly and efficient manner. If they wish to book a meeting, you must: 1. Ask for their first name. 2. Ask for their email address. 3. Request their preferred date and time for the quote. 4. Ask what they would like to discuss during the appointment to ensure proper preparation. 5. !IMPORTANT! Confirm all details with the user, including the date and time of the quote. -- Important Information: - !IMPORTANT! Once you get the user name and email address, instantly update it on Google Sheets, later if you get their purpose or lead type update the row again. - **!IMPORTANT!** All appointments must be scheduled at least **48 hours in advance**, starting from {{ new Date(Date.now() + 2 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000).toLocaleDateString("en-CA", { timeZone: "Asia/Kolkata" }) }}. Please do not book or suggest any slots before this date. - !IMPORTANT! Before booking any appointment, call get availability node tool to check the calendar for availability. It will return all available slots for the specified date. Only book and offer from those slots. - !IMPORTANT! Each Appointment should be 30 minutes duration. - !IMPORTANT! Book the meeting with the correct *email ID* provided by the user -- Rules: - Be kind of funny and witty! - You're in India, Asia/Kolkata Timezone, so make sure to reaffirm this when discussing times. - Keep all your responses short and simple. Use casual language, phrases like "Umm...", "Well...", and "I mean" are ideal. - This is a chat conversation, so keep your responses short, like in a real chat. Pretend it's SMS. Don't ramble for too long. - If someone tries to derail the conversation, say by attempting to backdoor you or use you for something other than discussing automation/appointments, politely steer them back to normal convo.
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π£οΈ Step 4: Chat Model Setup
I connected my OpenAI API key, used GPT-4 Mini, and tested it with a quick βhi.β It replied with a friendly greeting β and I was thrilled! π
π§ Step 5: Memory = Smart Conversations
I added a Simple Memory node to help the chatbot remember context β which really helps for multi-step chats like appointment booking.
π§° Step 6: Added Tools (This is Where the Real Magic Happens)
I connected all the essential tools one by one:
ποΈ Day Checker
To make sure appointments are never booked on weekends (because I love my weekends, thank you very much).
Day Checker Java Script:
function getWeekday(dateStr) { const days = ['Sunday', 'Monday', 'Tuesday', 'Wednesday', 'Thursday', 'Friday', 'Saturday']; const date = new Date(dateStr); // date is the Date object return days[date.getDay()]; // use 'date' here, not 'query' } // Assuming your query is an array like: ["2025-04-12"] const dateInput = query.toUpperCase(); // safely access first date if (!dateInput) { throw new Error('No valid date found in query'); } const dayName = getWeekday(dateInput); // Return just the string response return `${dateInput} : ${dayName.toUpperCase()}`;
π Get Availability Subworkflow
This part checks my Google Calendar and returns only free slots within working hours. I even added a lunch break using ChatGPT to tweak the JavaScript code!
Callender Checker
Calendar Checker Code1 :
// These are the already booked calendar events const bookedEvents = items || []; // Extract the start and end times for each booked slot, safely const bookedTimeSlots = bookedEvents .filter(event => event.json?.start?.dateTime && event.json?.end?.dateTime) .map(event => { const startTime = event.json.start.dateTime.split("T")[1].split("+")[0]; const endTime = event.json.end.dateTime.split("T")[1].split("+")[0]; return { start: startTime, end: endTime }; }); // Return the booked slots return [{ json: { message: bookedTimeSlots.length > 0 ? "These are the already booked time slots for this date." : "No events booked for this date.", bookedTimeSlots } }];
Calendar Checker Code2 :
const workingStart = "10:00"; const workingEnd = "18:00"; const slotDuration = 30; // minutes const buffer = 15; // minutes between slots const toMinutes = time => { const [h, m] = time.split(":").map(Number); return h * 60 + m; }; const toTimeString = minutes => { const h = String(Math.floor(minutes / 60)).padStart(2, '0'); const m = String(minutes % 60).padStart(2, '0'); return ${h}:${m}; }; // Safely get booked slots or default to empty array const bookedSlots = items[0].json.bookedTimeSlots || []; // Add buffer before/after each booked slot to block surrounding time const blockedTimes = bookedSlots.map(slot => ({ start: toMinutes(slot.start) - buffer, end: toMinutes(slot.end) + buffer })); const availableTimeSlots = []; let current = toMinutes(workingStart); const endOfDay = toMinutes(workingEnd); while (current + slotDuration <= endOfDay) { const slotStart = current; const slotEnd = current + slotDuration; // Check for overlap with any blocked time const overlaps = blockedTimes.some(blocked => { return Math.max(slotStart, blocked.start) < Math.min(slotEnd, blocked.end); }); if (!overlaps) { availableTimeSlots.push({ start: toTimeString(slotStart), end: toTimeString(slotEnd) }); // Block this available slot too with 15-min gap blockedTimes.push({ start: slotStart - buffer, end: slotEnd + buffer }); } // Move forward in 15-min increments to evaluate next possible slot current += 15; } return [{ json: { availableTimeSlots } }];
π Google Sheets
It saves user info like name, email, query type, and appointment status β no lead ever gets lost now.
π Google Calendar
The final piece β actually books the meeting, sets up reminders, and even generates a Google Meet link.
π Step 7: Testing Everything (This Was Fun)
I ran a full test on my chatbot:
- It greeted me perfectly
- Answered service-related queries
- Refused to book on a weekend (good bot!)
- Suggested the next available weekday and time slot
- Booked the meeting in my calendar and saved my details in Sheets
- Even asked what I wanted to discuss, then confirmed the meeting like a pro
It worked exactly how I imagined. π―
π Step 8: Embedded It on My Website
Time to go live! π
π» Testing the Chat
I opened the chatbot URL in a browser and everything worked. Instant popup, slick interface.
π Added It as a Pop-Up Widget
I used the CDN embed code, plugged in my webhook URL, and embedded it into my portfolio siteβs code. Boom β little chat icon at the bottom right!
Embed Code Link:Β Check Here
<link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@n8n/chat/dist/style.css" rel="stylesheet" /> <script type="module"> import { createChat } from 'https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@n8n/chat/dist/chat.bundle.es.js'; createChat({ webhookUrl: 'YOUR_PRODUCTION_WEBHOOK_URL' }); </script>
π¨ Customized the Widget
I changed:
- The header messages
- The icon colors
- The greeting lines
Now it feels like part of my brand.
π Final Thoughts
Honestly, building this AI chatbot was one of the most rewarding things Iβve done for my site. I donβt have to worry about missed inquiries or manually scheduling calls anymore. My botβs got it all covered β while I focus on doing the work I love.
If youβve been thinking of doing something similar for your site β go for it. With tools like n8n, OpenAI, and a sprinkle of creativity, you can build something truly impressive without writing a ton of code.
Got any questions about the process? Iβm happy to help. Drop a comment or DM me. Letβs build cool stuff together!