🔓 Unlock all 10,000+ workflows & prompts free Join Newsletter →
✅ Full access unlocked — explore all 10,000 AI workflow and prompt templates Browse Templates →
Home › n8n › Workflow
January 22, 2026

Google Maps + Gmail: market research reports sent

Google Maps + Gmail: market research reports sent - n8n workflow automation template
Lisa Granqvist Partner Workflow Automation Expert
Google Maps + Gmail: market research reports sent - n8n workflow automation template
Get a free AI assessment → Get a free AI assessment → ⬇️ Use template

Market research on Google Maps sounds simple until you’re juggling searches, opening listings, scraping reviews, and trying to turn that mess into something a client will actually read. By the time you’re done, the “quick scan” has eaten your afternoon.

Marketing managers feel it when they need positioning insights fast. A consultant gets stuck turning notes into a report at midnight. And a business owner scouting a new location gets buried in tabs. This Google Maps automation turns reviews into a client-ready report and sends it via Gmail without the copy-paste grind.

Below is what the workflow does, what results you can expect, and how to make it fit your niche (restaurants, gyms, hotels, local services, and more).

How This Automation Works

See how this solves the problem:

n8n Workflow Template: Google Maps + Gmail: market research reports sent

The Challenge: Turning Reviews Into Decisions (Fast)

Google Maps is a goldmine for market research, but the raw material is chaotic. You might find 20 competitors, each with hundreds of reviews, and none of it is in a format you can use. So you skim, you screenshot, you paste quotes into a doc, and you try to “notice patterns” while your brain is switching contexts every 30 seconds. Then someone asks the obvious question: “So what should we do with this?” and you realize you’ve collected data, not insights. Honestly, it’s exhausting work to repeat every time you research a new city or niche.

It adds up fast. Here’s where it breaks down in real life.

  • You end up reading the loudest reviews, not the most representative ones, so your conclusions get biased.
  • Copying reviews and business details into spreadsheets invites small errors that make the final report look sloppy.
  • By the time you summarize everything, the “insights” are vague because you’re rushing to ship something.
  • Doing this for multiple cities or segments turns into a repeating weekly chore instead of a reusable system.

The Fix: Automated Google Maps Review Analysis → Gmail Report

This workflow runs your market research like a pipeline instead of a scavenger hunt. You start by setting a few input parameters (your search query, the map area, and what you want the analysis to focus on). n8n then pulls business results from Google Maps via an API-based HTTP request, extracts the key data points, and loops through each place in batches so you don’t overload the service. For every business, it fetches review details, merges listings with reviews, and aggregates everything into a clean dataset. Then an AI agent analyzes the combined data and produces a structured market research report with themes, complaints, sentiment, and positioning opportunities. Finally, the workflow composes a readable email and sends the report through Gmail to you (or straight to a client).

The workflow begins with a manual launch trigger, which makes it easy to run on-demand when a lead comes in. After the data pull and batching, the AI analysis step turns raw reviews into an executive summary plus clear recommendations. Gmail delivers it as a single, shareable report, so you’re not stitching findings together at the end.

What Changes: Before vs. After

Real-World Impact

Say you’re researching 20 competing businesses for a new location. Manually, it’s easy to spend about 10 minutes per business just collecting details and skimming reviews, which is roughly 3 hours before you’ve even written a summary. With this workflow, you spend about 10 minutes setting the query and location once, then wait about 5 minutes for data collection and AI analysis. You get your market research report in Gmail ready to forward, and you didn’t spend your morning inside browser tabs.

Requirements

  • n8n instance (try n8n Cloud free)
  • Self-hosting option if you prefer (Hostinger works well)
  • SerpAPI to extract Google Maps business data.
  • Google Gemini to analyze reviews and generate insights.
  • Gmail to send the finished report to recipients.
  • API keys (get them from SerpAPI and Google AI Studio).

Skill level: Beginner. You’ll paste API keys, adjust a few input fields, and run a test.

Need help implementing this? Talk to an automation expert (free 15-minute consultation).

The Workflow Flow

You enter the research parameters. A manual trigger starts the run, then “Input Parameter Setup” defines your search query (like “hotels near airport”), map coordinates, and the analysis focus (hospitality, fitness, restaurant, and so on).

Google Maps data is pulled and normalized. n8n makes an HTTP request to fetch business results, then a small code step cleans and extracts the fields you actually care about (names, ratings, review counts, URLs, and IDs needed to fetch reviews).

Reviews are fetched in manageable batches. The workflow loops over places using Split in Batches, requests the review details for each one, and merges business metadata with the review text so nothing gets lost.

An AI agent writes the market research report. The aggregated dataset is shaped for analysis, then the Gemini chat model generates an executive summary, customer intelligence (what people love and hate), and strategic recommendations you can act on.

The report lands in Gmail. A “Compose Email Report” step formats the content for readability, and Gmail sends it to the recipient list you choose.

You can easily modify the search query and analysis focus to target a new niche or city based on your needs. See the full implementation guide below for customization options.

Step-by-Step Implementation Guide

Step 1: Configure the Manual Trigger

This workflow starts with a manual trigger so you can run the market analysis on demand.

  1. Add and open Manual Launch Trigger.
  2. Leave the default settings as-is (no configuration required).
  3. Connect Manual Launch Trigger to Input Parameter Setup.

Step 2: Connect the Primary Data Source (Maps Search)

This step defines the search parameters and configures the Maps search request used by SerpAPI.

  1. Open Input Parameter Setup and set the fields:
    • search_query to nhà hàng quận 1 TP.HCM
    • search_location to @10.8231,106.6297,12z
    • language_code to vi
    • analysis_focus to restaurant
    • city_name to TP. Hồ Chí Minh
  2. Open Maps Search Request and set URL to https://serpapi.com/search.json.
  3. Set Send Query to true and Specify Query to json.
  4. Set JSON Query to: ={ "engine": "google_maps", "q": "{{ $('Input Parameter Setup').item.json.search_query }}", "ll": "{{ $('Input Parameter Setup').item.json.search_location }}", "hl": "{{ $('Input Parameter Setup').item.json.language_code }}", "api_key": "[CONFIGURE_YOUR_API_KEY]" }

⚠️ Common Pitfall: Replace [CONFIGURE_YOUR_API_KEY] with your live SerpAPI key in both Maps Search Request and Fetch Review Details, or requests will fail.

Step 3: Set Up Data Extraction and Review Collection

These nodes parse the search results, loop through places, and fetch review details for each location.

  1. Open Advanced Data Extraction and keep the existing JavaScript code (it filters and enriches place data).
  2. Open Batch Place Iterator and leave default settings (it will iterate through the places).
  3. Open Fetch Review Details and set URL to ={{ $json.reviews_link }}.
  4. Set JSON Query in Fetch Review Details to { "api_key": "[CONFIGURE_YOUR_API_KEY]" }.
  5. Open Merge Place & Reviews and keep the existing JavaScript code that merges review data with place metadata.

Tip: Batch Place Iterator sends each batch to Fetch Review Details, and when all batches finish it sends results to Aggregate Results.

Step 4: Aggregate and Build the Analysis Dataset

Aggregate all places and prepare the analysis prompt and summary statistics for the AI report.

  1. Open Aggregate Results and set Aggregate to aggregateAllItemData.
  2. Open Build Analysis Dataset and keep the existing JavaScript code to generate analysis_prompt, raw_data, and summary_stats.

Tip: The workflow uses multiple code nodes for extraction, merging, dataset building, and email formatting. Keep the provided code as-is unless you are customizing the report structure.

Step 5: Set Up AI Analysis and Email Delivery

The AI agent generates a market insights report, then the email nodes format and send it.

  1. Open Market Insight Agent and keep the existing prompt text, which pulls dynamic values like {{ $('Input Parameter Setup').item.json.analysis_focus }} and {{ $('Input Parameter Setup').item.json.city_name }}.
  2. Confirm Gemini Chat Engine is connected as the language model for Market Insight Agent.
  3. Credential Required: Connect your googlePalmApi credentials in Gemini Chat Engine. (Credentials are added on Gemini Chat Engine, not the agent node.)
  4. Open Compose Email Report and keep the JavaScript code that creates htmlContent, plainTextContent, and subject.
  5. Open Dispatch Email Summary, set Send To to [YOUR_EMAIL], Subject to ={{ $json.subject }}, and Message to ={{ $json.htmlContent }}.
  6. Credential Required: Connect your gmailOAuth2 credentials in Dispatch Email Summary.
  7. Keep Completion Log as-is to record the workflow summary.

⚠️ Common Pitfall: Make sure [YOUR_EMAIL] in Dispatch Email Summary is a valid recipient or the report will not be delivered.

Step 6: Test and Activate Your Workflow

Run the workflow manually to confirm data collection, AI analysis, and email delivery.

  1. Click Execute Workflow from Manual Launch Trigger.
  2. Verify that Maps Search Request returns place data and Fetch Review Details returns reviews.
  3. Check Market Insight Agent output for a Vietnamese market analysis report.
  4. Confirm the email arrives with the subject generated by Compose Email Report and HTML content from htmlContent.
  5. Once validated, activate the workflow for production use.
🔒

Unlock Full Step-by-Step Guide

Get the complete implementation guide + downloadable template

Watch Out For

  • SerpAPI credentials can expire or need specific permissions. If things break, check your SerpAPI dashboard usage and key status first.
  • If you’re using Wait nodes or external rendering, processing times vary. Bump up the wait duration if downstream nodes fail on empty responses.
  • Default prompts in AI nodes are generic. Add your brand voice early or you’ll be editing outputs forever.

Similar Automations

If you want the same “theme extraction” idea but in a team channel, Google Business Profile to Slack, review themes fast is great for ongoing monitoring, not just one-off research reports.

For teams that already run AI research briefs and just need the email delivery pattern, Gemini + Gmail: AI research reports emailed ready to share pairs nicely with this workflow as a reusable “send polished findings” system.

When your output needs to be a doc you can annotate and hand off (instead of an email), Google Docs + Telegram: client-ready ASO reports shows a clean client-delivery loop you can adapt for market research packages.

If you’re doing product-led research too, Amazon reviews to Google Sheets, insights your team uses helps you capture review data in a spreadsheet so your team can filter, tag, and compare over time.

Need to close the loop after research by responding to reviews? Google Maps to Slack, replies drafted and routed is a smart follow-on so insights turn into action (and better ratings) instead of a PDF that gets ignored.


Quick reference:

Common Questions

How quickly can I implement this Google Maps automation?

About 30 minutes if you already have your API keys.

Can non-technical teams implement this market research automation?

Yes. You’ll mainly update the input fields (query, location) and connect Gmail plus your AI provider.

Is n8n free to use for this Google Maps automation workflow?

Yes. n8n has a free self-hosted option and a free trial on n8n Cloud. Cloud plans start at $20/month for higher volume. You’ll also need to factor in SerpAPI and Gemini usage, which are often free at low volume but can cost money if you run lots of searches.

Where can I host n8n to run this automation?

Two options: n8n Cloud (managed, easiest setup) or self-hosting on a VPS. For self-hosting, Hostinger VPS is affordable and handles n8n well. Self-hosting gives you unlimited executions but requires basic server management.

How do I adapt this Google Maps automation solution to my specific challenges?

Start in the “Input Parameter Setup” step and change the search_query, search_location (coordinates), and analysis_focus so the AI knows what to prioritize. You can also tweak the AI agent instructions to output your preferred structure (for example, add a “Positioning statement” section or a “Top competitors to emulate” section). Common customizations include running multiple cities back-to-back, narrowing to a niche like “vegan restaurants,” and adding a Google Sheets export after the “Aggregate Results” step for long-term tracking.

Why is my SerpAPI connection failing in this Google Maps automation?

Usually it’s an invalid or expired API key, or you’ve hit the free tier limit for the month. Check SerpAPI usage, then regenerate the key and update it in n8n. If you’re querying a very tight radius or using malformed coordinates, you can also get “no results” responses that look like failures.

What’s the capacity of this Google Maps automation solution?

On a typical n8n Cloud plan you can run thousands of executions a month, and self-hosting depends on your server. Practically, the limit usually comes from API quotas, plus how many businesses and reviews you pull per run. For a normal report (around 20 businesses), most teams see it finish within a few minutes.

Is this Google Maps automation automation better than using Zapier or Make?

Often, yes, because this kind of workflow needs looping, merging datasets, and custom data shaping before the AI step. n8n handles branching and code-based cleanup without turning every iteration into a paid task, which matters when you’re pulling many businesses. Zapier and Make can work, but you may end up fighting limits when you need to batch review fetches or merge arrays cleanly. If you only need a simple “send me a summary” from a single source, the simpler tools can be faster to set up. Talk to an automation expert if you want help choosing.

Once this is running, “market research” stops being a weekend project and becomes a repeatable button you can press. The workflow handles the digging and the summarizing, so you can spend your time making decisions.

Need Help Setting This Up?

Our automation experts can build and customize this workflow for your specific needs. Free 15-minute consultation—no commitment required.

Talk to Automation Expert →

Lisa Granqvist

Workflow Automation Expert

Expert in workflow automation and no-code tools.

×

Use template

Get instant access to this n8n workflow Json file

Copy and import json workflow into your n8n workflow

💬
Get a free quote today!
Get a free quote today!

Tell us what you need and we'll get back to you within one working day.

Get a free quote today!
Get a free quote today!

Tell us what you need and we'll get back to you within one working day.