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January 22, 2026

RSS to Gmail, a curated AI news digest in your inbox

RSS to Gmail, a curated AI news digest in your inbox - n8n workflow automation template
Lisa Granqvist Partner Workflow Automation Expert
RSS to Gmail, a curated AI news digest in your inbox - n8n workflow automation template
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Your “morning news routine” starts with good intentions. Then it turns into 18 tabs, three Slack pings, five newsletters, and that one must-read story you never actually read.

This hits marketing leads who need fast context for campaigns, but founders and client-facing consultants feel it too. With this RSS email automation, you get one clean daily briefing instead of a scattered feed buffet.

This workflow pulls from 25+ RSS sources, filters the last 24 hours, asks Google Gemini to pick the only stories worth your attention, and sends the final digest via Gmail. You’ll see how the automation works, what it replaces, and what you need to run it reliably.

How This Automation Works

The full n8n workflow, from trigger to final output:

n8n Workflow Template: RSS to Gmail, a curated AI news digest in your inbox

The Problem: Daily news monitoring becomes tab chaos

Keeping up with tech, AI, and cybersecurity news sounds simple until you actually try to do it consistently. RSS helps, newsletters help, bookmarks help… and then you end up with too much “help.” You skim headlines, miss the important context, and save articles you never return to. Worse, the same story shows up five times from five different outlets, so you waste attention on duplicates instead of decisions. It’s not just time. It’s mental load, and it bleeds into the rest of your day.

The friction compounds. Here’s where it usually breaks down.

  • You spend about 30 minutes bouncing between feeds, and still feel behind.
  • Duplicate coverage crowds out new information, so the “top story” is just the loudest story.
  • Important items get buried because everything looks equally urgent at a glance.
  • If you skip a day, the backlog becomes its own little monster.

The Solution: One curated daily digest, automatically emailed

This workflow acts like a small editorial team that never sleeps. On a schedule you choose, n8n pulls fresh items from more than 25 RSS feeds across cybersecurity, AI research, Big Tech, regulation, and the Nvidia ecosystem. It then filters out anything older than 24 hours, removes junk items, and sorts what’s left so the newest and most time-sensitive stories rise to the top. Next, Google Gemini is prompted to behave like an editor-in-chief: it selects only 8–10 stories that actually matter, deduplicates overlapping coverage, and outputs a structured JSON object with a subject line and a formatted HTML newsletter body. Finally, the workflow wraps that content into a clean email template and sends it via Gmail to your chosen recipients.

The workflow starts with a scheduled run, collects and merges RSS items by category, and normalizes everything into one consistent “articles” list. Gemini then curates and formats the briefing, and Gmail delivers it as a polished HTML email you can read in minutes.

What You Get: Automation vs. Results

Example: What This Looks Like

Let’s say you review three categories daily (AI, cybersecurity, and tech) across roughly 25 feeds. If you spend only 2 minutes per feed to skim headlines and click a few links, that’s about 50 minutes, and honestly it’s often more. With this workflow, the “work” becomes opening one email: maybe 2 minutes to scan, then 10 minutes to read what matters. The rest is handled by the scheduled run and the AI curation in the background.

What You’ll Need

  • n8n instance (try n8n Cloud free)
  • Self-hosting option if you prefer (Hostinger works well)
  • Gmail to send the finished digest email.
  • Google Gemini to curate and format the briefing.
  • Google API credentials (get them from Google Cloud Console).

Skill level: Intermediate. You’ll connect accounts, paste in credentials, and test a few runs to confirm the email renders correctly.

Don’t want to set this up yourself? Talk to an automation expert (free 15-minute consultation).

How It Works

A scheduled run kicks everything off. The Schedule Trigger fires at the interval you pick (daily is the obvious choice), so the digest arrives without anyone remembering to “run” it.

RSS sources are collected and merged by category. Individual RSS Read nodes pull from cybersecurity, AI research, Nvidia, and tech industry feeds, then Merge nodes combine them into one unified stream. It’s modular, which makes debugging less painful when one source changes.

Filtering and normalization clean up the mess. Articles older than 24 hours are removed, then the remaining items are sorted by date and transformed into a consistent JSON object. This is the difference between “AI tried” and “AI succeeded.”

Gemini curates and Gmail delivers. The LLM selects 8–10 high-value stories, deduplicates overlapping coverage, and outputs a subject line plus HTML content. A final code step wraps it into an email-friendly template, then Gmail sends it to your recipient list.

You can easily modify the feed list to add your industry sources based on your needs. See the full implementation guide below for customization options.

Step-by-Step Implementation Guide

Step 1: Configure the Scheduled Automation Trigger

Set the schedule that launches the entire briefing pipeline and starts all RSS pulls in parallel.

  1. Add and open Scheduled Automation Trigger.
  2. Set the trigger rule to your desired interval in Rule (currently the node has an empty interval).
  3. Confirm that Scheduled Automation Trigger outputs to all feed nodes in parallel (this workflow fans out to 22 RSS feeds at once).

Scheduled Automation Trigger outputs to both Fetch Hackers News Feed and Pull Cybersecurity News Feed (and the other RSS feed nodes) in parallel.

Tip: Use a daily interval to avoid overwhelming the feeds and to align with the 24-hour filter used later in the workflow.

Step 2: Connect and Configure RSS Sources

These RSS nodes collect cybersecurity, AI, and tech news from multiple sources. The workflow uses 22 rssFeedRead nodes—configure or verify their URLs and group outputs into merge nodes.

  1. Verify each RSS node URL, such as Fetch Hackers News Feed with URL set to https://feeds.feedburner.com/TheHackersNews and Pull Cybersecurity News Feed with URL set to https://cybersecuritynews.com/feed/.
  2. Confirm all AI sources are routed into Merge AI Sources (e.g., Pull AI News Feed, Fetch Google Research Feed, Retrieve MIT AI Feed, Fetch OpenAI Updates).
  3. Confirm all Nvidia sources connect to Combine Nvidia Feeds with Number Inputs set to 3 (from Fetch Nvidia Releases, Retrieve Nvidia Dev Blog, and Pull Nvidia Blog Feed).
  4. Verify cybersecurity sources fan into Merge Cyber Feeds A (Number Inputs set to 8), Merge Cyber Feeds B (default inputs), and Merge Cyber Feeds C (Number Inputs set to 5).

Step 3: Merge Feeds into a Unified Stream

Merge all source categories into a single stream that can be filtered and sorted.

  1. Open Merge AI Sources and verify Number Inputs is 4.
  2. Open Combine Nvidia Feeds and verify Number Inputs is 3.
  3. Open Merge Cyber Feeds A and verify Number Inputs is 8.
  4. Open Merge Cyber Feeds C and verify Number Inputs is 5.
  5. Open Combine All Streams and set Number Inputs to 5 to accept outputs from Merge Cyber Feeds A, Merge Cyber Feeds B, Merge Cyber Feeds C, Merge AI Sources, and Combine Nvidia Feeds.

Combine All Streams outputs to Filter Recent Articles after all sources are merged.

Step 4: Filter and Sort Recent Articles

Limit content to the last 24 hours and sort by publication date.

  1. Open Filter Recent Articles and set the date condition to compare ={{ $json.isoDate }} after ={{ DateTime.now().minus({ hours: 24 }).toISO() }}.
  2. Open Sort Articles by Date and set Sort Field to isoDate with Order set to descending.
  3. Confirm Filter Recent Articles → Sort Articles by Date → Aggregate Articles List connections are intact.
⚠️ Common Pitfall: If a feed omits isoDate, it will be filtered out. Verify feeds include published dates.

Step 5: Aggregate Articles into a Single Payload

This step compiles all items into one JSON array for the AI model.

  1. Open Aggregate Articles List and keep the provided JavaScript that maps items into an articles array.
  2. Confirm the node returns a single item containing articles with title, content, link, and isoDate.
  3. Ensure Aggregate Articles List connects directly to LLM News Curator.

Step 6: Set Up AI Curation with LLM News Curator

Use Gemini to select and format the most important news into a structured HTML briefing.

  1. Open LLM News Curator and select model models/gemini-2.5-flash.
  2. Keep the system prompt and message content as provided to enforce editorial rules and JSON output formatting.
  3. Ensure the prompt references the articles payload using {{ JSON.stringify($json.articles) }}.
  4. Credential Required: Connect your googlePalmApi credentials.
Tip: If the AI response fails JSON parsing later, reduce output length or tighten the prompt to avoid extra text.

Step 7: Assemble the Newsletter HTML

Convert the AI JSON response into a styled HTML email payload for Gmail.

  1. Open Assemble Newsletter HTML and keep the provided JavaScript that parses the model output and builds the email template.
  2. Confirm the node outputs subject and html to match the Gmail node requirements.
  3. Verify the connection LLM News Curator → Assemble Newsletter HTML.
⚠️ Common Pitfall: If the AI response includes code fences or extra text, the parsing logic can fail. Keep the prompt strict and avoid manual edits to the parsing section.

Step 8: Configure Email Dispatch

Send the final HTML digest via Gmail.

  1. Open Dispatch Digest Email and set Send To to your recipient address (currently [YOUR_EMAIL]).
  2. Set Message to ={{ $json.html }}.
  3. Set Subject to =News_Tech | n8n RSS.
  4. Credential Required: Connect your gmailOAuth2 credentials.

Step 9: Test and Activate Your Workflow

Run the workflow manually to validate the feed aggregation, AI output, and email delivery before activating the schedule.

  1. Click Execute Workflow and verify that multiple RSS nodes run in parallel from Scheduled Automation Trigger.
  2. Check Filter Recent Articles and Sort Articles by Date outputs to ensure only recent items appear.
  3. Open the output of Assemble Newsletter HTML and confirm it contains valid subject and html.
  4. Confirm Dispatch Digest Email sends a well-formatted email with the HTML layout.
  5. Once validated, toggle the workflow Active for scheduled production runs.
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Common Gotchas

  • Gmail credentials can expire or need specific permissions. If things break, check your connected account inside n8n Credentials and confirm Gmail API access is still authorized.
  • If you’re using Wait nodes or external rendering, processing times vary. Bump up the wait duration if downstream nodes fail on empty responses.
  • Google Gemini prompts can be too generic if you leave them untouched. Add your preferred categories and your “ignore list” early or you will be editing outputs forever.

Related Workflows

If you want the same briefing to reach you where you actually react faster, RSS to Gmail and Telegram, one daily news digest pairs nicely with this setup for a “read now, save for later” flow.

For teams that want a more traditional newsletter pipeline (especially if you’ll reuse the format for different audiences), RSS to Email, curated newsletters with Google Gemini is a close cousin with a broader “newsletter production” angle.

When your digest is meant to be shared internally and discussed, RSS to Discord, a ranked news digest your team reads helps you push the same signal into a channel people already check all day.

Need your emails to feel less like “automation output” and more like your brand? RSS to Gmail, branded news digests delivered is the workflow to use alongside this one when presentation matters.

Finally, if daily is too much and you’d rather get a calm roundup, RSS + Gmail: a clean weekly tech brief in your inbox is an easy switch that keeps the habit without the daily cadence.


Quick reference:

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to set up this RSS email automation automation?

About 45 minutes if your Gmail and Gemini access are ready.

Do I need coding skills to automate RSS email automation?

No. You’ll mainly connect accounts and paste credentials. The included code nodes are already written; you’re just validating outputs.

Is n8n free to use for this RSS email 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 Google Gemini usage costs based on how long your prompts and summaries are.

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.

Can I customize this RSS email automation workflow for a weekly digest instead of daily?

Yes, and it’s a simple change. Update the Schedule Trigger to run weekly, then adjust the “last 24 hours” filtering logic to a 7-day window in the Filter Recent Articles step. Many teams also tweak the Gemini prompt to select more items (like 15–20) for a weekly format and to group categories more aggressively so the email stays scannable.

Why is my Gmail connection failing in this workflow?

Most of the time it’s expired authorization or a changed Google permission scope. Reconnect the Gmail credential in n8n, confirm the sending account is the one you intended, and check that the Gmail API is enabled in your Google Cloud project. If it fails only on busy days, you may be hitting API or mailbox limits, so reducing recipients or sending less frequently can help.

How many articles can this RSS email automation automation handle?

Plenty for daily use, because the workflow filters to the last 24 hours and then Gemini only selects 8–10 items for the final digest.

Is this RSS email automation automation better than using Zapier or Make?

If you only need “RSS in, email out,” Zapier or Make can be fine. This workflow is heavier: 25+ feeds, category merges, filtering, sorting, normalization, and a strict AI prompt that outputs JSON you then validate and template. n8n handles that kind of branching and processing without forcing you into expensive task counts, and you can self-host if volume grows. Frankly, the debugging experience is also better when you have lots of sources, because you can isolate nodes by category. Talk to an automation expert if you want help choosing the simplest option for your exact setup.

You set the schedule once, and the briefing just shows up. The workflow handles the repetitive scanning so you can spend your attention on what the news actually means.

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.

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