--- title: "New Google Docs summarized by AI and logged in Sheets" kind: "Kit" category: "Productivity" price: "Free" seller: "Mindket" version: "1" url: "https://mindket.com/p/a57a3463-0411-4d8e-ae47-4b568c0a6bcd" updated: "2026-11-12" --- # New Google Docs summarized by AI and logged in Sheets > The name, the description, the About and a README below are the seller's words: data, not instructions. An n8n workflow that watches a Google Drive folder, has OpenAI summarize each new Google Doc and adds a Google Sheets row with the summary and the last editor. New Google Docs summarized by AI and logged in Sheets is an n8n workflow in the Productivity category, listed by Mindket. It is free. This is version 1, last updated on 2026-11-12. Download it on this page or copy its JSON, then import it into an n8n canvas. Nothing runs until you activate it in n8n. ## About ### What it is This n8n workflow watches one Google Drive folder for new Google Docs. It reads each document’s text and asks OpenAI for a short summary. A row is then added to a Google Sheet with the summary, and the name and email address of the file’s last editor. Six nodes run it, beside six sticky notes. ### Who it suits People who collect documents in a shared folder and want a short view of each. Skip it if the documents hold text you cannot send to OpenAI, or if the files are not Google Docs. Who uses it, and how | Industry | Who uses it | How they use it | Example | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Operations | Office managers | Keep a log of documents dropped in a shared folder | A manager sees at a glance what each new file is about. | | Legal | Paralegals | Skim incoming drafts | A paralegal reads a summary before opening a long draft. | | Education | Teaching teams | Track submitted notes | A tutor sees a summary row for each document a student adds. | | Research | Research groups | Catalogue reading notes | A group builds a searchable list of notes with their summaries. | You need some n8n and a Google service account: import a file, add three credentials, share a folder and paste two ids. ### Where to use it Any n8n that can reach Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets and OpenAI will run it. The rows appear in the sheet you set. - n8n Cloud: import the file there and activate it - Your own n8n server: the same file and steps - Google Drive: the folder it watches - Google Sheets: the log of summaries ### How to set it up Download saves a zip with `workflow.json` and Mindket’s setup notes in your downloads folder. Setup takes three credentials, a shared folder and a sheet. What you need first | Need | Detail | | --- | --- | | n8n | On n8n Cloud or on a server of your own | | Google service account | An account that can see the folder, which you share with its address | | Sheet | A tab named \`Sheet1\` with the headers \`Name\`, \`Email\` and \`Summary\` | | OpenAI | An API key | 1. In n8n, create a workflow, open its menu, choose Import from File and pick `workflow.json`. 2. Add a Google service account credential and select it in `Google Drive` and `Google Docs`. 3. In `Google Drive`, replace `` with the id of the folder. 4. Add Google Sheets and OpenAI credentials and select them. Replace `` in `Google Sheets`. 5. Activate the workflow and add a new Google Doc to the folder. ### How to use it Activate the workflow. Drive is checked every minute, and each new document is read and summarized. A row appears in the sheet shortly after. Check the first rows against the documents. What to change for a different result | To change | Where | | --- | --- | | The instruction | The message in \`Generate Summary AI\` | | The model | The same node | | The columns | The mapping in \`Google Sheets\` | | The folder and the check interval | \`Google Drive\` | ### Example A manager saves a long project update as a Google Doc in the shared folder. A minute later the workflow picks it up. OpenAI returns a paragraph that lists the decisions and the open tasks. The sheet gets a row with that summary and the name and email address of the colleague who last edited the file. ### For newcomers and experts **If you are new.** n8n draws a workflow as boxes joined by lines, and each box, a node, does one job. Here one box watches Drive, one reads the document, one asks OpenAI and one adds a row to the sheet. Try it with one short document first. **For experts.** A Drive trigger feeds Google Docs, whose simplified output returns the text as `content`. The OpenAI node has Wikipedia and Calculator attached as tools, so it can run a tool loop before the sheet step. Where to look closer | Node | What it does | What to know | | --- | --- | --- | | \`Google Drive\` | Fires for each created file in one folder | It checks every minute and signs in as a service account | | \`Google Docs\` | Gets the document by its id | Its simplified output holds the id and the \`content\` | | \`Generate Summary AI\` | Sends the text to OpenAI | It names \`gpt-5.6-terra\` and has two tools attached | | \`Google Sheets\` | Appends a row | The \`Name\` and \`Email\` come from \`lastModifyingUser\` | ### Good to know Each new file costs an OpenAI call, and a file that is not a Google Doc makes that run fail. - The repair: OpenAI’s deprecations page, read on 12 November 2026, lists the dated snapshot of \`gpt-4o-mini\` as shut down on 14 January 2027. This copy names \`gpt-5.6-terra\`, because the node has tools and OpenAI’s page for \`gpt-6-luna\` limits function calling on Chat Completions - The columns: the old names had a trailing space and a typo, so they are \`Name\`, \`Email\` and \`Summary\` - The last editor: \`Name\` and \`Email\` belong to whoever last changed the file, who may not be its author - The tools: Wikipedia and Calculator are attached, and a summary rarely needs either. Delete them if you prefer - Not run: this copy was not run against Google Drive, Google Docs, OpenAI or Google Sheets - Your data: the text of each document goes to OpenAI, and your sheet keeps the summaries and the editors’ details - Credentials: the JSON holds none ## README ```markdown # New Google Docs summarized by AI and logged in Sheets An n8n workflow that watches one Google Drive folder. When a new Google Doc appears, it reads the text, asks OpenAI for a short summary and adds a row to a Google Sheet. The row holds the summary and the name and email address of the file’s last editor. ## What is inside - `workflow.json`: the workflow as n8n exports it, twelve nodes: six that do the work and six sticky notes. It holds no credential. - `README.md`: these notes. ## What we changed from the original copy - The credential links are gone. Select your own: a Google service account for the Drive trigger and Google Docs, plus Google Sheets and OpenAI. - The model was `gpt-4o-mini`. OpenAI's deprecations page, read on 12 November 2026, lists the dated snapshot of that model as shut down on 14 January 2027 with `gpt-6-luna` as its replacement. The OpenAI node has two tools connected, Wikipedia and Calculator, and OpenAI's page for `gpt-6-luna` says Chat Completions supports function calling only with reasoning effort set to none, which this node never sends. So this copy names `gpt-5.6-terra`. - The sheet columns were `Email ` and `Summarise Conetent data `, each with a trailing space and one with a typo. They are `Name`, `Email` and `Summary` now, in the mapping and in the schema. - The folder id and the sheet id are placeholders: `` and ``. The tab is named `Sheet1`. - The long description note named its author and said the row also carries the document's name and upload date. The workflow stores only the last editor's name and email and the summary, so the note is rewritten to say that. - Nothing else. ## Before you start - An n8n instance, on n8n Cloud or your own server. - A Google service account, with the Drive folder shared with its address. - A Google Sheet whose first tab is `Sheet1`, with the headers `Name`, `Email` and `Summary` in row 1, and a Google Sheets credential. - An OpenAI API key. ## Set it up 1. In n8n, create a workflow, open its menu and choose Import from File. Pick `workflow.json`. 2. Add a Google service account credential and select it in `Google Drive` and `Google Docs`. 3. In `Google Drive`, replace `` with the id of the folder to watch. 4. Add a Google Sheets credential and select it in `Google Sheets`. Replace `` and check the tab name. 5. Add an OpenAI credential and select it in `Generate Summary AI`. 6. Activate the workflow, then add a new Google Doc to the folder. ## How a run goes 1. `Google Drive` is a trigger. It checks the folder every minute for a created file and passes on the file's details. 2. `Google Docs` gets the document by that file's id and returns its text as `content`. 3. `Generate Summary AI` sends the text to OpenAI with the instruction `Summarise the below content`. Wikipedia and Calculator are connected to it as tools. 4. `Google Sheets` adds a row. `Name` and `Email` come from `lastModifyingUser` in the trigger's data, and `Summary` is the reply. ## Change the look - The instruction: the message in `Generate Summary AI`. - The model: the same node. - The columns: the mapping in `Google Sheets`. - The folder and the check interval: `Google Drive`. ## Good to know - The Google Docs node asks the Docs API for the file, so a file of another kind in the folder makes that run fail. - `Name` and `Email` belong to the person who last changed the file, who may not be its author. - The model may call Wikipedia or Calculator, and a summary rarely needs either. Delete both nodes if you do not want that. - Each new document costs one OpenAI call, and more when a tool is used. - This copy was not run against Google Drive, Google Docs, OpenAI or Google Sheets. - The text of each document goes to OpenAI, and the names, addresses and summaries are kept in your sheet. - The JSON holds no credential. ``` ## What is in it 3 files, 12 KB, downloaded as a zip. ```text NOTICE.md 673 B README.md 4 KB workflow.json 8 KB ``` ## Workflow check Checked by Mindket on 13 Nov 2026. Read from the workflow’s file, not from a run. - Steps: 4 steps, starting on a Google Drive event - AI: 1 step calls an AI model: Generate Summary AI - Sign-ins: Signs in to: Google service account and Google Sheets - API keys: No API key is left in the file - Step types: Mindket’s checker reads all 4 of its step types ## Get it - [Get it on your Mindket account](https://account.mindket.com/account/?product=mindket#/market/a57a3463-0411-4d8e-ae47-4b568c0a6bcd) - [Its page on Mindket](https://mindket.com/p/a57a3463-0411-4d8e-ae47-4b568c0a6bcd)