Employee onboarding buddy AI agent on Telegram
New hires ask the agent anything about their first weeks, see their checklist, and tick tasks off as they go.
How it works
Trigger: Telegram — a new hire messages the bot
- A new hire asks a question or "what's next?".
- The agent answers from your onboarding guide.
- It shows their own checklist and marks tasks done when they finish them.
- It alerts HR when someone is blocked.
What it can do
Unlike a fixed flow, an agent decides which of its tools to use, in what order — and remembers the conversation.
- Answers first-week questions from your guide
- Shows each person's open onboarding tasks
- Marks tasks done
- Flags blockers like missing laptops or accounts
System prompt
The instructions that shape the agent. It's already inside the n8n template — copy it into Make or Zapier, and adjust the YOUR_… parts.
You are the onboarding buddy for new employees at YOUR_COMPANY on Telegram. Reply in their language (Arabic or English), friendly and short. Today is {{ $now.toFormat('cccc d LLLL yyyy') }}.
The employee's Telegram ID is {{ $('Get message').item.json.userId }}.
Tools:
- "Onboarding guide": answers for new hires: tools and accounts, who to ask for what, office info, payroll dates, first-week schedule. Answer only from it.
- "My checklist": this employee's onboarding tasks (task_id, task, due, done). It only returns the person who is asking.
- "Mark task done": marks one task as done by its task_id. Use only after the employee says they finished it.
- "Notify HR": alerts HR when someone is blocked (no laptop, no account access), has a sensitive question, or asks something you can't answer.
Rules:
- If "My checklist" returns nothing, tell them they're not set up yet and use "Notify HR".
- When they ask "what's next?", show their open tasks, earliest due date first.
- Never share other employees' information or discuss salaries.Safety rules
Built into the prompt and the tools:
- Only shows a person their own checklist
- Never discusses salaries or other employees
Uses your own AI key (Claude, OpenAI or another model). Cost depends on the model and conversation length — a small, fast model keeps most conversations to a fraction of a cent.
Diagram
Trigger App Code AI Agent tool
Code
JavaScript used in the Code step — already included in the template below.
// Keeps only text messages and pulls out who sent it and what they asked.
const msg = $input.first().json.message;
if (!msg?.text) return [];
return [{
json: {
chatId: msg.chat.id,
userId: msg.from.id,
name: [msg.from.first_name, msg.from.last_name].filter(Boolean).join(" "),
question: msg.text,
},
}];Build it
Pick your tool — same automation, step by step.
Copy and paste straight into an n8n canvas (Ctrl+V), or download and use Import from File. Then connect your own credentials and replace every YOUR_… placeholder. AI steps use a Claude model node — swap it for OpenAI, Gemini or Ollama if you prefer.
Show code (341 lines)
{
"name": "Employee onboarding buddy AI agent on Telegram (Flowngn)",
"nodes": [
{
"parameters": {
"content": "## Employee onboarding buddy AI agent on Telegram\nNew hires ask the agent anything about their first weeks, see their checklist, and tick tasks off as they go.\n\n**Setup**\n1. Open each node and connect your own credentials.\n2. Replace every YOUR_… placeholder.\n3. Test once, then activate.\n\nFree template from Flowngn",
"height": 260,
"width": 340
},
"id": "22e0658a-8568-4a05-a7c2-dcf44e4dfdf3",
"name": "Setup notes",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"typeVersion": 1,
"position": [
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},
{
"parameters": {
"updates": [
"message"
],
"additionalFields": {}
},
"id": "22e0658a-8568-4a05-a7c2-dcf44e4dfdf3",
"name": "Incoming message",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.telegramTrigger",
"typeVersion": 1.1,
"position": [
0,
0
],
"webhookId": "22e0658a-8568-4a05-a7c2-dcf44e4dfdf3"
},
{
"parameters": {
"jsCode": "// Keeps only text messages and pulls out who sent it and what they asked.\nconst msg = $input.first().json.message;\nif (!msg?.text) return [];\n\nreturn [{\n json: {\n chatId: msg.chat.id,\n userId: msg.from.id,\n name: [msg.from.first_name, msg.from.last_name].filter(Boolean).join(\" \"),\n question: msg.text,\n },\n}];"
},
"id": "22e0658a-8568-4a05-a7c2-dcf44e4dfdf3",
"name": "Get message",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.code",
"typeVersion": 2,
"position": [
300,
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]
},
{
"parameters": {
"promptType": "define",
"text": "={{ $('Get message').item.json.question }}",
"options": {
"systemMessage": "=You are the onboarding buddy for new employees at YOUR_COMPANY on Telegram. Reply in their language (Arabic or English), friendly and short. Today is {{ $now.toFormat('cccc d LLLL yyyy') }}.\n\nThe employee's Telegram ID is {{ $('Get message').item.json.userId }}.\n\nTools:\n- \"Onboarding guide\": answers for new hires: tools and accounts, who to ask for what, office info, payroll dates, first-week schedule. Answer only from it.\n- \"My checklist\": this employee's onboarding tasks (task_id, task, due, done). It only returns the person who is asking.\n- \"Mark task done\": marks one task as done by its task_id. Use only after the employee says they finished it.\n- \"Notify HR\": alerts HR when someone is blocked (no laptop, no account access), has a sensitive question, or asks something you can't answer.\n\nRules:\n- If \"My checklist\" returns nothing, tell them they're not set up yet and use \"Notify HR\".\n- When they ask \"what's next?\", show their open tasks, earliest due date first.\n- Never share other employees' information or discuss salaries."
}
},
"id": "22e0658a-8568-4a05-a7c2-dcf44e4dfdf3",
"name": "Onboarding agent",
"type": "@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.agent",
"typeVersion": 1.9,
"position": [
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]
},
{
"parameters": {
"model": {
"__rl": true,
"value": "claude-sonnet-5",
"mode": "list"
},
"options": {}
},
"id": "22e0658a-8568-4a05-a7c2-dcf44e4dfdf3",
"name": "Claude model",
"type": "@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.lmChatAnthropic",
"typeVersion": 1.3,
"position": [
175,
220
]
},
{
"parameters": {
"sessionIdType": "customKey",
"sessionKey": "={{ $('Get message').item.json.chatId }}",
"contextWindowLength": 10
},
"id": "22e0658a-8568-4a05-a7c2-dcf44e4dfdf3",
"name": "Memory",
"type": "@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.memoryBufferWindow",
"typeVersion": 1.3,
"position": [
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]
},
{
"parameters": {
"descriptionType": "manual",
"toolDescription": "Returns the onboarding guide: topic and answer.",
"operation": "read",
"documentId": {
"__rl": true,
"value": "YOUR_SPREADSHEET_ID",
"mode": "id"
},
"sheetName": {
"__rl": true,
"value": "Onboarding guide",
"mode": "name"
},
"options": {}
},
"id": "22e0658a-8568-4a05-a7c2-dcf44e4dfdf3",
"name": "Onboarding guide",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.googleSheetsTool",
"typeVersion": 4.5,
"position": [
515,
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]
},
{
"parameters": {
"descriptionType": "manual",
"toolDescription": "Returns the onboarding tasks of the employee who is asking.",
"operation": "read",
"documentId": {
"__rl": true,
"value": "YOUR_SPREADSHEET_ID",
"mode": "id"
},
"sheetName": {
"__rl": true,
"value": "Checklist",
"mode": "name"
},
"filtersUI": {
"values": [
{
"lookupColumn": "telegram_id",
"lookupValue": "={{ $('Get message').item.json.userId }}"
}
]
},
"options": {}
},
"id": "22e0658a-8568-4a05-a7c2-dcf44e4dfdf3",
"name": "My checklist",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.googleSheetsTool",
"typeVersion": 4.5,
"position": [
685,
220
]
},
{
"parameters": {
"descriptionType": "manual",
"toolDescription": "Marks one onboarding task as done.",
"operation": "update",
"documentId": {
"__rl": true,
"value": "YOUR_SPREADSHEET_ID",
"mode": "id"
},
"sheetName": {
"__rl": true,
"value": "Checklist",
"mode": "name"
},
"columns": {
"mappingMode": "defineBelow",
"value": {
"task_id": "={{ $fromAI('task_id', \"The task_id from My checklist\", 'string') }}",
"done": "={{ $now.toISODate() }}"
},
"matchingColumns": [
"task_id"
]
},
"options": {}
},
"id": "22e0658a-8568-4a05-a7c2-dcf44e4dfdf3",
"name": "Mark task done",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.googleSheetsTool",
"typeVersion": 4.5,
"position": [
855,
220
]
},
{
"parameters": {
"descriptionType": "manual",
"toolDescription": "Alerts HR when a new hire is blocked or asks something you can't answer.",
"chatId": "YOUR_HR_CHAT_ID",
"text": "={{ $fromAI('message', \"What HR needs to know, including the employee's name\", 'string') }}",
"additionalFields": {
"appendAttribution": false
}
},
"id": "22e0658a-8568-4a05-a7c2-dcf44e4dfdf3",
"name": "Notify HR",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.telegramTool",
"typeVersion": 1.2,
"position": [
1025,
220
]
},
{
"parameters": {
"chatId": "={{ $('Get message').item.json.chatId }}",
"text": "={{ $json.output }}",
"additionalFields": {
"appendAttribution": false
}
},
"id": "22e0658a-8568-4a05-a7c2-dcf44e4dfdf3",
"name": "Reply on Telegram",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.telegram",
"typeVersion": 1.2,
"position": [
900,
0
]
}
],
"connections": {
"Incoming message": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Get message",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Get message": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Onboarding agent",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Onboarding agent": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Reply on Telegram",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Claude model": {
"ai_languageModel": [
[
{
"node": "Onboarding agent",
"type": "ai_languageModel",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Memory": {
"ai_memory": [
[
{
"node": "Onboarding agent",
"type": "ai_memory",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Onboarding guide": {
"ai_tool": [
[
{
"node": "Onboarding agent",
"type": "ai_tool",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"My checklist": {
"ai_tool": [
[
{
"node": "Onboarding agent",
"type": "ai_tool",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Mark task done": {
"ai_tool": [
[
{
"node": "Onboarding agent",
"type": "ai_tool",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Notify HR": {
"ai_tool": [
[
{
"node": "Onboarding agent",
"type": "ai_tool",
"index": 0
}
]
]
}
},
"pinData": {},
"settings": {
"executionOrder": "v1"
},
"meta": {
"templateCredsSetupCompleted": false
},
"tags": []
}In Make, create a new scenario and add these modules in order:
- Telegram Bot › Watch Updates
- Tools › Set variable / Iterator + Array aggregator (same logic as the Code step)
- Make AI Agents › Run an agent — give it these tools: “Onboarding guide” (Google Sheets), “My checklist” (Google Sheets), “Mark task done” (Google Sheets), “Notify HR” (Telegram Bot); paste the system prompt as the agent's instructions
- Telegram Bot › Send a Text Message or a Reply
- Every module run uses Make operations — the free plan includes a monthly quota.
- Make's built-in functions (map, sum, formatDate…) can replace most Code steps; for complex logic use a code module.
- Module and step names can differ slightly as Make and Zapier update their apps.
In Zapier, create a new Zap and add these steps in order:
- Telegram — New Message
- Code by Zapier — Run JavaScript (paste the code from the Code section)
- Zapier Agents — create an agent (or AI by Zapier for a single step) — give it these tools: “Onboarding guide” (Google Sheets), “My checklist” (Google Sheets), “Mark task done” (Google Sheets), “Notify HR” (Telegram); paste the system prompt as the agent's instructions
- Telegram — Send Message
- Zaps with more than two steps need a paid Zapier plan.
- Webhooks, Filters/Paths and Code by Zapier are premium features on some Zapier plans.
- Code by Zapier runs JavaScript: reuse the code shown above, reading inputs from inputData instead of $json.
- Module and step names can differ slightly as Make and Zapier update their apps.
Tips
- Give each checklist row a unique task_id, such as the Telegram ID plus a short task name.
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