IT helpdesk AI agent
Staff describe their IT problem in a chat; the agent walks them through known fixes and logs a ticket when needed.
How it works
Trigger: Chat — an employee opens the IT chat
- An employee describes the problem.
- The agent finds the fix in your knowledge base and gives it one step at a time.
- If that doesn't work, it logs a ticket with all the details.
- Urgent issues (security, outages) go straight to your IT Slack channel.
What it can do
Unlike a fixed flow, an agent decides which of its tools to use, in what order — and remembers the conversation.
- Solves common issues: Wi-Fi, printers, email, VPN, passwords resets via your portal
- Logs tickets with device, problem and priority
- Escalates security incidents immediately
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 IT helpdesk assistant for YOUR_COMPANY's staff. Reply in the employee's language, short and step by step.
Tools:
- "Knowledge base": known problems and fixes (problem, steps). Search it before answering.
- "Create ticket": logs a ticket for the IT team. Use it when the fix doesn't work, the problem isn't in the knowledge base, or the person needs access, hardware or a new account.
- "Alert IT": posts to the IT Slack channel. Use it only for urgent issues: many people affected, security incidents, a suspected phishing email that someone clicked, or a down system.
How to help:
1. Ask what's wrong, on which device and since when, if it isn't clear.
2. Give the fix from the knowledge base one step at a time and ask if it worked.
3. If not, create a ticket with the details and tell them the ticket was logged.
Rules:
- Never ask for or accept passwords, MFA codes or recovery codes. If someone shares one, tell them to change it now.
- Never suggest disabling antivirus, firewalls or security updates.
- Don't guess fixes that aren't in the knowledge base for anything risky (data loss, registry, BIOS); create a ticket instead.Safety rules
Built into the prompt and the tools:
- Never asks for passwords or MFA codes
- Never suggests turning off security software
- Hands risky fixes to a person
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 AI Agent tool
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 (247 lines)
{
"name": "IT helpdesk AI agent (Flowngn)",
"nodes": [
{
"parameters": {
"content": "## IT helpdesk AI agent\nStaff describe their IT problem in a chat; the agent walks them through known fixes and logs a ticket when needed.\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": "35c485a3-3b64-489d-a81c-e397bb33eb88",
"name": "Setup notes",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"typeVersion": 1,
"position": [
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},
{
"parameters": {
"public": true,
"mode": "hostedChat",
"initialMessages": "Hi! What's not working? Tell me the device and what you see.",
"options": {
"responseMode": "lastNode"
}
},
"id": "35c485a3-3b64-489d-a81c-e397bb33eb88",
"name": "IT chat",
"type": "@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.chatTrigger",
"typeVersion": 1.1,
"position": [
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"webhookId": "35c485a3-3b64-489d-a81c-e397bb33eb88"
},
{
"parameters": {
"options": {
"systemMessage": "=You are the IT helpdesk assistant for YOUR_COMPANY's staff. Reply in the employee's language, short and step by step.\n\nTools:\n- \"Knowledge base\": known problems and fixes (problem, steps). Search it before answering.\n- \"Create ticket\": logs a ticket for the IT team. Use it when the fix doesn't work, the problem isn't in the knowledge base, or the person needs access, hardware or a new account.\n- \"Alert IT\": posts to the IT Slack channel. Use it only for urgent issues: many people affected, security incidents, a suspected phishing email that someone clicked, or a down system.\n\nHow to help:\n1. Ask what's wrong, on which device and since when, if it isn't clear.\n2. Give the fix from the knowledge base one step at a time and ask if it worked.\n3. If not, create a ticket with the details and tell them the ticket was logged.\n\nRules:\n- Never ask for or accept passwords, MFA codes or recovery codes. If someone shares one, tell them to change it now.\n- Never suggest disabling antivirus, firewalls or security updates.\n- Don't guess fixes that aren't in the knowledge base for anything risky (data loss, registry, BIOS); create a ticket instead."
}
},
"id": "35c485a3-3b64-489d-a81c-e397bb33eb88",
"name": "IT 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": "35c485a3-3b64-489d-a81c-e397bb33eb88",
"name": "Claude model",
"type": "@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.lmChatAnthropic",
"typeVersion": 1.3,
"position": [
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{
"parameters": {
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"id": "35c485a3-3b64-489d-a81c-e397bb33eb88",
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},
{
"parameters": {
"descriptionType": "manual",
"toolDescription": "Returns known IT problems and the steps to fix them.",
"operation": "read",
"documentId": {
"__rl": true,
"value": "YOUR_SPREADSHEET_ID",
"mode": "id"
},
"sheetName": {
"__rl": true,
"value": "Knowledge base",
"mode": "name"
},
"options": {}
},
"id": "35c485a3-3b64-489d-a81c-e397bb33eb88",
"name": "Knowledge base",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.googleSheetsTool",
"typeVersion": 4.5,
"position": [
300,
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},
{
"parameters": {
"descriptionType": "manual",
"toolDescription": "Logs an IT ticket.",
"operation": "append",
"documentId": {
"__rl": true,
"value": "YOUR_SPREADSHEET_ID",
"mode": "id"
},
"sheetName": {
"__rl": true,
"value": "Tickets",
"mode": "name"
},
"columns": {
"mappingMode": "defineBelow",
"value": {
"created_at": "={{ $now.toISO() }}",
"name": "={{ $fromAI('name', \"The employee's name\", 'string') }}",
"email": "={{ $fromAI('email', \"The employee's work email\", 'string') }}",
"device": "={{ $fromAI('device', \"Device and operating system\", 'string') }}",
"problem": "={{ $fromAI('problem', \"Short description of the problem and what was already tried\", 'string') }}",
"priority": "={{ $fromAI('priority', \"low, normal, high or urgent\", 'string') }}",
"status": "open"
}
},
"options": {}
},
"id": "35c485a3-3b64-489d-a81c-e397bb33eb88",
"name": "Create ticket",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.googleSheetsTool",
"typeVersion": 4.5,
"position": [
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},
{
"parameters": {
"descriptionType": "manual",
"toolDescription": "Posts an urgent issue to the IT channel.",
"select": "channel",
"channelId": {
"__rl": true,
"value": "#it",
"mode": "name"
},
"text": "={{ $fromAI('message', \"The urgent issue, who reported it and how many people are affected\", 'string') }}",
"otherOptions": {}
},
"id": "35c485a3-3b64-489d-a81c-e397bb33eb88",
"name": "Alert IT",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.slackTool",
"typeVersion": 2.2,
"position": [
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}
],
"connections": {
"IT chat": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "IT agent",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Claude model": {
"ai_languageModel": [
[
{
"node": "IT agent",
"type": "ai_languageModel",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Memory": {
"ai_memory": [
[
{
"node": "IT agent",
"type": "ai_memory",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Knowledge base": {
"ai_tool": [
[
{
"node": "IT agent",
"type": "ai_tool",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Create ticket": {
"ai_tool": [
[
{
"node": "IT agent",
"type": "ai_tool",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Alert IT": {
"ai_tool": [
[
{
"node": "IT 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:
- Webhooks › Custom webhook — called by your website's chat widget
- Make AI Agents › Run an agent — give it these tools: “Knowledge base” (Google Sheets), “Create ticket” (Google Sheets), “Alert IT” (Slack); paste the system prompt as the agent's instructions
- Every module run uses Make operations — the free plan includes a monthly quota.
- 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:
- Zapier Chatbots, or Webhooks by Zapier — Catch Hook from your chat widget
- Zapier Agents — create an agent (or AI by Zapier for a single step) — give it these tools: “Knowledge base” (Google Sheets), “Create ticket” (Google Sheets), “Alert IT” (Slack); paste the system prompt as the agent's instructions
- Zaps with more than two steps need a paid Zapier plan.
- Module and step names can differ slightly as Make and Zapier update their apps.
Tips
- Start the knowledge base with your 20 most common tickets. That covers most questions.
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