14/06/2026
Last week, I saw an Upwork job post that looked simple on the surface 😅
AI lead generation automation.
Research leads…
Create outreach drafts…
Send for approval…
Update the CRM…
Nothing too complicated at first glance.
But as I reviewed the requirements, I noticed one challenge ⚠️
The original setup needed paid tools.
So instead of depending on those tools, I decided to rebuild the same process using a more accessible setup.
n8n.
GoHighLevel.
Google Sheets.
Google Docs.
Gemini.
Slack.
Same goal.
Almost the same function.
But built with a more practical and flexible workflow.
The system starts with a simple Google Sheet.
Add a lead.
Set the status to “New Lead Imported.”
Then n8n takes over.
From there, the workflow processes one contact at a time.
No messy bulk processing.
No mixed records.
No duplicate runs.
Each lead is moved step by step:
• Contact is created or updated in GoHighLevel
• Opportunity is added to the pipeline
• Website content is pulled and cleaned
• AI researches the company
• Lead score and offer fit are generated
• A personalized email draft is created
• The draft is stored in Google Docs
• Slack sends the approval request
But I didn’t stop there.
I also added a Slack approval flow.
When the draft is ready, the reviewer can react directly in Slack.
✅ means approved.
❌ means rejected.
Once approved, the opportunity moves forward inside GoHighLevel.
If rejected, the system updates the status accordingly.
No manual CRM updates.
No copy-pasting between tools.
No guessing where the lead stands.
What looked like a simple outreach task became a full AI-assisted lead research and approval system.
The biggest realization for me was this:
AI automation should not just create content.
It should create a process.
Because outreach is not just about generating a message.
It’s about:
Capturing the lead.
Researching properly.
Keeping the CRM updated.
Giving humans control.
And moving the opportunity forward with less manual work.
This build reminded me that automation does not always need to be expensive to be useful.
Sometimes, you just need the right structure.
A simple sheet.
A smart workflow.
A CRM pipeline.
And a clear approval process.
I also created the full build documentation here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/18Lc31NXvAw5Lfm9BP0w90qzxc5NmfBIcJ9hGuiwDjNs/edit?usp=sharing
