n8n has launched n8n Assistant, a preview AI-assisted workflow builder designed to turn a plain-language automation request into a workflow that teams can inspect, edit and debug in the n8n canvas. The release is available for new n8n Cloud instances by default and for eligible self-hosted Docker deployments running n8n 2.36 or later.
The central proposition is not simply generating a workflow template. n8n Assistant is intended to plan a workflow, build it on the canvas, request credentials when they are needed, execute the result, inspect the execution and propose fixes if something fails. The resulting automation remains a standard n8n workflow rather than a separate black-box artifact. That means teams retain access to the canvas, execution history and node-level logs.
According to n8n's official Assistant announcement, the feature is being shipped behind a preview flag and remains in active development. That status matters: n8n explicitly advises users to review workflows and execution logs before relying on an initial build. The assistant can iterate on a failed workflow, but it cannot eliminate the need to verify credentials, third-party configuration and the actual business logic being automated.
