A federal agency was receiving hundreds of citizen inquiries monthly through a single shared email inbox. Inquiries ranged from document requests to eligibility questions to complaints — all landing in the same place, handled by two officers, with a response time averaging 3 days. Most inquiries were repetitive: the same 12 questions accounted for over 70% of volume.
An automated inquiry routing and response system using n8n Cloud. Incoming emails are classified by type using keyword matching and a simple rules engine. Repetitive inquiries (FAQs, document download links, eligibility checks) are answered automatically within minutes. Complex or unclassified inquiries are routed to the correct officer with a priority tag and a draft response they can review and send.
A weekly digest gives management visibility into inquiry volume, most common topics, and resolution rates — data the agency had never had before.
80% of inquiries are now handled fully automatically. Average response time dropped from 3 days to 5 minutes for automated responses, and to same-day for routed inquiries. Staff time freed from inbox management: approximately 3 hours per day, redirected to case handling and service delivery.
Citizens were calling to ask if their emails arrived. Now they get a response in minutes.
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