So we took a big step and dove into n8n’s AI Agent mode. And while the tutorials made it look simple, the real world had a few surprises in store. Here’s what happened behind the scenes: We successfully integrated the AI Agent node, fine-tuned our prompts, and ran full test queries from start to finish. That part felt like a win. Then we tried a simple weather API to test things further—but ran into trouble with credentials. The UI only gave us an “Access Token” field and no clear spot for an API key. Turns out, without a basic understanding of headers, query parameters, and authentication flows, you can get stuck fast. Even with low-code platforms, knowing a bit of JavaScript and how to handle HTTP requests goes a long way. Mapping JSON paths, injecting credentials, and debugging payloads isn’t always drag-and-drop—it takes real logic. That was our wake-up call: automation still favors those willing to dig a little deeper. Follow along if you're building, learning, and occasionally faceplanting—just like us.

If you're running a cleaning business, you know how chaotic things can get—leads coming in from all directions, appointments shifting constantly, invoices piling up. It's a lot. At ScaleMyCleaningBusiness, we’ve hit that wall too. And instead of hiring more admin help, we’re exploring something different: automation with n8n. We're starting small. Here's what step one looks like: A webhook in Slack to catch new messages as they come in An AI agent to receive the message and create an answer Slack again to send the answer to both our team and our clients Is it working perfectly yet? No. Are we figuring it out in real time? Absolutely. This post kicks off a 12-part series where we’ll share our full journey—mistakes, wins, and what we’d do differently—so other cleaning businesses can learn with us (or skip the headaches). Up next: Building our first webhook and troubleshooting the early hiccups. Follow along if you’re trying to streamline the chaos, too.