![How to Build AI Agents for Beginners? [Complete Walkthrough]](https://cufinder.io/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/how_to_build_ai_agents_for_beginners_complete_walkthrough_.webp)
Are you struggling with many daily business tasks and can’t manage your time? Your efforts don’t result in high efficiency? 🙁 Looking for ways to build AI agents? This page explores how to build AI agents for beginners from scratch.
This can be your first effective step toward success in time and cost management and enhanced outcomes. 😊
2024 was the year of AI, and 2025 is set to be the YEAR of AI AGENTS! ֎
So, empower your skills to build AI agents with this practical article! 🚀
First, if you want to learn more about AI agent definition, types, benefits, downsides, future, and more, read our relevant article ↴
📌 What Are AI Agents? [Examples, Types, Ups, Downs, & Future]
And if you are familiar with these concepts and want to go right to the heart of the matter and learn how to build AI agents, keep reading this page. 👀
How to Build AI Agents for Beginners from scratch? [No Code Needed]
In this part, we will learn how to build AI agents for beginners from the very beginning, helping anyone completely unfamiliar with computer knowledge create their own AI agents.
There are various paid and free AI agent builders for your daily tasks. I highly recommend using N8N. This is a free, open-source workflow automation platform that helps users model business processes and integrate applications.
Here, I’m going to build an AI agent in N8N that automatically sends emails to my recipients as soon as I request my AI assistant.
Let’s see how to build this AI agent in minutes simply!
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
First, take a look at the list and image below, which demonstrate the various parts of an AI agent, including:
- Input: The data or information received by the AI agent to process.
- Output: The result or response generated by the AI agent after processing the input.
- Chat Model: The AI system responsible for understanding and generating conversational responses.
- Memory: The capability of an AI agent to store and recall past information.
- Tool: External functionalities used by the AI agent to perform specific tasks.
As I expressed, I’m going to build an AI agent that sends emails to any email address I ask automatically. So, in this example, I choose the Chat Model, Memory, and Tool as follows:
- Chat Model: OpenAI chat model (handles conversational responses)
- Memory: Window buffer memory (stores and recalls information)
- Tool: Gmail (used to send emails)
Do not worry; all this data will be explained in detail. Keep reading. 😉
Let’s start the main process. Enter the n8n.io website and click “Get Started.” ⤵
You need to enter your information and choose an account name. Afterward, press “Try for Free” to complete the sign-up process. ⤵
Then, N8N will ask you some questions that you can view in the image below. ⤵
After replying to these simple questions, your workspace is ready to use. Click “Start Automating.” ⤵
You can see my workspace in the picture below, which serves as a bridge to building AI agents.
Press “Create Workflow,” located in the top right corner. ⤵
Click “Add First Step” to easily start the process of building AI agents. ⤵
A list of triggers will appear in the right section.
As previously mentioned, I’m now going to build an AI agent that sends emails on my behalf. To do so, select “On Chat Message.” ⤵
On the left side of the opened window, you can enable “Make Chat Publicly Available” if you want to permit others to see your agent. Here, I have kept it off, as shown below.
After that, click anywhere outside this box to exit it. ⤵
Then, the page you can see below is demonstrated. It shows a node. Click the “+” button, that is shown next to the “When Chat Message Received” to add another part to this node. ⤵
Press “Advanced AI” on the right side. ⤵
At this point, click “AI Agent.” ⤵
You will see the below page, in which you can choose the chat model, memory, and tool. First, click the “+” under the chat model. ⤵
Select “OpenAI Chat Model.” ⤵
In this step, we need to have an API key to use OpenAI. To get it, enter this link:
📌 https://platform.openai.com/
Sign in with your email account. The setting icon is in the top right corner, exactly next to your profile image. Click it. ⤵
After that, select the “API Keys” on the left side. ⤵
Click the green button of “Create new secret key.” ⤵
Complete the form and click “Create secret key.” ⤵
Your API key will be displayed in real-time. Copy this code. ⤵
Go back to the N8N website and paste the copied API Key into the OpenAI Chat Model. To do that, choose “Create New Credential.” ⤵
Paste the API key and click “Save.” ⤵
Then, return back to the page of OpenAI Chat Model and select “GPT-4o-mini” as your preferred model to complete the setup of the Chat Model. ⤵
After completing the Chat Model, it’s time to choose the memory. Click “+” under the Memory icon. ⤵
From the memory list on the left side of the page, choose “Window Buffer Memory,” which is the easiest option. ⤵
Following that, it’s the moment to select the tool. Click “+” under the tool icon. ⤵
As I want to connect this assistant to my Gmail, I chose “Gmail Tool” on the right side. ⤵
Again, in the opened window, you should create a new credential. ⤵
Press “Sign in with Google” and then “Save”. ⤵
Here, you should allow N8N to access your Google account. ⤵
After letting it access your account, you will see the message “Connection Successful.” ⤵
Afterward, in the process of managing Gmail, select the data it asks you on the page you see below. ⤵
Now that all sections of your AI agent are set, including Chat Model, Memory, and Tool, click “Chat,” which is shown at the bottom of the page. ⤵
In the chat section, ask your AI agent to send an email to any email address you want. Explain what should be written in the Email shortly.
In the image below, I asked my AI agent to send an email to a certain email address and tell them that I would be late for the meeting. ⤵
Your AI agent starts the process, and when all sections become green, it means that the goal is achieved. ⤵
Let me check my Email sent box. As you can see in the image below, there is an email in my sent box that is sent to the person I asked containing exactly the message I wanted. ⤵
Conclusion
In this article I clearly explained how to build AI agents for beginners with pictures and examples, recommending any person even with no knowledge of computers to trust this article and start the procedure. It’s easier than your expectations! 😉
FAQs
1. What is an AI agent?
An AI agent is a software system designed to perform tasks autonomously using artificial intelligence.
2. How are AI agents built?
AI agents are built using machine learning, data processing, and decision-making frameworks to perform tasks autonomously.
3. How to make AI agents for free?
Use the N8N website to build AI agents for free in simple steps.
Bad
Okay
Good
Amazing
