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Build Your AI Podcast in 15 Minutes with n8n and ElevenLabs
Podcasting used to require a decent microphone, audio editing software, and hours of recording time. Not anymore. With n8n and elevenlabs, you can build a fully automated AI podcast pipeline in under 15 minutes — no mic, no studio, no problem.
In this guide, we'll walk you through exactly how to connect these two tools to transform any text content into a polished, lifelike audio episode ready for publishing.
What You'll Need
- A free or paid account on n8n (cloud or self-hosted)
- An API key from elevenlabs
- A text source — this could be an RSS feed, a Google Doc, a Notion page, or even a manual trigger
- Optionally: a storage destination like Google Drive, Dropbox, or an S3 bucket
How the Workflow Works
The core idea is simple: n8n fetches or receives your text content, sends it to the elevenlabs Text-to-Speech API, and saves the resulting audio file wherever you want it. Let's break it down step by step.
Step 1 — Trigger Your Workflow
Start your n8n workflow with a trigger. Common options include:
- Schedule Trigger — runs automatically every day, week, or hour
- Webhook Trigger — fires when you send a POST request with new content
- RSS Feed Trigger — activates when a new blog post or article appears
For an automated daily show, the Schedule Trigger combined with an RSS source works perfectly. The n8n workflow polls your chosen RSS feed and passes the latest article text downstream.
Step 2 — Prepare Your Text
Raw RSS or blog content often includes HTML tags, metadata, or formatting that you don't want read aloud. Add a Function node in n8n to clean up the text — strip HTML, trim whitespace, and cap the length if needed. elevenlabs works best with clean, natural-language text.
You can also add an intro line like 'Welcome to your daily AI briefing!' or a custom sign-off to give your podcast a consistent brand voice.
Step 3 — Send Text to ElevenLabs
This is where the magic happens. Use an HTTP Request node in n8n to call the elevenlabs Text-to-Speech API.
- Method: POST
- URL:
https://api.elevenlabs.io/v1/text-to-speech/{voice_id} - Headers: Include your elevenlabs API key as
xi-api-key - Body: JSON with your cleaned text, model ID, and voice settings
- Response: Set to binary to receive the MP3 audio file directly
elevenlabs offers a wide range of hyper-realistic voices. Choose one that fits your podcast persona — professional, casual, energetic, or calm.
Step 4 — Save and Distribute Your Episode
Once n8n receives the audio file from elevenlabs, route it to your preferred destination:
- Google Drive — for simple file storage and sharing
- Dropbox or S3 — for more scalable or public-facing hosting
- Email or Slack — to notify your team or subscribers that a new episode is ready
- RSS Feed Generator — to publish directly to podcast platforms like Spotify or Apple Podcasts
The n8n workflow handles all of this automatically, every time new content is available.
Pro Tips for a Better AI Podcast
Use Multiple Voices
elevenlabs lets you switch voices within the same workflow. You can simulate a co-host format by alternating between two voices for different sections of your script — all automated inside n8n.
Add AI-Generated Content
Connect an OpenAI node in n8n before the elevenlabs step to generate the script itself. Feed it a topic or a bullet-point summary and let GPT-4 write the full episode script. Your entire podcast — from idea to audio — runs on autopilot.
Monitor Your Character Usage
elevenlabs charges based on characters converted. Keep an eye on episode length and use n8n to trim scripts that exceed your monthly budget.
Why This Combo Is So Powerful
n8n is one of the most flexible automation platforms available — open-source, self-hostable, and packed with over 400 integrations. elevenlabs is widely regarded as the gold standard for AI voice synthesis, producing audio that's nearly indistinguishable from a human speaker.
Together, they remove every barrier to entry for podcasting. You don't need to record, edit, or master audio. You just need a workflow — and now you have one.
Get Started Today
Set up your first AI podcast pipeline with n8n and elevenlabs today. The initial build takes about 15 minutes. After that, your show runs itself — publishing fresh episodes whenever new content appears, without you lifting a finger.
This is what AI-powered content creation looks like in practice: fast, consistent, and completely automated.
This post was created with tools we use and recommend: n8n for workflow automation, Turbotic as an AI-native automation alternative, ElevenLabs for AI voiceover, Placid for visual content creation, and Hostinger for reliable VPS hosting. Some links are affiliate links.