Recipes / Productivity
Morning briefing email: news, tasks and weather
At 06:30 it pulls the top BBC News headlines via RSS, open tasks from a Google Sheet and a one-day Open-Meteo forecast, then Gemini writes a ~120-word briefing that lands in Gmail. Weather step continues even if the API fails.
App vs bot, side by side
| Old app / habit | Bot | |
|---|---|---|
| Tool | News, to-do and weather apps checked by hand | n8n schedule + BBC RSS + Sheets + Open-Meteo + Gemini + Gmail |
| Monthly cost | Not reported | Not reported (template is free; needs a Gemini API key) |
| Setup | None (already in use) | Not reported · Beginner |
| Your time | Baseline | Not reported |
| Maintenance | Handled by vendor/you as before | Update RSS feed, location and task sheet as needed; watch API key limits. |
| Privacy | Data stays with the app vendor | Headlines, your task list and location go to Google Gemini. |
Full comparison
| Replaces | News, to-do and weather apps checked by hand |
|---|---|
| Bot / agent stack | n8n schedule + BBC RSS + Sheets + Open-Meteo + Gemini + Gmail |
| Monthly cost before | Not reported |
| Monthly cost after | Not reported (template is free; needs a Gemini API key) |
| Setup time | Not reported |
| Time saved | Not reported |
| Skill level | Beginner |
| Reliability | 3/5: published template with clear steps; no long-term usage data in the source. Weather step is built to fail gracefully. |
| Maintenance | Update RSS feed, location and task sheet as needed; watch API key limits. |
| Privacy & data | Headlines, your task list and location go to Google Gemini. |
| Best for | Anyone who opens 3+ apps every morning |
| Not for | People who need real-time alerts during the day |
Pros and cons
Pros
- One short email replaces three app checks
- Open-Meteo weather needs no API key
- Keeps running if weather fails
Cons
- Single news source by default (BBC)
- Tasks must live in a Google Sheet
How it works
- Schedule fires at 06:30
- Read BBC RSS, keep top six headlines
- Read open tasks from Google Sheets
- Fetch Open-Meteo forecast
- Gemini writes a ~120-word briefing
- Send via Gmail
Source and evidence
n8n community template (Oka Hironobu, updated about 3 months before our check) with step-by-step setup.
Read the original n8n template source ↗
“Not reported” means the source doesn't say. We never fill gaps with guesses. Numbers marked “per author” or “vendor claim” are the source's own and weren't independently tested. Source re-checked 2026-10-16.
Our rating is an editorial opinion based on the public source above, not lab testing. Spot an error? Request a correction.
Plain-text summary (for search and AI assistants)
Morning briefing email: news, tasks and weather. Replaces News, to-do and weather apps checked by hand with n8n schedule + BBC RSS + Sheets + Open-Meteo + Gemini + Gmail. Cost before: Not reported. Cost after: Not reported (template is free; needs a Gemini API key). Setup: Not reported, Beginner. Time saved: Not reported. Reliability 3/5: 3/5: published template with clear steps; no long-term usage data in the source. Weather step is built to fail gracefully. Best for: Anyone who opens 3+ apps every morning. Not for: People who need real-time alerts during the day. Source: https://n8n.io/workflows/17519-send-a-daily-ai-morning-briefing-with-google-gemini-rss-sheets-gmail-and-weather/
Related recipes
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