Document Automation: Replace Manual Extraction & Review with Smart OCR and Q&A

This workflow automates manual document processing, replacing time-intensive text extraction and question-answering tasks with AI-driven OCR for PDFs and images. It uses Webhook (n8n-nodes-base.webhook) to receive document URLs, IF (n8n-nodes-base.if) for input validation, Code (n8n-nodes-base.code) for parameter processing and error handling, and another IF for task routing (extraction or Q&A). HTTPRequest (n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest) leverages Mistral AI for text extraction or answering queries, with Code nodes formatting responses. RespondToWebhook (n8n-nodes-base.respondToWebhook) delivers results or errors with CORS support. This aids legal, HR, and research teams handling 100-500 documents monthly, enabling rapid text extraction or answers like 'What are the contract terms?' without manual review, reducing errors and accelerating workflows.\n\nThis workflow saves 5-8 hours weekly on document analysis for teams, ideal for small to medium businesses (10-100 employees) in legal, education, or compliance sectors. Requires Mistral AI API (~$0.002/1k tokens) and n8n (free self-hosted or $20/month cloud). Scalable to thousands of documents, limited by Mistral API costs and document size.\n\nThis workflow requires n8n from n8n.io (self-hosted) or cloud.n8n.io. For Mistral: Sign up at mistral.ai, get API key from dashboard, add to MistralCloudApi credentials in n8n. Configure HTTPRequest nodes with Mistral endpoint (https://api.mistral.ai/v1/chat/completions). Webhook auto-generates URL on activation; set path to 'process-document'. Ensure Code nodes validate URLs and tasks correctly.\n\nThis workflow is tested by POSTing JSON with document URLs (e.g., {'url': 'https://example.com/doc.pdf', 'task': 'extract'}) to webhook URL, verifying extracted text or Q&A responses. Common errors: Invalid Mistral key (regenerate in dashboard), rate limits (monitor usage/upgrade tier). Deploy by activating workflow. Monitor n8n logs for API failures; optimize by adjusting max_tokens in HTTPRequest. Reprocess documents monthly for updates.", "businessValue": "Saves 5-8 hours/week on document text extraction and Q&A", "setupTime": "30-45 minutes", "difficulty": "Intermediate", "requirements": ["Mistral AI API key (pay-per-use ~$0.002/1k tokens)", "n8n installed (free or $20/month cloud)", "Publicly accessible document URLs"], "useCase": "Automated document text extraction and Q&A for compliance"