Gualter Augusto
Head of Support Engineering
n8n
Open-source workflow automation tool with visual editor and custom code support for developers
Industry
Developer Tools
Support team
16
Monthly Volume
2000
website
www.n8n.io
n8n scaled from 100 to 2,000 tickets per week while only doubling their team. With Plain's API, they built their own AI agent that now handles 60% of tickets — doing the work of 10 people.
The challenge
By summer 2025, ticket volume had exploded from 100 to over 2,000 per week. The support team, just 8 people, couldn't keep up.
"Response times stretched to 2 or 3 weeks. Customers were complaining a lot, and they were right, it wasn't the level of support we wanted to provide. There was so much noise coming in that we couldn't get to the real issues fast enough."
Gualter Augusto
Head of Support Engineering
Their existing tool, which had worked in the beginning, couldn’t keep pace. The UI felt dated. Integrations were complex to build and maintain.
And for a company whose entire product is about connecting anything to everything, the irony wasn't lost on them: their support tool was the one thing they couldn't easily extend.
With the support team set to double again, Gualter needed to choose: go with a market leader like Zendesk, or bet on something built for how modern technical teams work.
"We were looking for a modern tool with a better experience for agents. But at the same time, we needed a powerful API that I could extend with n8n. We use our own product for everything. Support tooling had to be no different."
Gualter Augusto
Head of Support Engineering
Why Plain?
When evaluating platforms, Plain stood out for several key reasons:
API-first architecture that matched how n8n builds software
A modern, intuitive UI that agents actually liked
Transparent, predictable pricing with no surprises as they continued to scale
A team that felt like partners, not a vendor
The implementation was remarkably fast. Despite never having used GraphQL before, Gualter learned it during onboarding and shipped their first AI integration just a week and a half after going live.
"If I had to pick what made the difference, it was two things: the API is incredibly powerful, and the people. This was one of the best POC stages I've done. The Plain team was available, approachable, and genuinely invested in our success. If you look at our Slack channel from the beginning, there were probably 50 threads from me asking questions. Matt [Plain’s CTO] and everyone on the team were incredibly available. That's how I was able to move so fast."
Gualter Augusto
Head of Support Engineering
The impact
Plain unified n8n’s support operations with the AI-native support system that their scale demanded.
Unified multi-channel support. All requests from email, Slack, and their support portal flow into one inbox. Enterprise customers get dedicated Slack channels; everyone else uses their preferred contact method.
Intelligent AI labeling and auto-assignment. Tickets are labeled and routed automatically based on region, priority, and severity. Agents only see their own queue; no manual triaging required.
Custom reporting and intelligence. Webhook events pipe into Metabase for custom reporting, providing full visibility into support performance.
Bring-your-own-AI architecture. Plain's API passes LLM-ready conversation history, so n8n could build their own AI agent without maintaining a separate context database.
n8n's custom architecture with Plain's API
Since switching to Plain, n8n has transformed its support operation:
Response times dropped from weeks to hours
Before Plain, customers waited 2-3 weeks for responses. Now, enterprise customers get responses in 6-8 hours on average, with complex tickets fully resolved in 1-2 days.
AI now handles 60% of tickets
n8n built their own AI agent with clear human escalation paths. As Gualter shares, "We have AI in front of 60% of our tickets today. It's the only way we can sustain our growth without hiring linearly. When I look at the reports, the AI agent is doing the work of 10 people and costs a fraction of what one agent would."
Support scaled sustainably
Ticket volume increased 20x, but the team only doubled in size.
Expanded beyond support
Plain's flexibility has led to adoption across the company, with legal, security, and other internal teams now using Plain for their own workflows.
Higher quality per interaction
With AI filtering routine queries, agents spend their time on tickets that actually need a human.
"Agents now focus on improving AI and high-value tickets, rather than filtering through repetitive low-value tickets."
Charles Charalambous
Junior Support Engineer at n8n
What's next
n8n has an ambitious goal: reach 80% AI ticket resolution by the end of 2026. With Plain's API-first approach and their own automation expertise, they’re confident they’ll get there.
"What I'd tell other support teams at scaling dev tools companies: there's nothing out there that offers an edge over Plain. If you're somewhat technical, there's nothing you can't build."
Gualter Augusto
Head of Support Engineering
