Build not using tools, only outputting automatic messages

[gioe123]

I was able to get my build working briefly. I asked it to summarise an email for me and worked as intended only once. Now, even if i feed it the same input it only sends me the automatic message from n8n that it is ready to help me.

No error messages

## I'm here and ready to help with a sprinkle of positivity! 🎉 If you need assistance with checking emails, organizing your calendar, managing tasks, or fetching the latest news, just let me know what you’d like to do! 

How can I assist you today? 😊✉️📅

This message was sent automatically with n8n (https://n8n.io/?utm_source=n8n-internal&utm_medium=powered_by&utm_campaign=n8n-nodes-base.telegram_812c012ea6aba664125cb7a346fa576340c25b94eaa1b4b790f8b2f618543114)

## Information on your n8n setup
- **n8n version:**
- **Database (default: SQLite):**
- **n8n EXECUTIONS_PROCESS setting (default: own, main):**
- **Running n8n via browser**
- **Operating system:PC

[n8n]

It looks like your topic is missing some important information. Could you provide the following if applicable.

• n8n version:
• Database (default: SQLite):
• n8n EXECUTIONS_PROCESS setting (default: own, main):
• Running n8n via (Docker, npm, n8n cloud, desktop app):
• Operating system:

[sijobi2222]

What is your context window length in the memory attached to your agent?

[gioe123]

context window length set to 5

[gioe123]

still unsolved

[Yo_its_prakash]

This is a common issue with AI Agent nodes not using their tools. Try these fixes:

1. Modify your system message to be more explicit:

You are an email assistant. ALWAYS use the email summarization tool when users send you emails to summarize. Never try to summarize emails yourself without using the tool.

2. Check input format:

• Ensure email content is properly formatted in your workflow
• Add a Function node before AI Agent to structure data:

return {
  json: {
    input: `Please summarize this email: ${$input.item.json.emailContent}`
  }
};

3. Test with tool-focused prompt (Try this first):

• Instead of “summarize this email”, try “use the summarize tool on this email”

This is often a prompt engineering issue - the AI needs very explicit instructions to use tools instead of answering directly.

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