Create AI News Videos with HeyGen Avatars and Auto-Post to Social Media

Description

Automatically generate short AI avatar videos based on trending news, then post them across social media platforms—fully automated using n8n, HeyGen, ChatGPT, and Blotato.

Tools & Services Used:

n8n (Self-hosted required due to Community Nodes)
HeyGen (for creating AI avatar videos)
OpenAI (for script and caption generation)
Blotato (for social media distribution)
Hacker News (for sourcing trending articles)

Workflow Overview:

This automation performs the following steps:

Fetches trending news from Hacker News
Generates a short script using ChatGPT
Creates an AI avatar video with HeyGen
Generates platform-specific captions
Posts the content across social media with Blotato

Prerequisites:

Make sure you have active accounts and API keys for:

HeyGen
OpenAI
Blotato

How to Use This Template

Step 1: Import the Template

Open your self-hosted n8n instance
Go to "Workflows" > "Create Workflow"
Click the three dots (…) > "Import from File"
Upload the downloaded JSON file

Step 2: Configure API Keys

Only two nodes need customization:

Setup HeyGen: Add your HeyGen API key, avatar ID, and voice ID
Prepare for Publish: Add your Blotato API key, account IDs, and page IDs

Optional platforms like Pinterest and Bluesky are already disabled by default.

Finding Your HeyGen Avatar & Voice IDs
To customize the AI avatar video:

Log into your HeyGen Dashboard

Navigate to "Avatars" → choose or create an avatar → copy the Avatar ID

Navigate to "Voices" → select a preferred voice → copy the Voice ID

You can upload a custom avatar or voice if you have access to those features in your plan

This allows you to align the video style with your brand’s tone and personality.

Initial Test Run

For your first run:

Shorten the AI script in the prompt to 5 seconds
Enable only one social media platform
Adjust the wait time to 2 minutes to speed up testing
Verify that the video is created and successfully posted

Once successful, enable more platforms and scale your automation.

Workflow Diagram:

Use Cases

Business owners automating daily content
Creators scaling short-form video production
Freelancers offering automation as a service
Anyone building an AI-driven media workflow

Disclaimer
This workflow uses Community Nodes, which only function on self-hosted n8n instances.
This workflow may not work on n8n Cloud without some modifications.