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

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: 1. Fetches trending news from Hacker News 2. Generates a short script using ChatGPT 3. Creates an AI avatar video with HeyGen 4. Generates platform-specific captions 5. 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** 1. Open your self-hosted n8n instance 2. Go to Workflows > Create Workflow 3. Click the three dots () > Import from File 4. 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: 1. Log into your HeyGen Dashboard 2. Navigate to Avatars → choose or create an avatar → copy the Avatar ID 3. 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: 1. Shorten the AI script in the prompt to 5 seconds 2. Enable only one social media platform 3. Adjust the wait time to 2 minutes to speed up testing 4. 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.