# Build an AI Trending Content Pipeline

You want a workflow that runs on autopilot: it finds trending topics in your niche, writes platform-specific posts, generates images, and publishes to your social accounts. No manual research. No copy-pasting between tools. No clicking "Post" five times.

This is one of the most built (and most broken) workflows on the [n8n forum](https://community.n8n.io) and [Make.com forum](https://community.make.com). Users chain together 10-15 nodes: Google Trends for topics, Perplexity or ChatGPT for writing, DALL-E or Runware for images, and separate API calls for each social platform. The result is a fragile pipeline where one node failure kills the entire run.

Here is a three-step pipeline that does the same thing with fewer moving parts.

## Why most AI content pipelines break

A typical AI content pipeline on n8n or Make.com looks like this:

1. A Schedule Trigger fires daily.
2. An HTTP node fetches trending topics from Google Trends, Reddit, or a news API.
3. An AI node (ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity) turns the topic into a post.
4. Another AI node generates an image prompt.
5. An HTTP node calls DALL-E, Midjourney, or Runware to generate the image.
6. A series of platform-specific HTTP nodes publish to Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, etc.

That is 6+ nodes with 6+ points of failure. Common breakdowns:

* Google Trends API changes its response format.
* The AI generates text that exceeds a platform's character limit.
* The image generation API returns a URL that expires before the publish node runs.
* One platform's OAuth token expires and the entire workflow errors out.
* The AI generates generic content that performs poorly because the prompt lacks context about your niche.

On the Make.com forum, one user shared a "100% AI Powered Social Media System" with 15+ modules. The thread includes follow-up posts from other users reporting the scenario stopped working after a provider API update.

## The three-step pipeline

### Step 1: Research a trending topic

Use the [Create Source](https://help.blotato.com/api/create-source) endpoint with `sourceType: "perplexity-query"`. This sends a research query to Perplexity and returns a sourced, up-to-date answer.

```json
{
  "source": {
    "sourceType": "perplexity-query",
    "text": "What are the top 3 trending topics in AI marketing this week?"
  },
  "customInstructions": "For each topic, write a 200-word summary. Include specific data points and statistics. Cite sources."
}
```

The response returns an `id`. Poll `GET /v2/source-resolutions-v3/{id}` until the status is `completed`. The result contains researched, cited content you can turn into posts.

You can also research from existing content:

```json
{
  "source": {
    "sourceType": "article",
    "url": "https://techcrunch.com/latest-ai-news"
  },
  "customInstructions": "Extract the 3 most shareable takeaways from this article. Write each as a standalone social media post."
}
```

### Step 2: Generate a visual

Use the [Create Visual](https://help.blotato.com/api/create-video) endpoint to generate an image or video from your content. Pass a natural language `prompt` and let Blotato fill in the template inputs.

For a carousel image:

```json
{
  "templateId": "your-carousel-template-id",
  "inputs": {},
  "prompt": "Create a 5-slide carousel about the top AI marketing trends this week. Use the following content: [paste your researched content here]"
}
```

For a short-form video with AI voiceover:

```json
{
  "templateId": "5903fe43-514d-40ee-a060-0d6628c5f8fd",
  "inputs": {},
  "prompt": "Create a 30-second video about AI marketing trends. Narrate the top 3 trends with data points."
}
```

Poll `GET /v2/videos/{id}` until the status is `done`. The response includes `mediaUrl` (for videos) or `imageUrls` (for images) that you pass to the publish step.

Browse available templates at [my.blotato.com/videos/new](https://my.blotato.com/videos/new) or call `GET /v2/videos/templates` to list them programmatically.

### Step 3: Publish to all platforms

Take the generated media URLs and publish to each platform using the [Publish Post](https://help.blotato.com/api/publish-post) endpoint:

```json
{
  "post": {
    "accountId": "your-instagram-account-id",
    "content": {
      "text": "AI marketing is shifting fast. Here are 3 trends to watch this week...",
      "mediaUrls": ["https://blotato-media.s3.amazonaws.com/your-carousel.jpg"],
      "platform": "instagram"
    },
    "target": {
      "targetType": "instagram"
    }
  },
  "useNextFreeSlot": true
}
```

Use `useNextFreeSlot: true` to schedule each post at the next available calendar slot instead of publishing all at once.

## Step-by-step: n8n workflow

1. Install the [Blotato community node](https://help.blotato.com/api/n8n/n8n-blotato-node) in n8n.
2. Add a **Schedule Trigger** node. Set it to run daily (or weekly).
3. Add a Blotato **Create Source** node. Set the source type to `perplexity-query`. Enter a research query relevant to your niche.
4. Add a Blotato **Get Source** node. Pass the source ID. Enable polling until status is `completed`.
5. Add a Blotato **Create Visual** node. Pass the extracted content into the `prompt` field. Select a carousel or video template.
6. Add a Blotato **Get Visual** node. Poll until status is `done`.
7. Add one Blotato **Publish Post** node per platform. Pass the generated media URL into `mediaUrls` and the AI-written text into `text`.
8. Activate the workflow.

Three Blotato nodes (Source, Visual, Publish) replace the 10-15 nodes from a typical pipeline.

## Step-by-step: Make.com scenario

1. Add a **Schedule** trigger module (set to daily or weekly).
2. Add an HTTP module to call `POST https://backend.blotato.com/v2/source-resolutions-v3` with your research query.
3. Add a polling loop (Repeater + HTTP GET) to check the source status until `completed`.
4. Add an HTTP module to call `POST https://backend.blotato.com/v2/videos/from-templates` with the content from the source response.
5. Add another polling loop to check the visual status until `done`.
6. Add a Router module, then one HTTP module per platform calling `POST https://backend.blotato.com/v2/posts`.
7. Activate the scenario.

## Customizing for your niche

The research query in Step 1 determines what content your pipeline produces. Tailor it to your audience:

| Niche          | Example query                                                             |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| SaaS marketing | "What SaaS growth strategies are trending on LinkedIn this week?"         |
| Fitness        | "What fitness trends are going viral on TikTok and Instagram this week?"  |
| Real estate    | "What are the top real estate market trends in the US this week?"         |
| E-commerce     | "What e-commerce and DTC brand strategies are being discussed this week?" |
| AI/Tech        | "What AI product launches and announcements happened this week?"          |

Add `customInstructions` to control the output format: "Write in first person. Use short sentences. Include one data point per paragraph. End with a question to drive engagement."

## Adding a human review step

A fully automated pipeline publishes without oversight. If you want to review content before it goes live, add an approval step:

1. After the Create Source and Create Visual steps, send the generated content to a Slack channel, email, or Telegram message.
2. Wait for manual approval (Blotato's `useNextFreeSlot` schedules the post for a future slot, giving you time to review in the Blotato dashboard before it publishes).
3. Or save as a draft by setting `isDraft: true` in the Create Visual request, then review and publish from the [Blotato dashboard](https://my.blotato.com).

## Forum threads referenced

These are the community discussions that prompted this post:

* [Full Social Media Automation: AI Images + Trending Topics to Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn](https://community.n8n.io/t/full-social-media-automation-ai-images-runware-trending-topics-perplexity-instagram-facebook-linkedin-auto-comments/249592) (n8n)
* [N8N Automation with OpenAI Image 4.0 - Auto Blog + Social Media Posting](https://community.n8n.io/t/n8n-automation-with-openai-image-4-0-auto-blog-social-media-posting/112018) (n8n)
* [AI-powered multi-social media post automation: Google Trends and Perplexity AI](https://n8n.io/workflows/4352-ai-powered-multi-social-media-post-automation-google-trends-and-perplexity-ai/) (n8n template)
* [100% AI Powered Automated Social Media System](https://community.make.com/t/100-ai-powered-automated-social-media-system-step-by-step-tutorial/41202) (Make)
* [Free AI Social Media Content Generation Automation](https://community.make.com/t/free-ai-social-media-content-generation-automation/58101) (Make)
* [I Automated My Content Pipeline with Claude Code](https://dev.to/igorgridel/i-automated-my-content-pipeline-with-claude-code-heres-everything-1a58) (DEV Community)