Automations: auto-generate episodes, shorts, videos

An automation generates new content on its own: on a repeating cadence, or whenever an email reaches its private address. Each run works like creating that content by hand. This page is for generating new content; to publish an existing episode later, see Scheduling episodes. Active scheduled automations also show their upcoming runs on the Content Calendar.

Choose an output and a trigger

Both choices are fixed when you create the automation. To change either, create a new automation.

• Output: Episode (a new episode for one of your podcasts), Short (vertical video), or Video (horizontal video). A video automation can switch its Format between Short and Video when you edit it. Voiceovers are not supported.
• Trigger: Schedule (days of the week at a set time) or Inbound Email (each email sent to the automation's address is the source for a run). One automation cannot use both.

Start from Automations in the sidebar, or from Create Automation in the episode composer on a podcast's page, which pre-selects Episode for that podcast.

Create an episode automation

1. Open Automations, then New Automation.
2. Choose Episode, then Continue. Choose Schedule or Inbound Email, then Continue.
3. Fill in the settings:
   • Title: required, names the automation in your list.
   • Podcast: where each episode posts. Hosts and voices come from that podcast. Archived podcasts do not appear in the picker for a new automation.
   • Duration: target length, from 3 to 60 minutes (default 7). Presets above your plan's episode limit are locked.
   • Prompt: what every episode should cover. Required for Schedule. Optional for Inbound Email, where you can leave it blank or add standing guidance.
   • Run on, Time, Timezone (Schedule only): a preview lists upcoming runs.
   • Auto-Publish: on, each run publishes to your feed; off, each run saves as a draft to review, edit and publish.
   • Include show notes: adds source links to each episode's description. See show notes.
4. Click Create Automation. If the automation is currently disabled when you save changes later, Jellypod asks whether to Save only or Save & Enable.

Create a video or short automation

Follow the same steps, choosing Short or Video. Only these fields differ:

• Host and Language: the character who narrates and the narration language. A host tuned for a different dominant language shows a notice, but generation follows the language you choose.
• Video settings: duration (Short: 30 seconds or 1 minute; Video: 3 to 25 minutes, up to your plan's cap), orientation, brand kit and watermark or logo. See video creation settings. Shorts also let you keep or remove generated background music.
• Visual style: the generated look, from the full style catalog.

There is no Auto-Publish for video or short automations. Every run creates a private result in your video library.

Inbound email automations

Creating an Inbound Email automation generates a unique private address. Copy it from Email address. Anyone who can email it can start a generation, so keep it private.

Send or forward an email to the address to trigger a run, and Jellypod uses the email as the source. A source that already reads like a finished script is used word for word instead of rewritten.

• Connect a newsletter: subscribe with the address directly (Substack, Ghost, beehiiv and others), or set a forwarding rule in your inbox. Each new issue triggers a run.
• Confirmation emails: newsletters usually send a confirmation before delivering issues. Jellypod forwards it to your own inbox instead of making a run. Click the link there. Confirmations do not count toward the daily limit or use credits. If it never arrives, check spam, then subscribe again.
• Regenerate the address: if the address is shared or gets unwanted mail, click Regenerate next to it. The old address stops triggering runs immediately, so update every subscription and forwarding rule.
• Daily limit: 10 runs per day per automation. Extra emails that day are ignored.

What happens on each run

Jellypod generates in the background and emails you when an episode draft is ready (or live, with Auto-Publish on) or when a video or short is ready to review. Runs spend credits like manual creation.

If a run fails, Jellypod emails you the reason and the automation tries again on its next run. Three consecutive failures pause it with an Auto-Paused status. Review the latest failure before resuming. An automation paused for invalid saved settings or lost access shows Needs Attention. A manually disabled one shows Disabled.

Out of credits

When credits run out, automations pause with Needs Credits, and the Automations page and each automation's detail page show an Out of credits banner with Add credits, which opens billing.

After you add credits, the badge changes to Paused and the banner offers Resume all and Dismiss. You can also use Resume on one automation. Scheduled automations wait for their next time, and inbound ones wait for the next email. Resuming never creates a run or replays anything missed. Dismiss only hides the reminder.

Manage automations

The Automations page lists every automation in your organization, with status, next run and recent runs. From each row's menu you can Edit, Run now (inbound automations show their address instead), Disable or Enable, and delete. A podcast's episode automations also appear in an Automations section on its podcast page once it has at least one. Video and short automations are managed only from the Automations page.

Plan limits

Automations included are 2 on Starter and Educator, 10 on Creator, and no plan cap on Business and Enterprise. See plan limits. The limit counts active and paused automations of every output together, across all podcasts. At the limit, creating a new one prompts an upgrade. Editing or running existing ones is never blocked.

Automation did not run

Check these in order:

1. Status: an automation that is not active does not run. Look for Auto-Paused, Needs Credits, Needs Attention or Disabled in the list, then see What happens on each run.
2. Timezone: scheduled times use the automation's Timezone. Check it and the upcoming-runs preview.
3. Daily inbound limit: more than 10 emails in a day are ignored, see Inbound email automations. An old address stops working after Regenerate.
4. Credits: see Out of credits. Resuming does not replay missed runs.
5. Plan limit: this only blocks creating new automations, see Plan limits.

Open Help & Support in the Studio sidebar to chat with the team, or email support@jellypod.com.