Podcast Automations

Automations let you put any podcast on autopilot and have fresh episodes generated automatically. Each run uses the same pipeline as the New Episode box: it researches the topic, checks your podcast's recent episodes so it doesn't repeat itself, writes the script, and generates the audio, then either saves a draft for review or publishes straight to your feed.

This is most useful for news recaps, daily or weekly roundups, turning newsletters into a podcast feed, and any series where the format stays the same but the content changes.

Triggers

Every automation runs from one of two triggers, chosen when you create it. The trigger is fixed for the life of the automation, so to switch from one to the other, create a new automation.

• Schedule: Generate an episode automatically on a recurring schedule (daily or weekly).
• Inbound Email: Generate an episode whenever an email is sent to the automation's unique address. The email becomes the source for that episode.

Creating a Scheduled Automation

1. Click Automations in the sidebar.
2. Click New Automation.
3. Under Trigger, keep Schedule selected, then click Continue.
4. Configure the automation:
   • Podcast: The show each generated episode posts to. Hosts and voices are inherited from that podcast.
   • Episode length: Pick a duration preset for each episode.
   • Prompt: What every episode should cover, for example "Cover the most important AI product launches and research from the past day."
   • Schedule: Choose the days to Run on, the Time, and the Timezone. A preview shows the upcoming runs.
   • Web Search: Let the agent pull current information before writing.
   • Auto-Publish: When on, each run publishes straight to your feed. When off, each run saves as a draft for you to review, edit, and publish.
   • Include show notes: Adds a list of source links to the end of each generated episode's description. On by default. See Show Notes.
5. Click Create Automation.

Creating an Inbound Email Automation

An inbound email automation generates an episode every time it receives an email, using the email body as the source. It is the easiest way to turn a newsletter into a podcast.

1. Click Automations in the sidebar, then New Automation.
2. Under Trigger, pick Inbound Email, then click Continue. A unique private email address is generated for the automation.
3. Copy the Email address with the copy button. This is the address that triggers runs, so keep it private: anyone who can email it can start a generation.
4. Configure the Podcast, Episode length, Web Search, Auto-Publish, and Include show notes options just like a scheduled automation.
5. The Prompt is optional here. Leave it blank to let each email speak for itself, or add standing guidance that applies to every episode, for example "Summarize the top three stories and skip the sponsor section."
6. Click Create Automation.

To trigger a run, send or forward an email to the address. Jellypod uses the email as the source, then researches, writes, and generates the episode. If the email body is already a finished, ready-to-record script, Jellypod uses it word-for-word instead of writing a new one. See What Are Sources? for details.

Connecting a Newsletter

To turn a newsletter into a podcast feed, point the newsletter at your automation's address:

• Subscribe directly: Use the automation's address as the email when you subscribe to a Substack, Ghost, beehiiv, or other newsletter. Each new issue triggers an episode.
• Forward from your inbox: Set up a forwarding rule (in Gmail, Outlook, or your provider) so issues from a publication you already follow route to the automation's address automatically.

Regenerating the Address

If the address is ever shared or starts receiving unwanted email, open the automation and click Regenerate next to the email address. The old address stops triggering runs immediately, so update anywhere you used it (newsletter subscriptions, forwarding rules).

Inbound email automations are capped at 10 runs per day per automation. Additional emails beyond the cap are ignored until the next day.

What Happens on Each Run

When a scheduled run fires or an inbound email arrives, Jellypod generates the episode in the background. You get an email when the draft is ready, or when it goes live if Auto-Publish is on.

If a run fails, Jellypod emails you the reason and tries again on the next run. After three consecutive failures, or if your account runs out of credits, the automation is paused so it does not keep retrying. A paused automation shows an Auto-Paused status on the Automations page.

Resuming an Automation Paused for Out of Credits

When an automation pauses because your account ran out of credits, the Automations page and the automation's detail page show an Out of credits banner with an Add credits button that takes you to billing.

For a scheduled automation, once you have added credits, open the automation and click Run Now. This reactivates the automation (resuming its schedule) and starts a run immediately, so you do not need to separately toggle it back on. For an inbound email automation, add credits, then resume it from the Automations page; it does not reactivate automatically, so emails sent to its address while paused are dropped.

Managing Automations

Open the Automations page to see each automation's status, next run, and recent runs. From there you can pause, resume, edit the prompt, or change the schedule at any time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do automations use credits?

Yes. Each generated episode consumes credits just like a manually created one. If your account runs out of credits, the automation pauses automatically.

How do I resume an automation that was paused for running out of credits?

Add credits from the Out of credits banner on the Automations page or the automation's detail page. For a scheduled automation, click Run Now to reactivate it and start a run. For an inbound email automation, resume it manually from the Automations page.

Can I review episodes before they publish?

Yes. Turn Auto-Publish off and every run saves as a draft you can review, edit, and publish yourself.

Can an automation run on a schedule and from email?

No. Each automation uses one trigger, chosen when you create it, and it cannot be changed afterward. Create a separate automation if you want both.

How do I turn a newsletter into a podcast?

Create an Inbound Email automation and use its unique address to subscribe to the newsletter, or forward issues to it from your inbox. Each new issue generates an episode from the email.