How this Rural City in Georgia uses AI Podcasts for Local News
Chattahoochee Hills isn’t your average Georgia suburb.
Tucked just southwest of Atlanta, it’s a patchwork of green space and unique history, fiercely intentional about keeping its rural soul in a rapidly urbanizing region.
And if you’d asked anyone a year ago, “How does a city like this tell its story?”, the answer probably would’ve been via newsletters, maybe a website, some photos of parks and festivals, and a handful of social posts.
Today, the answer is something completely different: podcasts, powered by AI.
Watch the full interview here:
Meet Chris
Meet Chris Montesinos, the city’s Economic Development Director.
His mission isn’t just about bringing jobs and growth to Chattahoochee Hills; it’s about sharing the city's magic with the rest of the world. And that's a hard challenge. It meant finding new ways to reach people, from residents, tourists, and business owners, and getting them to care about what makes the city so special.
Intro to Podcasting
Like most of us, Chris has no podcasting experience. His background was strategy, not audio production.
But after a resident mentioned a local podcast, he started looking into what was possible. He tested out a few platforms, including NotebookLM (which we compared here), but quickly hit a wall. The options felt rigid with little control over the narration or the flow. He was looking for something flexible that would let him shape the voice, pace, and feel of each story.
That’s when he found Jellypod. At this point, we had just launched, and Chris was among its first users. What drew him in wasn’t just the realistic sounding AI, but the control.
He could upload research, craft a script, pick the perfect narration style, even tweak the pacing and pronunciation of tricky local names. For a city like Chattahoochee Hills, with deep Civil War roots, a quirky arts scene, and an ever-changing mix of people and ideas, that level of customization was key.
It didn’t take long for Chris to go from experimenting to producing. Within six weeks, he’d launched fourteen podcasts, each focused on a different slice of Chattahoochee Hills life.
He brought in research from other AI tools, blended it with his local knowledge, and used Jellypod to spin it all into engaging episodes. And for Chris, the best part was that production time plummeted from a full day down to just forty minutes per episode.
Suddenly, it was possible to create fresh, relevant content almost on demand.
Not Just Faster, But Better
Jellypod’s editing made it possible to fine-tune every script, correct pronunciation, and add just the right amount of dramatic pause or emphasis. Chris could switch up voices to better fit each topic, going more formal for arts and culture or a little country for history.
These podcasts weren’t just vanity projects, either.
They live directly on the city’s own website, linked in monthly newsletters, and available to anyone curious about what’s happening around town. Staff and residents love them and local partners started to see how audio storytelling could make city news more personal and engaging.
And even those with no podcasting experience found themselves thinking, "maybe I could do that too.”
Where to go from here?
Chris is quick to point out that the journey isn’t over. There are always more stories to tell and new features to try. He’s looking forward to deeper video integration and even richer ways to combine voice and visuals as Jellypod evolves.
But for Chris, Jellypods impact is already clear. An impossible task that used to take days now takes minutes.
Chattahoochee Hills leverages AI podcasts as a creative, engaging way to communicate. It unlocked a new level of creativity, letting a small team produce content with the polish and reach of a big media operation.
If a city of 3,500 in rural Georgia can do this, anyone can.
Whether you’re a marketer, a city official, or just someone with a story to tell, Jellypod is the tool that can make it happen.
