Tech guide
AI Daily: Make an 8-Minute AI & Tech News Briefing (Optimist vs. Skeptic)
The day's AI news in 8 minutes — one optimist, one skeptic.
Turn today's AI and tech headlines into a tight 8-minute two-host briefing — one optimist, one skeptic — starting from a single pre-built template.
AI Daily is a pre-built template that turns the day's artificial-intelligence and tech headlines into a tight, two-voice briefing you can publish before your coffee gets cold. Instead of a flat news read, it stages a conversation between an optimist who sees the upside and a skeptic who pokes holes — the format that makes dense tech news actually listenable.
It works because contrast creates clarity. When one host hypes a new model launch and the other asks 'but who's paying for the compute,' the listener gets both the hook and the caveat in eight focused minutes. You can run it as-is, connect a feed for hands-off daily editions, or rebuild every part to match your show.
How to make one with Pollinator Studio
- 1
Start from the AI Daily template in one click
Open the template gallery and select AI Daily under the Tech category. It loads ready to go: two anchors (Puck as the optimist, Kore as the skeptic), an 8-minute target length, a tech-news script structure, and intro/outro prompts already wired with {{date}} and {{topic}} variables. You can generate immediately or change anything before you do — the template is a starting point, not a cage.
- 2
Feed it today's headlines
Drop in your source: paste a URL to a TechCrunch or Verge article, paste your own notes or a newsletter draft, or just type a topic like 'this week's open-source model releases.' For a hands-off daily edition, switch to newsroom mode and connect an RSS, WordPress, or JSON feed, then set a daily or weekly schedule with auto-publish so the briefing builds itself each morning.
- 3
Tune the optimist-vs-skeptic dynamic
The whole format lives in the script prompts. Edit them so Puck leads with what's exciting about each story and Kore counters with risks, costs, or hype-checks. You can name the segments (Headlines, Deep Dive, Hot Take), set the running order, and adjust the intro to brand it — 'Your AI Daily for {{date}}' — and the outro to point listeners to your newsletter or repo.
- 4
Cast and shape the two voices
Keep Puck and Kore or preview all 73 voices to recast either host. Then set each anchor's delivery and pace independently: give the optimist a brighter, slightly quicker read and the skeptic a drier, more measured one. Add pronunciation rules at the workspace or project level so model names, acronyms, and startups (think 'Mistral,' 'vLLM,' 'NVIDIA') land correctly every time.
- 5
Add music, cover art, and finalize length
Pick a bed and transitions from the 83-track licensed library — something with momentum suits a daily tech update — and set the volume so it sits under the dialogue. Generate cover art with AI or upload your own. Confirm the target length; 8 minutes is the sweet spot, but you can stretch to 12 for a heavy news day or trim to 5 for a quick hit.
- 6
Render, then distribute or save your template
Generate the audio with fast async rendering, review the result, and either download the MP3 or use one-click RSS distribution to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music. Happy with your setup? Save it as your own custom template so tomorrow's edition is a single click — same hosts, same structure, fresh headlines.
Make it your own
The AI Daily template is ready to use as-is — one click and you're generating. But every part is editable: swap any of the 73 AI voices and set each host's delivery and pace, change the background music, edit the AI script and intro/outro prompts, set the length, and add your own or AI-generated cover art. Use AI Daily as-is for an instant briefing, or rework every part: swap Puck and Kore for any of 73 voices, tune each host's delivery and pace, edit the script and intro/outro prompts, change the length, pick new background music and cover art, then save it as your own reusable template.
Prefer to start from scratch? Build your own custom template and save your setup to reuse for every future episode.
Tips for a great tech episode
- Keep it to 3-4 stories. An 8-minute briefing breaks if you cram in ten headlines — depth on a few beats a shallow rundown of many.
- Make the skeptic specific, not negative. In the prompt, tell Kore to question business models, energy costs, and benchmarks rather than just doubting everything — informed pushback is what builds trust.
- Lock pronunciation early. AI news is full of names that TTS mangles ('PyTorch,' 'Anthropic,' 'GPT-4o'). Add them once as workspace rules and every future episode inherits them.
- Use the {{date}} variable in the intro so each edition self-stamps — essential for a daily that lives in a podcast feed.
- If you run a scheduled newsroom edition, write the prompt to gracefully handle slow news days so the hosts don't invent stories to fill time.
What you can do with Pollinator Studio
- 100+ ready-made templates — one click to start
- 73 AI voices — preview + per-host delivery & pace
- AI script from a URL, pasted text, or a topic
- 83-track licensed music + transition library
- AI-generated (or upload your own) cover art
- One-click RSS distribution to Spotify, Apple & Amazon
- Schedule daily/weekly auto-generation + auto-publishing from your feed
Try the AI Daily template free
30 minutes of audio per month. No credit card, no microphone.
Start freeFrequently asked questions
How long does the AI Daily briefing run?
It targets 8 minutes by default, which fits roughly 3-4 stories with optimist-and-skeptic takes on each. You can change the target length to anywhere from a 5-minute quick hit to a 12-minute deep day, and the script adjusts the word count accordingly.
Can I automate a new edition every morning?
Yes. Switch to newsroom mode, connect an RSS, WordPress, or JSON feed of your news source, and set a daily schedule with auto-publish. Each morning it pulls the latest headlines, writes the two-host script, renders the audio, and pushes it to your feed without you touching it.
Do I have to keep Puck and Kore as the hosts?
No. They're the defaults because they pair well as an optimist and a skeptic, but you can preview all 73 voices and recast either role. You control each host's delivery style and pace separately, so the two voices stay distinct.
How do I make sure AI terms and model names are pronounced right?
Add pronunciation rules at the workspace or project level for the names that trip up TTS — model versions, startups, acronyms. They apply to every episode automatically, so you fix each term once and forget it.
Can I reuse my setup instead of rebuilding it daily?
Yes. Once you've tuned the voices, prompts, music, and length, save it as your own custom template. Tomorrow's briefing starts from your exact configuration in one click — just feed it the new day's headlines.
