Community newspapers are getting a tech upgrade. CherryRoad Media announced it will roll out hyper-local AI search functionality across its properties, powered by ProRata’s Gist Answers platform. The move promises to reshape how readers discover local news—and how publishers monetize it.
AI Meets Main Street
Gist Answers is an AI-as-a-service solution that allows publishers to embed custom search, summarization, and recommendation tools directly on their websites. For CherryRoad, this means readers can now query everything from school board decisions to local business events and receive AI-generated answers sourced directly from trusted local reporting.
Jeremy Gulban, CEO of CherryRoad, framed it as a natural extension of their mission: “By integrating Gist Answers across our properties, we’re not only enriching how readers discover the news that matters to them, but also charting a sustainable, ethical path forward for community journalism in the AI era.”
Deeper Engagement, Smarter Ads
Beyond search, Gist Answers can generate summaries and recommendations, keeping readers on-site longer. That extended engagement is a goldmine for advertisers. Through Gist Ads, CherryRoad can serve native conversational ads adjacent to AI responses—maintaining editorial integrity while creating new revenue streams.
The platform also opens doors for content licensing. CherryRoad reporting can be optionally distributed via ProRata’s network, expanding audience reach and generating additional revenue for local journalism—critical in an era of shrinking ad budgets.
Why It Matters
As AI continues to infiltrate media, local newspapers have lagged behind big tech platforms in offering sophisticated discovery tools. CherryRoad’s adoption of Gist Answers is a rare case of AI enhancing hyper-local content, rather than generic national headlines, potentially setting a template for other community publishers.
For advertisers, it signals new ways to engage highly targeted, community-focused audiences. For readers, it promises faster, more accurate discovery of the news that directly affects their lives.
