Spanish-language LA station's AI co-host draws young listeners as it expands to five markets
The show's listenership growth was reported by the company using Nielsen figures, and the AI host still cannot take calls or answer listeners on air.
Entravision's Spanish-language station José 97.5 FM in Los Angeles has a non-human morning co-host, Coyotec, an AI avatar that began as a weekend show in September 2025 and now shares the 8-to-10 a.m. weekday slot on Al Aire y Sin Permiso with human host Geraldine Guzman. Entravision leaders turned to the avatar because human on-air staff faced real risk when speaking out about immigration enforcement during the 2025 ICE raids and protests. After syndication to five new markets across California, Nevada and Texas by August, Nielsen figures reported by the company showed Los Angeles listenership among 18-to-34-year-olds rising 84.9 percent from August to September, with Hispanic female listeners in that bracket up 500 percent. The show is built from several AI tools, including Claude Haiku for responses, ElevenLabs for voice, and OpenAI and ChatGPT for scripting. Coyotec cannot yet take calls or answer listeners on air.
Why it matters
The station's leaders said they turned to an AI host because human staff faced real danger speaking up about immigration enforcement during the 2025 ICE raids and protests. The result is a Spanish-language morning show that now speaks on immigrant issues without putting a human voice at risk. Its growth, with listenership among 18-to-34-year-olds in Los Angeles up 84.9 percent in a single month, suggests audiences are receptive to a non-human host on this subject. The limits remain clear, since the avatar cannot yet take calls or answer listeners directly.
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