How to build a local events guide with AI
By Terry Rice · Published September 8, 2026 · Last reviewed September 8, 2026
We are a family that did this, not accountants or lawyers. Rules vary by state and change. Every claim here links to the source so you can check it yourself.
You can build one in an afternoon with any AI chatbot that searches the web. Ask it to find events from six specific local sources, then make it verify every single one by opening the link, then have it output one HTML file you host free on Netlify Drop. The verification step is the part that matters and the part everyone skips.
Why a local guide and not something else
Almost every city has libraries, a parks department, museums with free hours, a local parenting blog, Eventbrite, and stores running free kids workshops. Nobody has put them in one place for most neighborhoods. The thing you make is useful the day you make it.
The six sources every city has
- •The public library system's events page
- •The city or county parks department calendar
- •Museums, zoos, aquariums and gardens with free days or free hours
- •A local parenting blog or events site for your city
- •Eventbrite, filtered to free family events in your city
- •Stores and brands that run free kids workshops
The step everyone skips
Chatbots invent events. The fix is a second pass where the model opens each link it gave you and sorts the list into confirmed, fixed and cut. Publishing 18 real events beats publishing 35 where six are wrong, because people stop trusting the guide the first time they drive somewhere that turns out to be closed.
Hosting is the easy part. Drag the folder onto Netlify Drop and it is live at a real address in about ten seconds.
How it gets paid for
Affiliate links. You recommend something, link to where people can buy it, and the shop pays a small cut if somebody buys, at no extra cost to the buyer. The FTC Endorsement Guides require you to disclose a paid link above the link itself, not at the bottom of the page.
Be clear-eyed about this part: a small local guide earns close to nothing for the first year. The local newsletter everyone cites as a success story earns 84% of its money from local advertising and nothing from affiliates.
The full kit, with the three prompts you can copy, is here and free.