AI Side Hustles
Business Model

AI Courses & Education

Creators and founders who sell education: online courses and bootcamps about using AI, and AI tutoring products. When someone selling a course also reports their own income, treat the figure as marketing as well. Figures below are computed from the cases listed on this page and are what each source reports, not typical results.

Courses, bootcamps and tutoring products that teach AI skills or use AI to teach.

Udemy course cover for ChatGPT Masterclass: two smiling instructors either side of the ChatGPT logo on a painted cosmic background.
A creator working at a home studio desk with a microphone and video editing screens
A writer at a desk with a tablet, a notebook and shelves of books
Startup Cost in Our Cases
None of these cases disclose a startup cost
Time to First Revenue in Our Cases
From the first week (a Udemy course) to about seven months of posting before a course launch, in the cases that say
Published Cases
7 Published
Independently Documented
3 of 7

Strengths Seen in Our Cases

  • High demand for practical AI skills
  • Digital product with no inventory
  • An existing audience can turn into buyers quickly

Known Risks

  • AI tools change fast, so course content goes out of date
  • Income figures from course sellers double as marketing
  • Marketplace platforms control pricing and discovery
Gallery

Images and videos from AI Courses & Education cases

Udemy course cover for ChatGPT Masterclass: two smiling instructors either side of the ChatGPT logo on a painted cosmic background.Image: ChatGPT Masterclass on Udemy (course cover)
Lance Junck

How the model works

General guidance

A creator who has learned an AI skill packages it into a course, bootcamp or cohort, or builds an AI tutor for a subject.

Courses are sold on marketplaces such as Udemy or on the creator's own site to an audience built on social media.

Content needs regular updates because AI tools change quickly.

How it earns

General guidance

One-time course sales, cohort fees, memberships, and company training.

When the person reporting income also sells the course, treat the figure as marketing too.

General guidance is our editorial summary and contains no figures. Every number on this page comes from a linked case.

Reported results

What the cases report, and how well it is backed up

Figures are as reported by each source, for different periods and metrics. They are not typical results. How we label evidence.

Case Studies

AI Courses & Education Cases

7 case studies
Udemy course cover for ChatGPT Masterclass: two smiling instructors either side of the ChatGPT logo on a painted cosmic background.
Image: ChatGPT Masterclass on Udemy (course cover)
April 18, 2023
1 source

A beginner ChatGPT course on Udemy made $34,913 in profit in about three months

Lance Junck

Lance Junck, a 23-year-old brand strategist in Austin, launched "ChatGPT Masterclass: A Complete ChatGPT Guide for Beginners" on Udemy in late December 2022. Business Insider reported that in about three months the course enrolled more than 15,000 students and made $34,913 in profit, based on screenshots of his sales dashboard. He ran it on top of a full-time job.

Read original source
Reported figure
$34,913 profit
Evidence levelIndependently Documented
Tools:
Inspect Case
A creator working at a home studio desk with a microphone and video editing screens
August 26, 2023
1 source

A former crypto trader made $176,885 in under a month selling a course on AI content

Ole Lehmann (The AI Solopreneur)

After losing money in the FTX crash, Ole Lehmann started posting AI productivity tips in early 2023 and launched The AI Solopreneur account in April. He reached 100,000 followers in 65 days, started a newsletter, and in August launched a course starting at $179 that took 1,078 orders in under a month.

Read original source
Reported figure
$176,885 in gross revenue
Evidence levelIndependently Documented
Tools:
Inspect Case
A writer at a desk with a tablet, a notebook and shelves of books
March 4, 2026
1 source

A former BCG consultant's AI education brand made $19,200 in one month

AI Never Sleeps (Jonathan Chan)

Jonathan Chan spent 25+ years in corporate roles including Boston Consulting Group and left a $420,000 salary to build with AI. His AI Never Sleeps brand made $19.2K in January 2026 from course sales, a paid community and agency work. He also co-founded Pear, a consulting marketplace.

Read original source
Reported figure
$19.2K in one month(revenue)
Evidence levelSelf-Reported
Tools:none named in the source
Inspect Case
A laptop showing revenue charts on a desk beside an open notebook and coffee
August 27, 2026
1 source

Two Cornell students' AI math tutor reached $50,000 a month within nine months

MathGPT (Nour Gajial and Yanni Kouloumbis)

Nour Gajial and Yanni Kouloumbis, Cornell computer science students, built MathGPT, an AI app where users upload math problems and get step-by-step help. Nine months after launch they had 200,000 users and $50,000 a month in revenue.

Read original source
Reported figure
$50K/mo(revenue)
Evidence levelSelf-Reported
Tools:none named in the source
Inspect Case
A writer at a desk with a tablet, a notebook and shelves of books
January 10, 2025
1 source

A founder who sold eight small tools launched Side School, an AI skills bootcamp, and says it made six figures in months

Ben Issen (Side School)

Ben Issen was Webflow's first intern at 18, then built more than 18 tools for freelance designers through his incubator Supercreative and sold eight of them. He co-founded Side School to teach practical AI skills. He says it generated six figures in revenue in its initial experiments.

Read original source
Reported figure
Six figures in revenue within a few months
Evidence levelSelf-Reported
Tools:none named in the source
Inspect Case
A writer at a desk with a tablet, a notebook and shelves of books
September 29, 2024
1 source

Ben Tossell turned his AI newsletter into an AI education business that reached seven figures in about 9 months

Ben Tossell (Ben's Bites)

Ben Tossell, who previously sold Makerpad to Zapier, ran a daily AI newsletter with 100K+ subscribers. He pivoted to an AI education portal with a lifetime plan, which the interview describes as a 7-figure business that has taught 10,000+ people to use AI.

Read original source
Reported figure
7-figure business(revenue)
Evidence levelSelf-Reported
Tools:none named in the source
Inspect Case
A laptop showing revenue charts on a desk beside an open notebook and coffee
October 20, 2026
1 source

Evrika Study, an AI exam prep platform, shows $115 in Stripe-verified MRR

Evrika Study (Patrick Neicu)

Patrick Neicu founded Evrika Study in July 2025 as an AI-first exam preparation platform. TrustMRR shows $115 MRR and $1,971 in all-time revenue, so it is at a very early stage.

Read original source
Reported figure
$115 MRR(recurring revenue)
Evidence levelIndependently Documented
Tools:none named in the source
Inspect Case
Startup costs

What the cases say they spent

None of the sources in this category disclose a startup cost.

Risks

Challenges reported in these cases

Tools

Tools for AI Courses & Education

ChatGPT logo and wordmark on a blue and orange gradient.Official image

ChatGPT

AI Assistant

OpenAI's general-purpose AI assistant. In our documented cases it is used to draft reports, brainstorm product slogans, write first drafts of client posts, and generate code for digital products.

Free plan: Yes. Free plan with limits on uploads, image creation, and deep research.

Pricing: Free plan, plus paid Go, Plus, and Pro plans for individuals and Business and Enterprise plans for teams. Exact prices were not shown in the version of the page we could read; check the official page for your region.

Checked October 17, 2026

Used in 51 documented casesView Profile
Claude logo and wordmark on a cream background.Official image

Claude

AI Assistant

Anthropic's AI assistant. Documented cases use it to write long video scripts, draft newsletter summaries, and run client offers on a single monthly subscription.

Free plan: Yes. Free plan for chat on web, desktop, and mobile.

Pricing: Free plan. Pro is $20/month billed monthly or $17/month billed annually. Max starts at $100/month. Team seats start at $20/seat/month billed annually.

Checked October 17, 2026

Used in 35 documented casesView Profile
More tools

Other tools and platforms used in this model

UdemyCourse marketplace named in one case (official site, opens in a new tab)

Links go to each tool's official site. None of these links are affiliate links.

FAQ

AI Courses & Education: common questions

How much do people make with AI Courses & Education and AI?

Across the 4 of our 7 sourced cases that report a monthly figure, amounts range from $115 to $50,000 a month, with a median of $19,200. These are what each source reports, not typical results.

How much does it cost to start?

None of these cases disclose a startup cost. 0 of 7 cases disclose a startup cost.

How long until the first dollar?

From the first week (a Udemy course) to about seven months of posting before a course launch, in the cases that say. This comes from what our cases report.

Which AI tools do these cases use most?

ChatGPT (2 cases), Claude (1 case). Only tools named in the sources are counted.

How reliable are these income figures?

3 of 7 cases are independently documented, meaning a news outlet says it reviewed records. 4 are self-reported. Every case links its source.

What are the main risks?

AI tools change fast, so course content goes out of date. Income figures from course sellers double as marketing. Marketplace platforms control pricing and discovery.

How many of these cases say when they made their first dollar?

3 of 7 cases state a time to first revenue. For example: Lance Junck: "Within the first week (90 students enrolled, per the source)"; Ole Lehmann (The AI Solopreneur): "About seven months from first posts to course launch"; Ben Issen (Side School): "A few months". The rest do not say, so treat any single timeline as one example, not a norm.

What went wrong or held these cases back?

7 of 7 cases list limitations or risks drawn from their sources. Examples: Lance Junck: He launched very early, when few ChatGPT courses existed; the source says Udemy listed more than 429 ChatGPT classes by April 2023; Ole Lehmann (The AI Solopreneur): Gross revenue, not profit; AI Never Sleeps (Jonathan Chan): Self-reported, one month only. Each case page lists them in full.

Do I have to report this income to the IRS if I never get a 1099-K?

Yes. The IRS says that whether or not you receive a Form 1099-K, you must report all income from selling goods or services on your tax return. Payment apps and online marketplaces must send a 1099-K when payments for goods or services total over $20,000 in more than 200 transactions, but they may send one for lower amounts. Source: IRS, "Understanding your Form 1099-K" (irs.gov/businesses/understanding-your-form-1099-k), checked 2026-10-20. General information, not tax advice.

Do I owe self-employment tax on side hustle income in the US?

According to the IRS, you must pay self-employment tax and file Schedule SE if your net earnings from self-employment were $400 or more. The rate is 15.3% (12.4% Social Security and 2.9% Medicare), and you may need to pay estimated taxes quarterly. Source: IRS, "Self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes)" (irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/self-employment-tax-social-security-and-medicare-taxes), checked 2026-10-20. General information, not tax advice.

The AI Side Hustles Briefing

Get new AI Courses & Education cases by email.

Each issue covers a sourced case study, the tools used, and what the evidence does and does not show.

By subscribing, you agree to receive the AI Side Hustles briefing. We never sell your data. See our privacy policy.