How to make money with AI: detailed guide

Artificial intelligence has been a hot topic in many industries for ages. However, the notion of machines taking on some of your workload remained a distant dream. That is, until recently.

Thanks to recent technological breakthroughs, AI is not only here – it’s readily accessible. Entrepreneurs are using it to automate tasks, startups are leveraging it to gain a competitive edge, and large companies are adopting it to cut costs.

Missing out on this opportunity would mean falling behind. All it takes is an internet connection, research, and a small investment to tap into the booming field of AI income opportunities.

If you're up for it, check out the following guide, which covers ideas, tools, tips, challenges, and more. Discover how to make money with AI in 2025.

How to use AI to make money

1. Choose the field you’d like to work in.
2. Find the tools and tutorials you need.
3. Explore the market and learn from your competition.
4. Use your findings to develop a viable business strategy.
5. Establish an online presence, start networking, and reach out to clients.
6. Track your progress and make changes in real-time.

How AI tools can help you make money

AI-driven innovation is transforming industries from manufacturing and marketing to eCommerce and security. More than 30% of businesses globally report using AI to make money, and 81% of employees say it has enhanced their job performance.

But how does a simple piece of technology do that? The answer is multifold, depending on the AI tool in question and the industry and task it is used for. Thanks to the technology's versatility, AI-powered businesses are diverse and many.

For instance, freelancers and solopreneurs often use inexpensive AI tools to boost productivity or refine ideas. Large enterprises, on the other hand, leverage more advanced AI-powered platforms to monitor and analyze data and predict trends.

Let’s consider some of the most common benefits of AI for context. One of the primary uses for this technology has been automation, which allowed industries like manufacturing, finance, and sales to eliminate menial tasks. Businesses employ it to:

• Optimize production and supply chains
• Minimize errors in financial reporting
• Offer more efficient customer support

Creative fields like marketing or entertainment have adopted AI tools to help generate ideas and outline them more comprehensively. They’ve also embraced these tools’ efficiency in adjusting the style, tone, and composition of various types of content to suit a particular audience or achieve a specific objective.

Top ways to make money with AI

If you’re interested in making money with AI, you should start by exploring fields and projects that align with your skills. Here are some AI business ideas to get you started.

Developing AI-powered apps

App development may not be the first thing that comes to mind when looking for ways to make money using AI. It can seem intimidating, especially if you’re new to the field, but that’s where artificial intelligence comes into the picture.

AI tools can automate processes, write and optimize code, detect errors, and streamline tasks, making app development faster and more efficient. With a bit of research and effort, you can build anything from a simple chatbox to workflow management software.

The key is to come up with a solid app idea and choose the right AI-powered tools to bring it to life. Consider success stories like those of James Brooks or Angela Laureano for inspiration.

Creating AI-generated content

Content creation is an excellent alternative if developing software isn’t your thing. You can use AI to make money in blogging, copywriting, or freelance journalism.

Once again, you don’t have to have much experience or expertise in the field. Tools like ChatGPT can help you gather ideas and create outlines, while those like Jasper or Surfer SEO help optimize your content for search engines. You could even rely on DALL-E or Canva to upgrade your articles with images.

All you have to do is give clear directions and add finishing touches. Once you get the hang of how these platforms work, you’ll be able to produce content on a range of topics to appeal to diverse readers quickly and effortlessly.

Selling AI models or datasets

AI models and datasets are another way to leverage AI tools to make money if you have a knack for technology. The former are algorithms trained to perform specific tasks, and the latter are samples used to train these algorithms. Together, they can help businesses save time, energy, and resources.

To create AI models and datasets, you’ll need a solid grasp of programming languages and machine learning, as well as an understanding of market gaps. From there, you can find a reputable platform or marketplace to sell your ready-to-use products at a competitive price.

Offering AI consulting services

The lack of knowledge surrounding artificial intelligence presents another excellent business opportunity – consulting. By investing time into learning about this technology, you can offer your expertise to others and charge for insights and tips.

If you’re unsure of how to make money with AI this way, here are a few suggestions:

• Focus on an AI niche – identify a category of artificial intelligence you find most interesting and profitable.
• Create a portfolio – work on a couple of projects for yourself to gain a reference for future clients.
• Craft a business plan – define your services, target market, and pricing plans.
• Build an online presence – create a website, establish social media profiles, and reach out to AI software providers.
• Find potential clients – offer optimization opportunities to companies in healthcare, finance, logistics, retail, and other industries.

For strategy and ideas, turn to successful consulting companies like Accenture or PwC or leading AI experts such as Andrew Ng or Geoffrey Hinton.

Affiliate marketing using AI tools

Affiliate marketing may not be an obvious choice when researching how to make money using AI. Nevertheless, this technology can be very effective when used well.

• AI-powered tools may help you study the market and guide marketers' focus to audiences that are more likely to result in conversions.
• AI can analyze user behavior, choices, and preferences, allowing marketers to develop powerful strategies and campaigns.
• Artificial intelligence-backed platforms may help create and optimize content so it caters to users and search engines more effectively.

Among the many apps and platforms that offer these services, the most popular include Semrush, Pardot, Google Analytics, ChatGPT, AdRoll, and so on.

Automating business tasks

Automation may be the easiest of all AI income streams. The market offers plenty of platforms for workflow optimization, targeting a roster of specialized operations. Two of the most practical options involve lead generation and eCommerce.

Artificial intelligence can help businesses in various industries identify, nurture, and convert leads through automation. The process involves analyzing user demographics, interactions, and habits across different platforms and time intervals.

The findings allow AI to make money for clients through high-potential prospect detection and personalized outreach. Automation tools may tailor recommendations, improve customer support, and forecast demand.

Tools and resources to get you started

The market is flooded with AI software for just about any need. Still, not all bots are created equal. Here are the few that stand out:

• ChatGPT is the most popular AI-driven platform. Its specialty is natural language understanding and production, so it’s commonly used in content creation and research.
• Jasper is another famous AI assistant primarily used for writing. It’s many bloggers' and marketers’ go-to platform for content and copywriting.
• Zoho SalesIQ is a tool that specializes in automation processes. It monitors and records customer behavior and engagement to help with lead generation and conversion.
• DALL-E is an image-generation tool. To help you make money, AI embedded in this platform transforms ideas into visuals for your website, social media, power presentations, and more.
• Grammarly is the most widely used AI writing assistant. It can help with the spelling, grammar, style, and tone of your correspondence or content.
• Perplexity is an AI-backed search engine. It delivers more relevant and precise results to user queries based on context and natural language analysis.

Apart from Jasper, all these brands offer free plans, making them the perfect AI tools for beginners. They’ll streamline your market research, help you find your footing, and support your business ventures without draining your budget. Of course, that’s assuming you learn how to use them properly.

You can find a lot of resources for AI businesses online. In-depth research could uncover free tutorials, but you may also have to spend some money on paid courses, depending on the type of work you plan to do.

You can start with video material on YouTube, Udemy, or Coursera. After you master the basics, open-source repositories like GitHub can help you learn about practical applications of AI tools.

Forums and community pages are great places to expand your knowledge and put your skills to use. From answering questions like: “How can AI make me money?” to offering networking opportunities, they’ll open doors to new ideas and valuable connections.

Reddit, Discord, and LinkedIn are good starting points for their accessibility. They’ll keep you up to date on AI-related news and help you find your first business prospects. You can seek additional networking and mentorship opportunities in startup incubators like Y Combinator or AI-focused communities like AI Village.

Potential challenges of making money with AI

This guide on how to make money with AI wouldn’t be complete without addressing the difficulties, and the biggest challenges you'll encounter are adoption and implementation.

Using AI comes with internal and external hurdles. Internally, you’ll face costs, skill gaps, and unrealistic demands. The initial investment, regular upkeep, and processing requirements will likely strain your budget. Learning to use the technology efficiently will also require time and effort. Finally, AI tools’ capabilities and limitations may require you to revise your expectations.

Externally, AI adoption challenges will revolve around your clients’ needs and preferences. Some businesses will hesitate to work with you over concerns about AI’s impact on their operations, services, and products, and others will be worried about unclear regulations and potential legal risks.

Both issues can limit your pool of potential clients and hinder your growth, but neither is insurmountable. Overcoming AI obstacles will be straightforward if you’re willing to work and learn continuously.

• Don’t invest all your capital right away. Start with free AI tools, low-cost tutorials, and readily available online resources to build a solid foundation. As you gain expertise and understand the potential of these tools, you can make more strategic and informed investments that align with your goals.
• Get AI implementation tips from your competitors. Keep up with market trends, visit workshops and seminars, and interact with AI business leaders. This will deepen your understanding of AI's potential and refine your skills for practical use.
• Keep learning how to make money with artificial intelligence. Stay on top of the latest technological advances, tools, platforms, and methodologies. Customize your strategy and objectives accordingly and let your business scale.

Success stories: real examples of people making money with AI

Using artificial intelligence for business operations has become commonplace, so there are plenty of AI success stories online. Let’s review some of the most impressive and inspirational examples.

Coca-Cola’s sales and marketing strategy

Having been in business for more than a century, Coca-Cola needs no introduction, and its willingness to adopt cutting-edge technologies like AI keeps it relevant and popular today.

The company adopted an AI-powered platform called Albert to help it optimize its marketing strategy. Albert’s algorithms analyze data on customer behavior, purchasing history, and tendencies for patterns and adjust advertisement campaigns in real-time. Besides creating some of its most memorable ads yet, this choice improved Coca-Cola’s ROI.

JPMorgan’s back-office operations

JPMorgan is another massive name in the international business landscape that has recently turned to AI tools. The company decided to adopt an AI-powered virtual assistant to help with back-office operations.

A piece of software called COiN uses machine learning to review and analyze JPMorgan’s financial documents. This innovation has helped the company automate repetitive work, cut down on errors, and improve regulatory compliance.

Aitana, an AI model from Spain

Rubén Cruz, the founder of a Spanish modeling agency, started earning with AI after facing challenges with human models and influencers. The idea of a virtual model transformed his business.

Aitana, a fully AI-powered model, started collaborating with companies on marketing projects and saw instant success. Built around current trends and unconstrained by time and space, she quickly gained popularity. In just a few months, she attracted over 120,000 social media followers, earned upwards of €1,000 per ad, and inspired the creation of a second virtual model.

Hopscotch, a programming platform for children

Marian Bartlett, co-founder of Emotient, revolutionized the understanding of human emotions by using AI to analyze facial expressions. Her team developed an advanced method for real-time emotion detection, which became the industry standard.

The venture brought this AI entrepreneur global recognition. Several major companies, including Honda and Procter & Gamble, started using the technology for market research.

Other AI tools guides you might be interested in

• Best AI chatbots for businesses: pick a chatbox to optimize your business
• How to make AI videos: streamline video creation with AI tools
• Best AI logo generator: create a unique logo hassle-free
• Best AI headshot generator: generate headshots with minimum cost
• Best AI resume builder: write a resume employers can't resist

Conclusion

Artificial intelligence offers a wealth of opportunities for generating income. Whether you're automating tasks, creating AI-powered tools, or tapping into data-driven opportunities, this technology can significantly boost efficiency and profits. So, don’t miss out – start making money with AI today.

Explore AI opportunities based on your interests and skills. Learn about and test popular tools and platforms. Turn to forums and online communities for advice and potential prospects.

Start building your business while keeping an eye on your competition, market trends, and evolving tech landscape. With the bright future of AI ahead, you’re bound to succeed as long as you’re open to learning and progress.

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