The following article explains the best ways to make money with AI in 2026.
But unlike every other piece of content on this topic, I’m actually going to tell you truth about making money with AI and what to avoid.
Best Ways to Make Money With AI in 2026
Sabrina Ramonov is one of the top AI content creators in the world, founder of Blotato, and someone who has actually built a real business using every method on this list. She recently presented at the AI Advantage Summit alongside Tony Robbins and Dean Graziosi, where 100,000 to 150,000 people tuned into the free YouTube Live alone. That doesn’t count the VIP Zoom rooms. The demand for AI education is bigger than most people in this space realize.
That context matters. Because what surprised Sabrina at that summit reshaped how she thinks about this whole topic.
If you want the exact tools and systems I’m using to build income with AI, here’s where to start.
Free AI Marketing Essentials Guide — the prompts, workflows, and tools I’ve tested and actually use.
1. AI Education
Sabrina put this first on her list for a reason. She called it the easiest entry point with the highest chance of success. After the AI Advantage Summit, she saw firsthand that the beginner market is far larger than even she expected. Lawyers, accountants, real estate professionals, people from every traditional industry who don’t know how to take a screenshot of a ChatGPT prompt, let alone use it.
Her exact advice for someone who wants to start in 30 days: open TikTok, find her popular videos, copy the hooks, and post three videos per day for a month. See if you like content creation. Teaching forces you to clarify your thinking, and it helps people at the same time.
The “it’s saturated” objection doesn’t hold up. Step outside the AI bubble, ask your family members, and you’ll quickly see most people are still at the beginner level. There are also deep niches within AI education that are wide open.
One example of this model working at scale: Sabrina’s YouTube channel and her newsletter built the audience that eventually supported everything else, including Blotato.
2. AI Workshops
If you have any working knowledge of AI tools, even just ChatGPT, you can run a workshop. Sabrina’s suggestion for hitting $10K a month fast was direct: go door-to-door to local businesses, offer to show them how ChatGPT works, and do a live demo. That’s it.
Most employees in most industries are already using AI informally. A workshop gives companies a structured way to get consistent results from tools their people are already reaching for. You’re not selling hype. You’re reducing risk and wasted time.
The pitch is simple. The setup is minimal. You don’t need a polished deck or a certification. You need to know one workflow better than the person you’re teaching.
3. AI Communities
Paid communities create recurring revenue without requiring you to constantly trade time for money. The model works because people aren’t just paying for information. They’re paying for access to others solving the same problems.
My own community, AI Marketing Insiders, runs on Skool with over 500 members. The revenue is predictable month over month. More valuable than the income is what you learn from the community itself. Real questions from real people constantly sharpen your content and product thinking.
Skool handles payments, community structure, and courses in one place. The only requirement is a clear niche and consistent presence. Communities without active hosts don’t retain members.
4. AI Automation Services
AI automation freelancers on platforms like Upwork are billing $60-$150 per hour because they can build systems that solve recurring problems without ongoing manual effort. That’s a different value proposition than standard freelance work.
Sabrina was direct about the warning here though. A lot of people teaching “AI automation agency” courses make more money from the course than from running an actual agency. Her advice: look at where the person teaching you gets most of their income. If it’s the course, that tells you something.
Blotato is a good real-world example of what AI automation can do. It handles social media publishing at scale, built by Sabrina as a tool she needed herself. If you want to see what packaged automation looks like in practice, Blotato’s automation templates are worth exploring.
Build your own automated workflow first. Document it. That documentation becomes your case study and gets you the first client.
5. AI SaaS (Vibe Coding)
Sabrina put SaaS last on her list, and she was clear about why. Building a SaaS requires two entirely different skill sets: building the product and building distribution for it. Most people have neither when they start.
Her background from a Silicon Valley startup gave her an edge when launching Blotato. She knows most people don’t have that context, and she’s honest about it. If you don’t know what to build, that’s a signal you should be consulting or working in the space first, not shipping a product.
Vibe coding tools have lowered the technical barrier significantly. But a product nobody knows about is still a product nobody buys. The ceiling on SaaS is the highest of the five paths. The timeline is also the longest. Expect one to five years to build something that generates real monthly recurring revenue, not weeks.
If you want faster returns, start with education or workshops. Come back to SaaS once you understand the market from the inside.
Ryan’s Final Thoughts
Sabrina’s framework is worth paying attention to because she’s built all five of these, not just theorized about them. The common thread across every method that actually works: personal brand forces accountability, and accountability keeps you ethical. Her take on passive income is the most realistic thing you’ll hear in this space. Almost everything requires ongoing effort. Plan for one to five years, not one to five weeks. And own your email list. Every platform is rented land.
Best Ways to Make Money With AI FAQs
What is the fastest way to make money with AI?
The fastest path is AI education or workshops. If you’ve been using AI tools for even a couple of months, you know more than most people. Sabrina’s advice: post three TikTok videos a day for 30 days copying popular hooks, or go door-to-door to local businesses and demo ChatGPT. Both require zero upfront investment and generate real feedback quickly.
Is the AI automation agency model actually worth it?
Be careful here. Sabrina pointed out that most people teaching AI automation agency courses make more from the course than from running an agency. Running an actual agency means walking into a business with disparate systems and being expected to fix everything. It’s messier than the courses suggest. That doesn’t mean it’s not viable, but verify that who you’re learning from is actually doing the thing they’re teaching.
Do you need a technical background to make money with AI?
No. AI education, workshops, and communities require no coding. Even AI automation services can be learned from scratch. SaaS is the one path where some technical familiarity helps, though vibe coding tools have lowered that bar. What matters more is understanding a problem deeply enough to build or teach a solution.
How long does it realistically take to make money with AI?
Sabrina’s honest answer was one to five years for a real business. Workshops or education content can generate income faster, sometimes in 30 to 90 days. SaaS and communities take longer to build. Anyone promising passive income in weeks is selling you something.
What’s the best platform to build an AI business on?
Sabrina’s answer was none of the social platforms. The best platform is your email list because you own it. You’re not dependent on an algorithm or a platform policy change. Social media builds awareness. Email converts and retains. Build both, but prioritize the list you own.
