10 Proven AI Side Hustles for 2026: How To Make Money With AI

You don’t have to be an AI expert to make money with AI. In fact, I like to keep things as simple as possible.

In the world of side hustles, we’ve reached a wild intersection: AI meets entrepreneurship. What used to require teams, long hours, and high budgets can now be accomplished in minutes with the right tools and workflow. Below are ten clear, practical side-hustle ideas you can start from scratch with absolutely no fluff.

1. AI E-commerce Store Builder: Build & Dropship in Minutes

This is one of the fastest on-ramp hustles. Utilise an AI builder like BuildYourStore.ai to set up a dropshipping store in just minutes.
How to do it:

Visit BuildYourStore.ai and select your niche (e.g., sports bags, fitness gear)
The tool will generate a Shopify store, pre-populate winning products, ready-to-sell pages, and a free .store domain.
Log in to the Shopify backend, adjust the branding, and consider swapping out a product or two that you prefer.
Set up automation: if someone buys, the dropshipper handles fulfilment. (Yes, you can be hands-off.)
Once the store is live, drive traffic via ads, content marketing, or social media. The work shifts into marketing.
Why it works: The barrier to entry is ultra low, and you’re leveraging existing e-commerce infrastructure + AI product sourcing.
Editor’s Note: There is no guarantee of profit; you must generate your own traffic, and traffic can sometimes be a bottleneck.

2. “AI UGC Video Production: Your New Content Factory”

With user-generated content (UGC) going viral on social platforms, AI tools make it possible to create UGC-style videos at scale. Example: MakeUGC.ai
How to do it:

Choose a product or client you’ll make content for (could be your own store or somebody else’s).
Write a brief script (20-30 seconds) highlighting the product’s key features.
Upload the product link to MakeUGC.ai (or a similar platform) and select an avatar and style.
Generate the video. You’ll get several versions you can post on Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts.
Offer this as a service to e-commerce stores or use it to drive your own product sales.
Why it works: Video content is king in 2026. Being able to generate it quickly, cheaply and at scale gives you an edge.
Pro tip: Offer a library of 5–10 videos per month as a retainer service to a small business.

3. “AI Social-Media Management for Small Businesses”

Many small/local businesses know they should be online, but they’re stuck on content creation, consistency, and brand voice. Enter the new Pomelli from Google Labs + DeepMind: it analyses a business’s website, builds a “Business DNA” profile (fonts, colours, tone), then generates on-brand campaigns.
How to do it:

Pick a small business in your local area (coffee shop, gym, retailer) and pitch: “I’ll handle your social media – once a week content + monthly campaign.”
Plug in their website URL into Pomelli. Let it generate the brand profile.
Choose a campaign concept (e.g., “New season specials”, “Local loyalty offer”), then generate social posts + visuals.
Review the posts, tweak text as needed, download assets, and schedule them (via Later, Buffer, or Hootsuite).
Charge a monthly fee (e.g., £300-£500) for managing content, posting, and basic ad optimisation.
Why it works: Many local businesses don’t have time to create. You offer the solution.
Tip: Combine this with video content from hustle #2 to create multi-format posts.

4. “AI Digital Product Creation: Publish Without Writing That Book”

Scalable products can sell forever. With AI tools, you can move fast. Use something like Canva AI plus ChatGPT to generate e-books, workbooks, and templates.
How to do it:

Pick a niche you know well (e.g., “Manifestation workbook for busy professionals”).
Use ChatGPT (or your preferred LLM) to generate the content outline + chapter summaries.
In Canva: start a new “ebook” project, use AI magic media to generate images, replace template elements, and brand it.
Export as PDF / digital download.
Sell on sites like Etsy, Gumroad, and Amazon KDP (if you want physical products). Market via your audience or niche communities.
Why it works: Minimal production overhead, scalable, passive-income potential.
Pro tip: Bundle the ebook with a quick-start video/audio version for added value.

5. “AI Music & Sound Effects Service: The Hidden Gig”

Here’s a less obvious one: music and sound effects are needed by YouTubers, podcasters, game creators, creators everywhere. With tools like Music GPT (or equivalent) you can generate instrumentals, lyrics, voice-overs.
How to do it:

Pick a target (e.g., “Lo-fi beats for study videos”, “Podcast intro music”, “Game sound effects pack”).
Use Music GPT: input genre, mood, tempo and if you need lyrics. Generate tracks.
Edit / tweak in a DAW (Audacity / GarageBand / Reaper) if needed, then export.
Package as royalty-free tracks and sell on Gumroad, Fiverr, or license directly to clients (YouTube channels, game devs).
Market via Fiverr gigs, LinkedIn posts, and community forums.
Why it works: Underserved niche, high perceived value, repeat usage.
Tip: Create multiple packs (e.g., “10 cheeky Stings for YouTube”, “5 ambient backgrounds for meditation apps”).

6. “AI Faceless YouTube Channel: Automate the Storytelling Engine”

Create videos using AI scripting tools (such as Claude), voiceovers, and AI-generated visuals. Other AI tools on a non subscription pay as you go basis are available on Fal.ai
How to do it:

Choose a channel topic (for example: “Strange but true history facts” or “Law of Attraction success stories”).
Use Claude (or another LLM) to generate a 5-10 minute video script.
Use a text-to-speech tool to generate voice-over (or Music GPT if it supports TTS).
In a video editor (Canva, Premiere, DaVinci), combine voice-over with stock footage, AI-generated images, B-roll, and captions.
Upload to YouTube with a good SEO title/description. Monetise with ads, affiliate links, or your own digital products.
Why it works: You scale content without being on camera; the engine is mostly AI-driven, with your direction providing the final touch.
Tip: Create a template workflow to replicate the process weekly.

7. “AI Virtual Event Host & Interaction Assistant”

With remote events, webinars and virtual conferences booming, you can become a service provider who uses AI to host, moderate or animate event sessions (chatbot host, avatar presenter, audience Q&A assistant).
How to do it:

Offer your service to event organisers: “I’ll provide the AI-hosted virtual corridor: avatar presenter, live Q&A summariser, post-event clip generator.”
Use AI avatars + chatbots (like HeyGen or other avatar platforms) to appear as the “host”.
During the event capture questions from chat, feed them into an AI summariser, display real-time insights or next-step suggestions.
After event, generate highlights, thumbnails, social-snippet reels (using video editing + AI summarisation).
Charge for event hosting + content repurposing package.
Why it works: Events need innovation; using virtual AI hosts can impress and save money.
Tip: Focus on niche events (personal development, coaching, spirituality) which match your book & video focus.

8. “AI Niche Membership Micro-Courses”

You only have to know a little more than others to be able to brand yourself as an “expert” Use AI to build micro-courses in a membership format and offer monthly recurring revenue.
How to do it:

Pick a niche topic: e.g., “30-day Manifestation Challenge”.
Use an LLM to draft 30 micro-lessons (one per day), including prompts, exercises, and journaling sections. NOTE: LLMs can be trained to do a number of tasks. One of the most well-known uses is their application as generative AI: when given a prompt or asked a question, they can produce text in reply. The publicly available LLM ChatGPT, for instance, can generate essays, poems, and other textual forms in response to user inputs.
Use an AI video tool to record short 3-5 minute lesson videos (avatar + voice).
Host in a membership platform (like Teachable, Kajabi or even a private Discord).
Market to your audience, charge a monthly fee (£15-£49) with evergreen enrolment.
Why it works: Recurring revenue beats one-off. AI helps speed up content creation, allowing you to build once and be done.
Pro tip: Use your own personal story and authority to drive credibility.

9. “AI Personalised Manifestation Journals & Systems”

A product idea that merges your fascination with your hobby, your work or business etc, create AI-generated guided journals that personalise based on a user’s input (name, goal, birth numbers, etc).
How to do it:

Create a generator (using a prompt): “Generate a 90-day personalised manifestation journal for [name], [birthdate], [goal]”.
Use Canva to format pages for daily prompts, reflections, success tracking, and number system insights.
Export as PDF or print-on-demand version.
Sell via Etsy, Shopify, your book audience, etc. Offer a “customised version” for a higher price.
Offer an upsell of a guided audio/meditation version (AI-voice).
Why it works: Combines personalisation + digital product + high perceived value.
Tip: Use your own story as an example to boost conversion.

10. “AI Data-Driven Lottery or Numerology Coaching”

Let’s be honest here, people are fascinated with winning the lottery. It is the one form of speculation that most people in Western countries take part in. Create a service that uses AI to analyse lottery draw trends, number patterns, numerology systems and package insights for subscribers. (Important: no guarantee of winning, always disclaim.)
How to do it:

Build a database of historical lottery numbers (publicly available).
Use AI (Python + LLM (Chat GPT) or no-code) to analyse for patterns, hot numbers, cold numbers, frequency, etc.
Create a subscription service where members get “Weekly number insights report” + video summary + brief explanation of numerology logic.
Use your video-making workflow (from earlier hustles) to send a 2-minute video each week.
Market to number-loving individuals, people who appreciate odds and systems.
Why it works: Unique niche, blend of numbers + mystique + actionable content.
Tip: Emphasise storytelling (“How this system emerged”, “Why numbers speak”) to match your Legacy Code style.

Here’s your action plan for the next 7 days:

Pick one of the ten ideas.
Write a simple one-page plan: tool you’ll use, cost, first task, launch date.
Allocate 90 minutes each day to move it forward (set up your workflow, choose your niche, and build a basic product/service).
At day 7: aim for a “minimum viable version” (MVP) live — a landing page, a prototype, a content sample.
Then iterate, market, refine.

If you commit, you can have your side hustle up and running in weeks, not months.

I hope you got value from this post. Help us to keep sharing valuable information for free by sharing this post and leaving a comment below. Which side hustle appeals to you the most?, let me know below.

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Have a great day

Keith

P.S., if you want more of The Legacy Code philosophy, check out my latest book . It’s available at all Amazon stores and is now also on Audible.

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