How to Make Money with AI: The Top 7 AI Business Ideas for Beginners

I get it. A number of AI tools can help you automate work flows, improve efficiency, innovate or even make faster decisions but did you know that a number of people have already hacked how to make money with AI and most of them are currently cashing out from these tools?

Walk with me. The growth in AI adoption is almost like a never before experience. It is creating sweeping changes across industries, changing systems and overhauling strategies but you know the best part? it is also creating income streams for real people like you.

From classrooms to boardrooms and work stations, the same AI tools you’ve been using to ask simple questions, a lot of young people are now using them to create solutions that is earning them a paycheck in multiple zeros while others are still trying to figure out AI.

I know a lot of people are still trying to figure out AI today. I see their question trails in search trends. And if you’re one of these people, after reading this, you’ll know what it takes to earn with AI and the artificial intelligence powered business ideas you can start with.

Why AI Provides a Big Opportunity in Nigeria

Its very simple. AI is a big opportunity in Nigeria and almost everywhere else because its presently very new and majority of people are not fully conversant with it.

Beyond that, a lot of businesses, SMEs and brands are still struggling with their automation, digital marketing and wasting time on manual processes. This creates a huge opportunity for you, if you know how to work around things.

Now, let’s dig into how you can make money with AI in Nigeria or anywhere you are!

Find your Niche & Select a Tool

Artificial intelligence is very broad and there are many tools out there that nearly anyone can use to earn a living with AI but you certainly cannot use all available tools. You have to start with one.

This helps you to focus on a specific audience in such a way that you can go all out to create solutions that meets the needs of this audience specifically.

Now remember; the more the merrier. Before you choose a niche, consider the demand for AI powered services you can offer in that niche. Find out how many brands are actively creating such services and how many of them are using the services.

This gives you a perspective on whether there’s a decent demand for your services in your desired niche or not. Or if there are a lot more people already offering your intended services.

As soon as you choose your niche, it’s now time to choose the tools you’ll use to make money with AI. Remember, there area number of these tools and what matters most at this point are your niche, the services you’re offering and your skills with the tools.

You can always learn about any tool you want to use and improve how you’re using them.

Offer AI Powered Freelancing Services

Generative AI has provided great tools that allows people to iterate, create and sometimes the things you can do with these tools are almost limitless. But you can choose a few of the, wrap a freelancing business around it and make a living with AI without breaking a sweat.

If I were to offer AI powered freelancing services today, here are some of the services I would offer:

• Content Writing: You and I know that people criticize AI generated content and most search engines do not reward it but did you know that AI can still help you make your content writing a lot better? Yes! From content calendars to ideas and strategy etc. Generative AI tools can help you create a content system that delivers on ROIs. These tools can make your content a lot easier to create, error free and more meaningful to your end users.
• Writing CVs (Resume) and Cover Letters: These things used to be done by niched experts in the past. With the advent of AI, that niche seems to be dying out but even with the artificial intelligence tools, a lot of people still need experts who could use AI to create an even better CV and cover letter that aligns with specific needs. You can offer these services professionally if you have what it takes.
• Keywords Research & Optimization: SEO writing thrives on a solid knowledge of keyword research and optimization. With your skills as a writer, you could use AI for keywords research and overall optimization strategy. Backed with these key insights, you can create a more robust and result driven SEO content that will fetch more earnings than regular content.

A number of people are already offering these services. Using tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity etc., you can also offer any of these services locally or internationally, using platforms like Fiverr, Upwork and even LinkedIn etc. and get paid in your preferred currency.

Engage in AI Automation and Consulting

AI automation and consulting is one of the hot cakes in the industry. I took my first AI consulting gig about 3 years ago. Since that time, the industry has been growing in leaps and bounds.

If you want to make money with AI, automation and consulting are front liners you should consider right now because many companies are already getting into using automation to improve business efficiency but there are not as much experts yet so you can easily get established if you’re strategic.

Also, small businesses who waste hours doing a lot of repetitive processes like sending invoices, following up customers, replying to inquiries etc. have now found that most of this stuff could be easily automated. This is where you come in.

You can focus on the following areas:

• Set up email Automation: Set up email systems to automatically send and respond to emails, inquiries and synchronizations. Use customer data to set up emails based on predefined triggers, goals or schedules. This can be built into larger systems like websites, application etc.
• WhatsApp Automation: As an expert, you can set up WhatsApp automation and WhatsApp powered workflow integration, connecting it to customer relationship management tools like Zoho, HubSpot, Salesforce etc. This can help businesses to handle inquiries and automate workflows without any manual input.
• Business Process Automation: There’s a demand for experts in other business and HR process automation like automated candidate screening, employee self-service portal, recruitment and onboarding, Payroll and benefits etc.

With AI automations already being implemented by many organizations, it gets even easier to make a living with AI as an automation expert, if you get to master your positioning.

Offer Social Media Marketing Services

I know social media marketing is already doing really well without AI. But, imagine integrating AI into your social media offering and the explosive growth that will add to your business.

Let’s start with content calendars. I know you can create a content calendar without using ChatGPT but imagine the accuracy and tailored content outcomes you can create if you were to integrate your system with AI to improve efficiency.

You can even create a 6 months calendar with a single prompt, iterate and synchronize it with your strategy.

But beyond calendars, you can also create actual content, captions and content ideas, based on specific days, industry or business needs all with a few prompts.

Ways to Implement AI in Social Media Marketing

AI amplifies your results as a social media marketer. And there are many ways to implement AI in social media marketing and get paid for that. For example:

• Content creation: I’ve already mentioned captions and texts which you can create with tools like ChatGPT, copy.ai etc. For visuals or image creation, Canva, Gemini, Grok etc. are all great tools. And Capcut, Invideo, Eleven Labs are also great for videos and audio content creation.
• Automation: With automation, AI integration into social media marketing does not only amplify your outcomes, it extends your productivity, allowing you to make more money using AI tools. If you set up an AI agent via Zapier for instance, it can schedule posts across platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook etc. while freeing up your time to take on more jobs.
• Social Listening: social listening gives you insights into the industry, allowing you to understand trends and tailor social media content accordingly for better outcomes. With an AI tool like sprout social, this can be achieved seamlessly.
• AD Optimization: AI integration in social media advertising can also improve advertising outcomes especially where you’re able to use it to optimize the ads, based on specific user behaviors and social media insights.

With the right prompts, you can achieve a lot more improved outcomes with your social media marketing, manage more accounts and earn a lot more cash creating with ai powered content creation tools.

Create Faceless YouTube Videos & Content

Faceless YouTube video is a concept that’s been around for a while but AI has made it more popular because it is now possible to create and post a video on YouTube, Instagram and even Tiktok, without touching a camera.

I know, this has been one of the most trending if we’re talking about ways to make money with AI anywhere but it is not trending without a reason. Many people are earning from it. And you can also do that, completely with AI tools.

To get started, just find the right niche that’s in high demand like Motivational and personal development, Finance, History etc.

With the right niche and a steady audience, all you need next is to use an AI tool like ChatGPT, Grok etc. to write your script. After this is done, you now need a voice generation tool to create the narration. A tool like Elevenlabs etc. can come in very handy here.

When you’re done with voice generation, its time to create the videos. For this, video content generation tools like Invideo AI can come in very handy here.

If you prefer, you can also use image to video options where you use AI to transform static images to animated scenes for your videos.

After you’ve created the videos, you can post them on YouTube or any platform of choice, monetize it and start earning after you have been able to grow your audience.

Design and Sell a Digital Product

Creating and selling digital products can earn you a very decent income but what integrating this system with AI does is that it steps up the process, helping you to earn even more.

There are a number of these digital products you can create, sell and make money with AI. For example, you can start with any of the following:

• Publishing Storybook: With the help of AI tools like ChatGPT, Copy AI etc., almost anyone that understands prompt engineering can create very good story books, edit, formats and sells them on digital platforms like Amazon. A number of authors are already doing this.
• Creating eBooks & Guides: If story books are not our thing, you can create eBooks and short guides on simple topics that interests people, edit the books, add value and your own perspective and then sell them across digital platforms.
• Templates and automation systems: In addition to others, you can also create templates, designs, build automation systems and applications etc., host them on your platforms and sell to clients.

Your choice of a preferred digital product should depend on market demand. Research what is working and driving sales before getting into it.

AI Video Content & Editing

You’ve probably watched one or more entirely AI generated video content on YouTube, Instagram or Tiktok. The thing about some of these videos is that people are not just embracing them, they have their own audience.

The first time I saw some of these videos, I was totally intrigued but seeing the engagement, I understood this was a solid content niche one could use to build an audience, monetize and make money with AI.

If this is something that appeals to you, you can make money with AI videos, using these strategies:

• AI Video Services: Offer AI video services to busy creators and get paid for it. This can include services like turning long form videos into short snacky reels and YouTube shorts, Creating and posting theme-based AI videos for clients etc.
• Creating & Selling AI Scripts: If you’re good with prompt engineering, create and sell AI scripts to clients based on their industry and specific needs.
• AI Influencers: AI influencers are virtual personas created with AI. Develop AI powered personas, create and share content around this persona on your platform either on Tiktok, YouTube or Instagram. With this, you can monetize your channel and also earn through partnerships.

There are other ways to earn a living with AI using video content like using AI tools to edit videos, creating actual video content off AI generated scripts and also, creating and managing a faceless YouTube channel which I already mentioned earlier.

Choose what works for you based on market demand pool and your own realities.

Final Words

It’s very possible that while you’re using generative AI to ask question, somebody you know somewhere is already asking question and earning with AI. But you can change the script and join them if you take a step today.

It starts with identifying your niche, doing quick research to understand the demand pool, picking a tool and AI powered services based on demand, creating your solutions and marketing it like your life depends on it. Because it does.

That said, you don’t have to do all of this alone. You can work with a group of like minds, get mentors and also reach out to our team to get all the support you need in this journey. Reach out to us here.

Now it’s your turn. What are your challenges when it comes to using AI to make money digitally? Drop your comments below.