In partnership with

100 Genius Side Hustle Ideas

Don't wait. Sign up for The Hustle to unlock our side hustle database. Unlike generic "start a blog" advice, we've curated 100 actual business ideas with real earning potential, startup costs, and time requirements. Join 1.5M professionals getting smarter about business daily and launch your next money-making venture.

Hey!

Remember when everyone said "learn to code" to make money online?

That advice is dead!

In 2026, the people making the most money aren't writing code. They're using AI to do what took developers years to learn in just minutes.

I know creators make $4,000 a month writing newsletters. Designers charge $20 per thumbnail they create in two minutes. Copywriters earning $2K monthly retainers for work that takes them 10 seconds.

The difference? They picked the right side hustle and the right tool for it.

Today, I will show you 5 proven AI side hustles that are currently generating cash.

But let's take a quick look at this week's news👇

📰 Important News

📺YouTube testing longest ad blocks ever at 90 seconds on TV viewing. Over 1 billion hours watched daily on TV sets as platform competes with traditional streaming.

🚨Meta debuts Muse Spark with AI Shopping mode. Spending $115B-$135B on AI in 2026. Zuckerberg pivots from open source after Llama 4 flopped.

LinkedIn now lets users watch videos at 0.5x to 2x speed for better control. Video watch time rose 36% in 2024 and generates 1.4x more engagement than other formats.

🔒 US proposed MATCH Act would restrict older chipmaking equipment sales to China affecting ASML shares.

💬Instagram testing Notes visibility to all followers instead of just mutual connections. Teen users already post 10x more Notes than non-teens making it popular engagement tool.

Instagram post

5 AI Side Hustles Printing Cash Right Now

P.S. This image was created with ViralSky.ai. Just describe what you want, and it generates the image in seconds🙌

1/ Affiliate Marketer/Creator

People spend billions of dollars on AI subscriptions. You can promote hot AI softwares and earn up to 50% from each sale on Anderro.

It's free to join for every marketer and there is NO limit on how much you can earn.

The best part? You don't need a product, a team, or even a website to start. Just post content online, talk to people and share your affiliate links.

This article can help you get started👇

2/ Newsletter Writer

This is the best newsletter platform for creators which is also the easiest to monetize. The one I am using right now and you are reading.

It’s called Beehiiv. You can use their ad system to promote companies inside your newsletter without looking for sponsors.

I have creator friends making $2k or even $4k a month from just this. You can start 100% for free and start paying only when you cross 2500 subscribers.

You can also promote your own products in the newsletter or join their affiliate program as well.

The real edge here is that email audiences are yours. No algorithm can take them away.

Here's the link for this👇

Learn how to code faster with AI in 5 mins a day

You're spending 40 hours a week writing code that AI could do in 10.

While you're grinding through pull requests, 200k+ engineers at OpenAI, Google & Meta are using AI to ship faster.

How?

The Code newsletter teaches them exactly which AI tools to use and how to use them.

Here's what you get:

  • AI coding techniques used by top engineers at top companies in just 5 mins a day

  • Tools and workflows that cut your coding time in half

  • Tech insights that keep you 6 months ahead

Sign up and get access to the Ultimate Claude code guide to ship 5X faster.

3/ AI Copywriter

Become an AI copywriter for companies or personal brands. Even though AI can write well now, there still needs to be quality control over the content.

You can be the guy for this. Create viral posts or threads in seconds. Turn news into content. I recently got 100K views from just 1 news post that I made with ViralSky in 10 seconds.

You can easily charge $500 for a part time client or $1000-$2000 for a full time client and make content every day in 15 minutes.

Businesses are actively paying people every month to do this consistently. This is the tool 👇

4/ AI Thumbnail Designer

YouTube is the best social media platform because it makes people the most money. It's not going away any time soon.

So creators will naturally need the best thumbnails they can get, but professional designers charge $50 to $100 per one.

With AI, you can create 500 thumbnails for $50. That's a massive margin if you charge even $10 to $20 per thumbnail, and clients will keep coming back every time they upload.

Use this tool to create viral thumbnails👇

5/ Content Creator

People still want to connect with people. No AI is gonna take that away from us. If you can create content that attracts eyeballs, you can monetize it while you sleep.

You can earn commissions on affiliate marketing while you sleep, brands will reach out to you, and your digital products will sell regularly.

I am doing this one myself and have made mid-six figures in sales since I started. The key is consistency. AI just makes it 10x faster to get there.

Here's how I made $80K+ with AI content in 1 month:

The truth nobody tells you.

AI won't replace you.

Someone using AI better than you will.

Pick one side hustle. Start this week.

Six months from now, you'll either have income or excuses.

René

Reply

Avatar

or to participate

Keep Reading