AI isn’t just a shiny buzzword on TechCrunch. For many people it’s quietly becoming part of how they pay the rent, or at least subsidise it with weird little cash streams that weren’t possible a few years ago. Some of these might even make you chuckle.
1. Viral AI “slop” videos
There’s an odd cottage industry of creators churning out bizarre, AI-generated videos that go viral for being weird or hilarious. One creator told The Washington Post that by pumping out low-effort clips, he was earning around $5,000 a month from platform creator funds.
Most of these creators aren’t trying to build brands or audiences. They’re chasing algorithms. When formats burn out, they switch. When payouts change, they disappear.
2. AI training micro-tasks via gig apps
Uber is piloting a program in the U.S. where drivers can earn extra by doing tiny tasks – voice recordings, quick photos and other “microtask” work that helps train AI models.
The appeal is convenience. Tasks fit into downtime. The downside is scale. Nobody’s quitting their job over this, but enough people are opting in to make it viable for platforms experimenting with AI data collection.
3. Selling niche AI content or products
Across forums and freelance boards people talk about using AI to generate designs, product descriptions or even clothing graphics that they sell online. You see this in print-on-demand side hustles and digital products on Etsy and similar marketplaces.
The winners here tend to be people who already understand marketplaces. AI speeds up production, but pricing, listing optimisation, and customer support still decide who lasts.
4. Freelancing with AI as a “secret helper”
No, AI doesn’t replace editors or coders yet but it helps them get more done. Freelancers charge for content creation, UX improvements or data tasks while using generative tools to speed up first drafts and brainstorming. Freelance marketplaces are filled with these gigs.
Clients usually don’t care how the work gets done, only that it’s accurate and on time. That puts pressure on freelancers to keep AI invisible – and fix mistakes before anyone notices.
5. Creating and selling prompt libraries or workflows
Some people are packaging prompts, templates and workflow guides that help teams use AI tools without reinventing the wheel. These can be sold directly or bundled with consulting. It’s like selling recipes – pretty simple, but someone’s willing to pay for the shortcut.
The catch is maintenance. Prompts age badly as tools change. What sells today often needs updating in six months, which turns “passive income” into light ongoing labour.
6. Helping companies with mundane automations
A surprisingly common paid gig: use AI to automate tedious tasks like email sorting, customer replies, summarising docs or flagging relevant records. These jobs usually start small and grow quietly. Once something saves time reliably, it gets reused – and suddenly the person who built it becomes indispensable.
7. Localising AI output
AI authors exist, but editors still make sure things sound human – and some editors now specialise in cleaning up AI drafts. Publishers, SEO teams and busy founders are paying for this somewhere between “worth the price” and “please fix this before my boss sees it.”
The work isn’t creative in the traditional sense. It’s about tone, rhythm, and knowing when something feels off. That’s hard to automate, at least for now.
8. Niche research and data work
There’s a whole market in supplying well-labelled data to training pipelines, often via staffing companies feeding large AI labs. It’s not glamorous, but it’s one of the ways humans still fuel AI growth.
Pay varies wildly depending on the task and employer. Accuracy matters more than speed, which makes it a poor fit for some people and steady work for others.
9. Teaching pros how not to embarrass themselves with AI
There’s demand for simple workshops on AI etiquette, risk, hallucinations and what not to do – especially among lawyers, executives and mid-career people who got handed a tool and asked to look like they know it. One Reddit thread’s worth of discussion shows people actually being paid to help teams integrate and manage AI.
10. Passive income from AI-assisted content databases
Some bloggers and niche sites use AI to help build large content sets that attract search traffic and ad revenue. One example discussed online is someone building unusual destination guides and automating follow-ups, then monetising traffic.
It’s not instant riches. But it does show a practical path where AI helps scale a tired old model.
11. Virtual influencers and AI models
Digital avatars like Spain’s popular AI influencer have built sizable followings and brand deals – and they aren’t even flesh and blood.
Behind most of these avatars is a small team managing tone, posting schedules, and brand deals. The “AI” part gets attention. The labour stays invisible.
12. Investing into AI-related stocks
Sometimes the easiest way ordinary folks profit from AI is by putting money into companies poised to benefit from the trend. A teenager in the U.S. turned profits from an Etsy shop and a paid community into AI tech and semiconductor stock gains of about $72,700.
It’s not AI doing the work here – more like owning the companies that do.
Most of these aren’t overnight riches. Many are boring, iterative, or come with a side of glitchy manual checks. The paycheck usually looks like regular work aided by a tool, not something out of a sci-fi movie.
