5 BEST AI Side Hustles for Beginners in 2026 (Tested By Paul J Lipsky)

I just watched a video by Paul J Lipsky where he breaks down 5 AI side hustles he has personally tested. This is not theory. He shows actual workflows and tools. I took notes and simplified everything so it’s easy to understand.

Automated AI eCommerce store

Paul suggests that you can now start a full eCommerce store without doing most of the work yourself. He uses a tool called Build Your Store which:

• Creates a complete Shopify store

• Picks products for you

• Sets up everything automatically

For marketing, he uses a tool called create UGC:

• It generates product videos

• AI influencers talk about your product

• You can post these videos on social media

The idea is simple:
You launch the store, post AI-generated content, and let the system handle orders. He also mentions that you can improve results using:

• chatgpt or Claude for product descriptions

• Video tools like Pictory or Invideo AI for ads

• Dropshipping tools like DSers or Spocket

Social media content for local businesses

Paul says this is one of the easiest ways to start making money. He uses a Google AI tool called Pomelli.

What it does:

• You paste a business website

• It analyzes the brand like colors, style, tone

• It creates social media posts automatically

You can offer this as a service to small businesses that don’t have time to manage their content. For better results, he suggests combining it with:

• canva for design

• Buffer or Hootsuite for scheduling

• Copy tools like Jasper or Copy.ai

The idea is to sell simple content packages to local businesses.

Creating digital products

Paul explains how to create things like ebooks using AI.

His workflow:

• Use ChatGPT to write the content

• Use Canva to design the product

• Sell it on platforms like Etsy or Amazon

He gives an example of creating a meal planning ebook with:

• Weekly plans

• Shopping lists

• Simple recipes

You can also create:

• Notion templates ( Selling Notion Templates )

• Study guides

• Planners

• Prompt packs

Additional tools he recommends:

• Notion AI

• Midjourney for images

• Gumroad or payhip to sell

AI-generated music

This is a less common idea but he shows how it works.

He uses a tool called Music GPT:

• You describe the type of music you want

• The AI generates it

• It can include lyrics or just instrumentals

He suggests monetizing it by:

• Starting a YouTube channel (like lofi music)

• Selling music on fiverr

• Selling sound effects on platforms like Gumroad

Other tools you can explore:

• Suno AI

• Boomy

• ElevenLabs for voice

Faceless YouTube channels

This is one of the main opportunities he talks about.

The workflow is:

• Use Claude to write scripts

• Use AI voice tools for narration

• Use Canva or other tools for visuals

• Upload videos to YouTube

You don’t need to show your face or record anything yourself. He also mentions tools like:

• Pictory.ai or Fliki for video creation

• Midjourney or DALL-E 3 for images

• vidIQ or TubeBuddy for optimization

The main advice Paul gives

He makes one thing very clear. Do not try all five at once. Pick one and stay consistent with it. That is how you actually start making money.

My takeaway

AI is making these things easier, but it is not doing the work for you completely.

You still need:

• Consistency

• Basic skills

• Time to improve

If you try to jump between different ideas, you will not see results. If anyone here has tried any of these AI side hustles, I would like to know what is actually working right now.