Now that people can simply ask ChatGPT or Perplexity, should you even bother packaging your expertise as an online course? In this article, you’ll discover four qualities of great online courses that AI can’t duplicate, and get a simple quiz to tell you if what you know would make a good online course.
With AI companies and even search engines scraping online data to produce instant AI generated answers to just about any question, many people are starting to wonder
- Is there is still even such a thing as expertise?
- Will people buy online courses anymore if they can get the same info for free?
Good questions.
Even as I write and publish this post, I have to reconcile the fact that AI will “steal” it and serve it up to someone in the future who may or may not know it came from me.
The good news is that there are things AI will never be able to do. And they matter. In this response to a question from a client below, I include several of them.
Q: Should I even create a course now that people can just use AI?
Answer: YES! There are even more opportunities than ever.
But, the days of the totally passive ‘information-only’ courses are over. I’ve been helping clients future-proof their online business with highly curated courses that create unique learning experiences, connection, personal transformation, and a sense of community. And they are still working very well.
The right types of online courses are going to thrive even more thanks to AI.
While some people have been able to make money in the past selling just “information”, the value of the online courses we’ve created has never been primarily the “information” they offer.
The real value has always been in qualities like these:
- The Unique Method
- A Curated Learning Experience
- Building a Sense of Connection
- Creating Transformation
And all of these will still have value in a world with AI generated “information.”
The Unique Method
AI does not have a point of view or personality. It doesn’t have past experiences to shape the way it decides to present information. You do. I help clients “name and frame” their unique approaches, systems, and principles, and infuse their courses with their style and personality.
A Curated Learning Experience
AI can only answer the questions people think to ask. But when we learn, we need an expert who knows what questions we should be asking. Curating the steps and building the learning framework is a big part of the value of the kind of online course that will survive AI.
Building a Sense of Connection
AI doesn’t challenge, empathize, listen, or share. You don’t necessarily need a membership or forum to create community, but you do need some interactivity that AI can’t provide. The truth is, most people find it easier to do hard things together.
Creating Transformation
The best online courses go beyond merely learning a tactical skill, or passively absorbing facts. The best courses help the student evolve – they create an opportunity to walk away as a slightly different person than when you started.
AI-Proofing Quiz
If you have an online course, answer these questions to see if you need to future-proof it:
- Do you use any branded, unique terms to describe the methods or principles you teach? (Have you “named-and-claimed” your unique approach)
- Do students experience a “win” within the first 10% of the course work? Does the course help them see and celebrate it?
- Does your course include exercises or worksheets – any kind of activities – that help students to immediately practice what they are learning in real life situations?
- Does your course introduce some unique point of view – something unconventional or counterintuitive that you know because of your years of personal experience?
- Does your course provide any opportunities for students to interact with you?
- Does your course provide any opportunities for students to interact with each other?
- Do you provide any kind of real time group Q&A, feedback session, hot seat, showcase, one-on-one review, or other interactive sessions with your course?
- Can you confidently say that students will experience some kind of transformation if they complete the course?
If you answered two or more of these with a “no” you have an opportunity now – before AI really takes over – to update and future-proof your course.
Post Image 2025 (c) KeithRhys.com
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