Best AI Tools for Course Creators 2026 (What I Actually Use)

Most "best AI tools for course creators" roundups look the same. The creator signs up to seven or eight tools just to show them off, and doesn't use any of them day to day. This isn't that.

These are the AI tools I actually use in my one-person online business. I've tested a lot of them over the last few years, and these are the ones that stuck. I walk you through them in four steps, from finding out what people want to selling your finished course.

Key Takeaways

• Start with keyword research so your course answers the questions people are already asking, instead of guessing what they need.
• Use more than one AI model for market research, and treat the output as a starting point, not the finished plan.
• You don't need every AI tool: a few that speed up research, editing and selling are enough, and the work is still yours.

The 4 Steps of Creating a Course With AI

1. Find out what people want: keyword research and planning before you hit record. This is the step most course creators skip.
2. Plan and write: research the market and shape your course.
3. Record and edit: create the lessons.
4. Host and sell: package the course and put it in front of people.

I use dog training as the example throughout, but the process works for any topic.

Step 1: AI Tools for Finding Out What People Want

Gone are the days of building a course around what you think people should know. You may have the expertise, but if your course answers the questions most people are asking, you know it will get them results. You're no longer creating in a vacuum.

AnswerThePublic

I always come back to AnswerThePublic, from Neil Patel Digital. Choose search keywords, set your country, type in the main keyword your course is about and click search. You get a dashboard with search volume and the ideas people are typing into AI models, social media, shopping sites and search engines.

For dog training, that included things like the best training tools for beginners and how to choose the right training collar: all ideas for course content. I show it in more detail in how I use AnswerThePublic.

Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest, also from Neil Patel Digital, goes a little deeper with more of an AI summary. You can see brands mentioned in AI answers, the top sources AI draws on, prompt ideas, keyword ideas and search intent.

Keywords Everywhere

I use the Keywords Everywhere Chrome extension whenever I'm on YouTube. Credits are cheap, and it shows search volumes alongside what people type. Search "dog training" and you'll see suggestions like training for beginners, recall, collars and aggressive behaviour, with the volume for each.

Click through to see which videos are served for those searches. It might even give you the idea for a bonus module.

Step 2: AI Tools for Planning and Writing Your Course

Next, open a conversation with a large language model. Claude, Gemini or ChatGPT, it doesn't really matter. I dictate into it using Wispr Flow, explaining the course I want to build and who it's for.

Then I ask it to search the internet for existing programmes on the topic and, more importantly, look for gaps in the market and negative feedback I could address in my own course.

Use More Than One AI Model

I wouldn't rely on one model at this stage. While Claude is working, I paste the same prompt into Google Gemini with Deep Research switched on. You could do the same with ChatGPT or Grok. More on that in my post on Gemini Deep Research.

In my example, Claude came back with the main players, the gaps and complaints in order of size, and what a winning course might look like. Gemini's report was far more comprehensive, so I'd sit down and review it over a coffee. Don't take either and run with it. Use them to spark ideas.

NotebookLM for Analysing Videos You Like

If you've found YouTube videos on your topic that you like, create a new project in NotebookLM, add the video links as sources and analyse them. Then tell it you're designing a course and like that trainer's approach or values, and it will suggest angles for your own programme. Here's my NotebookLM guide.

Step 3: AI Tools for Recording and Editing

I use Descript for all my videos and editing. It has a web version and a desktop version, and an AI co-editor called Underlord. Click "improve this video" and it analyses the whole video in seconds and suggests changes, which you can then chat through and apply.

The bigger time saver is text-based editing: if you can edit a document, you can edit a video. If you're still creating your own content, it takes a fraction of the time. See my Descript walkthrough.

Step 4: AI Tools for Hosting and Selling Your Course

I use Kajabi to host my website, sell my products and services, take payments and send all my emails. It has six product types, which can be free or paid. To build a course, choose evergreen or cohort, then work through the setup wizard.

The wizard has a toggle to generate extra resources from what you enter. I'd only leave it on if you're unsure how to structure your programme. If you've already done the research, planning and recording, switch it off and simply upload and package your lessons. I walk through the full process in how to create an online course in Kajabi.

Kajabi Co-Founder

Kajabi now has its own AI built into your dashboard, called Co-Founder. Because it sits inside your account, you can ask it specific questions about your content or your sales. I use it a lot to interrogate my own setup and work out how to improve it. It becomes even more useful when you start writing sales and landing pages.

Connecting Claude to Kajabi With MCP

Under integrations in Kajabi, you can connect an AI assistant through MCP (Model Context Protocol). I've connected mine to Claude, so I can ask it to build landing pages, draft an email sequence or create a new checkout from inside Claude. I explain how I use Claude across the business in how I use Claude to run a one-person online business.

What I Don't Use

Just because there are so many AI tools doesn't mean you need them all. I deliberately don't use AI avatars or AI video generation. Everything you see of me is real, recorded on my camera and edited in Descript. I use AI to speed up the processes around content creation, not to replace me.

I'd also avoid anything that promises to build an online course in minutes. You still need to put in the work. For the wider picture, see the AI tools for small businesses actually worth paying for.

Conclusion

The best AI tools for course creators are the ones that help with each of the four steps: find out what people want, plan and write, record and edit, then host and sell.

Start with keyword research, use more than one AI model for market research, keep editing simple, and put your offer in front of people. If you don't ask for the sale, you won't get it.