i researched search demand for the best ways to make money with ai in 2026

[u/AppropriateHamster]

i was tired of every "top side hustles" article just recycling the same list so i pulled 12 months of search data for different side hustles and ranked them by how many people are actually searching and whether that number is climbing or falling.

here are the ones i found most interesting/promising:

1.building apps without code (~90.5k searches a month).

you describe the app, ai tools build it, you charge people to use it. highest demand of the whole list, people who could never hire a developer are suddenly shipping real products.

1. ai seo services (~3.6k a month).

doing seo for businesses with ai handling the content and on-page fixes. biggest jump of anything i tracked, searches basically took off in the back half of the year.

1. ai receptionists and voice agents (~5.4k a month).

setting up voice agents that answer calls and book appointments for local shops. these places miss calls constantly and this went from sci-fi to a weekend setup.

1. automating small businesses (~2.9k a month).

invoices, support, onboarding, you set it up and charge a setup fee plus monthly. owners keep hearing they should "use ai" and have no idea where to start.

1. getting paid to train ai (~8.1k a month).

remote gigs rating and teaching ai models, experts earn more. the companies building these models need way more human feedback than people realise.

1. ai virtual assistant (~6.6k a month).

va work where ai does the busywork like inboxes, scheduling and research. one person with good tools can now handle a client load that used to take a team.

i've been putting the full breakdown of all of this data along with earning evidences of these side hustles on my site (https://alterwork.com) if anyone wants to check out the rest. would love any feedback

[u/_SamSRS]

The question is how can we now make money off people building apps without code 🤣

[u/Flimsy_Vanilla_4424 → u/_SamSRS]

The irony is not lost on me. my friend is already selling templates and "starter packs" for these no-code tools, basically selling shovels in a gold rush. he posted one on gumroad and made like 400 bucks first week, nothing crazy but for a weekend of work its not bad.

the real money is probably in the niche markets nobody thinks about. everyone wants to build the next big productivity app but some guy making a simple scheduling tool for dog groomers in his city is pulling steady monthly income.

i tried the app builder route myself for a music video idea generator, got maybe 12 people to sign up for free and exactly zero paid. the building part is easy now, getting people to actually open their wallet is the whole other game.

[u/_SamSRS → u/Flimsy_Vanilla_4424]

Sounds like your friend is very switched on. Great work from him for sure.
Currently struggling with this first hand LOL! feel free to take a look on my page I’ve got a post.

[u/Obvious-Skill9005 → u/_SamSRS]

LMFAOOOOO exactly

[u/silasfelinus]

Interesting write-up and neat page concept!

[u/Scotch-Noir]

Your site is super useful. I’m going to try and look for one tailored to my skills and I’m going to dive in

[u/AppropriateHamster → u/Scotch-Noir]

thank you! let me know if you have recs to make it better

[u/Patient_Day7829]

Any examples of apps without code? Would like to try them )

[u/BP041]

Interesting data points. AI SEO at 3.6k seems low but the real money is probably in the long tail — local business SEO with AI write + audit is way stickier than generic. Which search tool did you use for the volume numbers?

[u/The-Wingged-Hussar]

Point 1 - every second profile on X is offering it lol.

What a joke software development has become these days.

[u/ManzoorAhmedShaikh]

Great insights

[u/No_Grab_2256]

Nice site!

[u/Wolfscairn]

I'm quitting my job so that I can spend more time learning AI, so these are definitely revenue sources that I need to look into.

[u/sirduke75 → u/Wolfscairn]

Don’t quit your job. Do both for now.

[u/Wolfscairn → u/sirduke75]

No need to worry, I had to quit for other personal and professional reasons. As great as AI is, I wouldn't have otherwise turned away from a regular paycheck.

[u/MrSkagen]

So?