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If you want to make money with AI in 2026, this is the most important article you'll read all year.

Let's cut straight to the chase.

My credentials: $5M+in digital product revenue, CEO/founder of a 30-person AI media company, and $20M+ revenue with the help of AI systems.

This isn't to boast, but rather to emphasise this isn't just another AI slop article - this entire piece is coming from someone with real experience and a real background making money online.

Earlier this year, I published "How to WIN the 2026 AI Gold Rush" - the article I would tell the 20-year-old version of myself to read if I wanted to crush the competition and capitalise on the AI gold rush.

I enjoyed writing it, and the feedback was largely positive, but since publishing, the comments and DMs have been the same:

"This is great in theory, but how do I actually make money from it?''

This is Part Two, where I'll focus less on the general frameworks and more on practical execution, with real examples and real income streams you can build with AI right now.

For the past year, I've been deep in the AI trenches. I've spent countless hours connecting with real founders, building my AI network, funding startups, and getting my hands dirty with real AI workflows.

I believe by reading this article, you're tapping into knowledge and experience that other creators can't mimic. I write all my articles by hand (no AI slop), and share only my real experiences (for free).

All I ask is that if this article delivers value, you Like/Repost and follow me @milesdeutscher & @aiedge_ so I can keep making content like this!

A Quick Recap of Part One

If you missed Part One, let me quickly summarise - this is important to establish.

In Part One, I discussed three different "architects" (frameworks) for getting rich with AI:

In this article, I'll be diving into three practical examples of how to maximise your role as an Income Architect and Venture Architect.

A.k.a. how to use AI to build additional income streams and launch successful AI-based products.

With that said, let's dive in.

Path One: The Distribution Play

This is the path with the lowest barrier and the path most people underestimate because it does not feel like a "business" at first.

The concept

Pick 1-2 AI skills/tools and master them.

Think: Claude, OpenClaw, AI front-end development, agentic workflows, prompt engineering.

The exact skill/tool you pick will depend on your background and previous experience.

For beginners, stick to broad skills like Claude and prompt engineering.

If you have technical expertise and are more advanced, leverage that to learn agentic workflow design, AI systems, etc.

The point is, pick a trending AI skill/tool and go DEEP - learn it better than 99.99% of people.

Then document the journey publicly.

Share your findings consistently on distribution platforms like X, YouTube, or wherever your audience already is (you can use AI to research where your niche consumes content).

The content does not need to be perfect, but it does need to be specific, honest, and useful to someone one step behind you.

started, and it's also exactly how I built a following in crypto. This is exactly how @aiedge_ started.

How to monetise

Once you have built genuine expertise and a small but engaged audience around it, the monetisation paths are straightforward.

1. Paid Community or Membership - a private group where you share your workflows, your systems, your templates, and your ongoing learning. People pay for access, accountability, and information curation.

2. Course or Cohort - package everything you know into a structured learning experience, like a one-time purchase or cohort-based live sessions

3. Sponsors - where companies will pay for your reach and marketing campaigns. You can even consult them on how to build reach.

Some personal content advice from someone who built a $20M+ agencvy:

Online distribution is a huge moat, and it's the modern-day equivalent of traditional advertising.

Path Two: Consulting - The SMBs Play

This is the fastest path to real income for most people reading this.

Not because it is easy, but because the demand is enormous and the supply of people who can actually deliver is tiny.

From personal experience, I can say that literally every entrepreneur I talk to is looking to cut their workforce and headcount down - yet, they don't know how to.

Even my dad (in the art business) is running the same manual processes he did 10-15 years ago.

The person (or agency) who can fill that gap will have a literal money printer in their hands.

The concept

You become the AI person for businesses that cannot afford to hire one full-time.

What this looks like: you diagnose where AI can create the most leverage in their specific operation, design the solution, and charge for the implementation.

This is not generic consulting or telling a business owner to "use ChatGPT more." It is identifying the specific workflows that are eating their team's time, then building AI systems to automate processes and unlock productivity.

How to monetise

The businesses worth targeting are not large enterprises with internal AI teams (e.g., Amazon, Google, Microsoft).

These companies have the resources and means to build solutions themselves.

You want to target local law firms, marketing agencies, real estate offices, accountancy practices, e-commerce businesses, and professional services companies that rely on outdated manual processes.

Your model:

1. Audit fee - initial fee to diagnose their problems.

2. Solution - for building and deploying the automation/agent/AI solution

3. Maintenance/Retainer - a fee to maintain and update the solution.

With this model, you have several benefits:

Path Three: The Product Play

This is the highest-ceiling path and the classic "Venture Architect" route. It is also the hardest and the one that requires the most from you before it gives anything back.

You build a product (from zero), but you own all the upside.

The concept

Build something people pay for.

Some examples: an AI-native tool, an automated service, a productized workflow, or an agency built on AI infrastructure.

The single most important principle for this path: PMF (product-market fit) comes FIRST - always.

You could have the coolest idea in the world, but if nobody wants to use it, you'll fail.

This is exactly why this path has the highest barrier to entry.

You should only pursue the "product play" if you know exactly what you're building, who it'll be for, and ideally, you already have distribution and a network to back it.

If you do pursue this route, there are really only three areas you should be focusing on (in my opinion):

1. Vertical AI tools - software built for a specific industry problem that could not have existed two years ago. AI-powered trading journals for active traders, automated compliance monitoring for financial services, and AI content pipelines for media companies.

2. AI-powered agencies - high-ticket service businesses built on AI infrastructure.

3. Productized services - take a service you can deliver with AI and package it at a fixed price. You are not selling your time; you are selling the output. Your job becomes to handle client service, marketing, and scaling.

The cool thing is, AI has compressed the time and capital required to test products in all three of these areas.

For free, in a day, you can code a prototype, launch a website, and run a marketing campaign (which would've taken weeks and thousands of dollars before AI).

Some advice for launching successful products:

Final Thoughts

To be clear, none of these paths are easy, but they sure do all have massive upside.

My advice

Path One (Distribution Play): for those looking for a low-barrier-to-entry income stream.

Path Two (Consulting/SMBs): best for those with at least some capital, some skills (or willing to outsource), and ideally previous sales/business experience.

Path Three (Product Play): you're in a better position to attack this once you're more established and can afford to take the calculated risk. Ideally, you've already succeeded at one of the other paths first.

I hope you found this piece valuable - I write all my articles by hand and only share based on my real experiences.

If that's the style of content you want on your feed, be sure to follow me @milesdeutscher & @aiedge_ , and more articles will be on your feed soon.

In this article, I covered how to build income with AI distribution, products, and various business models.

However, there is one path I didn't cover. The "Career Architect" - these are people who leverage AI to build skills in their current role and become more valuable to the marketplace. It's a perfect balance of potential upside while still ensuring job security in the AI era.

If that Architect style interests you and you want to maximise your career versus starting new income streams, read this:

Lastly, be sure to Like/Repost, and share this with someone who would benefit. 💙