There’s a photo app built by a solopreneur making $140K/month and a mental health chatbot pulling in $23.9M/year. These founders cracked the code on monetizing AI — and today, I’ll walk you through 10 real AI business models you can build on, fast.

1. AI Visual Enhancement Services

What it is: These are AI-powered tools that transform, enhance, or generate visual content. These apps use AI to automatically improve photos, create new images, or modify existing visuals without requiring design skills.

Market opportunity: According to Harvard Business Review, the AI Image Generator Market is estimated to grow from $8.7 billion in 2024 to $60.8 billion in 2030.

App types & applications:

• Personal branding: AI headshot generators, avatar creators, social media photo enhancers
• Interior design: Room redesign tools, furniture placement, color scheme generators
• E-commerce: Product photo backgrounds, lifestyle shots, catalog enhancement
• Real estate: Virtual staging, property photo enhancement, 360° tour creation
• Marketing: Logo generators, banner creators, stock photo alternatives

Success story: Pieter Levels, is a solopreneur who runs both PhotoAI.com ($140K/month) and InteriorAI.com ($35K/month) — $175K monthly combined revenue from two simple visual AI tools.

“In Peter’s example, it just goes to show that you don’t need big teams or budgets to get ideas like this off the ground.”

Getting started: Pick a specific visual problem (don’t go broad).

Technology: Use AI APIs like OpenAI DALL·E, Midjourney API, Stable Diffusion.

2. AI-Powered Coaching & Consulting

What it is: These are AI-driven platforms that provide personalized guidance, therapy, and coaching. They use conversational AI to deliver scalable coaching experiences that traditionally required human interaction.

Market opportunity: Nearly 40% of U.S. adults are using generative AI, with therapy, life organization, and finding purpose being the top use cases.

App types & applications:

• Mental health: AI therapists, anxiety management, depression support chatbots
• Life coaching: Goal setting assistants, productivity coaches, habit formation apps
• Career guidance: Interview prep, resume optimization, career path planning
• Fitness coaching: Personalized workouts, nutrition, progress tracking
• Business mentoring: Startup advice, leadership development

Success story: Wysa, an AI mental health app, is generating $23.9 million annually.

“Focus on one specific coaching niche rather than trying to be everything to everyone.”

Getting started: Choose a clear niche like “AI career coach for developers” or “anxiety support for college students.”

Technology: Use GPT API or Claude + layer in coaching frameworks. Consider using Nebulum’s no-code tutorials on RAG and fine-tuning (linked below).

3. Synthetic Beings / AI Influencers

What it is: These are digital-only personalities that earn money through sponsored content, brand deals, and fan engagement.

Market opportunity: Estimated at $6.06B in 2024, projected to hit $45.88B by 2030.

App types & applications:

• Brand partnerships and sponsorships
• AI-generated lifestyle, fashion, and travel content
• Virtual concerts, storytelling, entertainment
• Virtual try-ons and product modeling
• Fan clubs and premium subscription content

Success story: Lil Miquela earns $10M/year and up to $20,828 per Instagram post.

Getting started: Define a clear brand and niche voice. Use AI for visual consistency and written persona.

Technology: Combine Midjourney or DALL·E with ChatGPT to create voice and content.

4. AI Agents

What it is: Software that autonomously executes tasks, solves problems, and makes decisions without human input.

Market opportunity: Expected to grow from $5.4B in 2024 to $50.31B by 2030.

App types & applications:

• Customer service: ticket resolution
• Sales: lead qualification, follow-up, scheduling
• Marketing: SEO, content calendars
• Analytics: insight reports, trend analysis
• Operations: invoicing, inventory, workflows

Success story: While still early, Gartner and McKinsey estimate agentic AI will reshape business decisions by 2028.

Getting started: Choose one use case like customer support or lead qualification.

Technology: Use AutoGPT, AgentGPT, LangChain. Integrate with APIs for action-taking abilities.

5. Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

What it is: Software robots that mimic human actions to automate repetitive digital tasks.

Market opportunity: From $3.79B in 2024 to $30.85B by 2030.

App types & applications:

• Finance: payroll, invoicing, reconciliations
• HR: onboarding, compliance, benefits
• Support: ticket routing, info gathering
• Logistics: orders, tracking, vendor communications
• Healthcare: claims, patient data entry

Success story: UiPath raised $1B, went public, and serves 10,000+ clients with high-ROI automation.

Getting started: Start with a niche like “invoice automation for accounting firms.”

Technology: Use UiPath, Sola, Automation Anywhere.

6. AI Writing & Content Assistants

Use tools like Jasper or Writesonic to help users write blogs, emails, scripts, and more at scale and with better quality.

7. AI Data Analysis & Insight Platforms

Create platforms that interpret complex data and automatically surface insights, trends, and reports—ideal for dashboards and strategic decision-making.

8. AI Education & Training Tools

Apps like Duolingo Max or Khanmigo show how AI can personalize and scale learning through tutoring, test prep, and language mastery.

9. AI-Powered Marketplaces

Match buyers and sellers, optimize prices, and enhance personalization using intelligent recommendation engines powered by AI.

10. AI Voice & Audio Tools

Build tools that edit podcasts, convert text-to-speech, or generate music, helping creators save time and produce professional-quality audio.

Conclusion

That’s your complete list of 10. Pick one that excites you — then start simple, niche down, and build from there.

Also keep in mind that everything I’ve mentioned on this list is entirely possible to build using no-code tools. So if you want to learn how to build AI applications without having to know how to code, be sure to check out our no-code AI course over at Nebulum. A link to the course and a coupon code can be found in the description below.

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