--- title: 'The Lazy Way I Make Money With AI (2026)' source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=n0phBDPz8z0' video_id: 'n0phBDPz8z0' date: 2026-07-21 duration_sec: 228 channel: 'Travis Nicholson' --- # The Lazy Way I Make Money With AI (2026) > Source: [The Lazy Way I Make Money With AI (2026)](https://youtube.com/watch?v=n0phBDPz8z0) ## Summary The video presents a simple, low-effort method for generating passive income by selling digital products created with AI tools. The creator shares their personal journey from struggling on Medium to earning over $3,000 per month using a minimal tech stack: ChatGPT, Canva, and Gumroad. ### Key Points - **The Simple Secret** [00:02] — The creator works only about 1 hour per week by using AI tools in a straightforward way, avoiding complex setups like agents or APIs. - **Starting Point** [00:16] — After years of writing on Medium with little success, the creator asked ChatGPT 'How can I make money online?' and that conversation sparked the entire approach. - **AI Should Simplify, Not Complicate** [00:44] — The key insight: if the system feels overwhelming, it's the wrong path. The goal is to let AI do 80% of the grunt work while you focus on the 20% that only you can do. - **First Product and First Sale** [01:08] — The first digital product took 2-3 hours to create using a Canva template and ChatGPT. It was listed on Gumroad and made four sales ($20) on the first day. - **Scaling Income** [01:55] — Income grew from $800/month in the first few months to over $3,000/month consistently. The system compounds as more products are added and traffic increases. - **The Simple Tech Stack** [02:08] — The entire setup: AI to write articles, AI to create digital products, and Gumroad to sell. No agents, APIs, or Zapier needed. - **What to Sell** [02:23] — Best products are simple and targeted to a specific audience. The creator's first product was a list of prompts and tips for Suno AI music generation. - **Reality Check** [03:03] — This is not get-rich-quick. It took 3 months to reach $1,000/month, 6 months to reach $2,000/month, and now consistently over $3,000/month. Persistence is key. ### Conclusion The video demonstrates that making money online with AI can be simple and low-effort if you focus on creating targeted digital products and let AI handle the heavy lifting. The key is to start small, use basic tools, and compound your efforts over time. ## Transcript selling digital products online and I work maybe 1 hour per week. The secret of course is using AI tools, but if you watch a lot of AI videos on YouTube, they talk about spinning up agents and connecting APIs. It doesn't need to be that complicated. I'm going to show you a simpler way. Now, I didn't start with a master plan or a 10-step strategy. I had been writing articles on Medium for years, but not getting much traction. I wasn't making any money. So, I literally opened up Chat GPT one day and I said, "How can I make money online?" And that one conversation with Chat GPT is where it all started. I've experimented a lot with passive income and AI tools, but it always ended up costing me time and money. I wanted to make money, not spend money. And that's when something clicked for me. AI is supposed to make our lives easier, not harder and more complicated. If the system you're building feels overwhelming, you're on the wrong path. So, I focus on one simple idea. Let AI do 80% of the grunt work and you do the 20% of work that only you can do. Because I want my effort to actually move things forward. So, my first digital product, it took me about 2 to 3 hours to create. I used a template from Canva. I used Chat GPT to accelerate the process, listed on Gumroad and got my first sale within a few hours. On my first day, I had four sales, $20. It doesn't sound like much, but it showed me something. It showed me that it is possible to make money online without spending money on paid ads, without connecting APIs or fancy AI tools. And I know that doesn't sound like much, but it proved to me that, "Hey, this actually can work." Real people paying real money for something that just took me two or three hours to first few months I was making about $800 a month and then it climbed to 1,000 and then 2,000 and now consistently I'm making over $3,000 a month, largely in passive income. The system I use compounds over time as you add more products and drive more traffic. My whole setup is ridiculously simple. I use AI to write articles, use AI to make digital products and I sell it on Gumroad. That's the entire stack. No agents, no APIs, no Zapier and I make $3,000 every month. So, what should you actually sell? The best products are simple products and the best products are made for specific people in a specific audience. My first product was about Suno AI and how to make music on Suno Suno AI and it was essentially just a list of prompts with a handful of tips and tricks on the program. That was the focus. If you have no idea what to create, I put together a list of 20 digital products that are selling in digital products that are selling in 2026 with real examples. I'll link that below. Grab that and use it as inspiration. Use it as a launch point for your first digital product. All right, so quick reality check. This is not about getting rich quick. It does take time. It does take effort. It took me 3 months to scale past $1,000, then 6 months to scale past $2,000 and now I'm growing and consistently over $3,000 a month. The longer you do it, the more successful you become. And most people quit right before it starts working. So, series. In the next videos, I'm going to share what platform I use to sell first digital product, how to drive traffic to that digital product and the AI workflow I use and much more. So, if you want real practical walk-throughs on this stuff, subscribe and I'll see you this stuff, subscribe and I'll see you next week.