The 3 Questions That Expose Every AI Course (Including Mine)

June 4

Before I spent $2,000 on an AI course, I did everything "right." I watched the free webinar. I read the testimonials. I Googled the instructor. I convinced myself that the price meant quality.

I was wrong.

So I spent a long time figuring out why I was fooled, and I came up with three questions I wish I'd asked first. I've used them to evaluate every course I've considered since then, including my own.

Here they are.

Question 1: Can I use this the day I finish it?

Not "will I have the knowledge." Not "will I understand the concepts." Can I open a browser, apply what I just learned, and make something happen in my actual life or business?

Most AI courses fail this test immediately. They're designed to make you feel educated, not to make you capable. There's a difference. Feeling educated is passive. Capability requires friction, real problems, real tools, real attempts that sometimes fail.

If a course can't tell you exactly what you'll be able to do when you're done, that's a red flag. Education without a deliverable is just expensive entertainment.

Cheap AI Classes answer: Partially yes. The $99 course gives you frameworks and real workflows. But I'll be honest. If you're not someone who tinkers, you might finish and still feel stuck. That's why the $200 tier exists. Structure helps, but implementation takes doing.

Question 2: Does the teacher still do the thing they're teaching?

This is the one that exposes most gurus immediately.

There's an entire category of AI educator who stopped actually using AI to build things the moment their course revenue exceeded their project revenue. They now use AI to make content about AI. They're teaching you how to fish while living entirely off course sales.

I'm not above this trap. I watch for it in myself. The reason I can teach AI for video production, automation, and content creation is because I use all of it this week, not two years ago. My plumbing client's AI commercial project, the n8n workflows I'm building, the Father.Board content strategy. That's the lab. The course is just the notes.

Ask any instructor: what did you build last month? If the answer is another course, walk away.

Cheap AI Classes answer: I run a video production company. I build automation systems for local businesses. I create content daily. The teaching comes second. That's the only way it stays honest.

Question 3: What happens when the tools change?

AI moves fast. The specific prompts, the specific tools, the specific workflows that worked in early 2024 are already partially obsolete. Any course built around "50 magic prompts" has a shelf life of maybe six months.

This is why frameworks outlast tactics. A framework is a way of thinking about a problem. A tactic is a specific thing you do in a specific tool. Courses that sell tactics are selling you something perishable. Courses that teach frameworks are giving you something that survives updates.

The question to ask is: if the main tool you're teaching disappeared tomorrow, would this course still be valuable? If the answer is no, you're buying documentation. OpenAI already gives that away for free.

Cheap AI Classes answer: This is where I'm most confident. The core of what I teach isn't "here's how to use ChatGPT." It's "here's how to think about what AI is good at, what it's bad at, and how to integrate it without losing yourself in it." Those ideas will still be true when whatever model we're all using in 2027 makes the current one look like a calculator.

So Why Should You Trust Me?

You shouldn't, automatically. Apply the three questions.

Can you use it immediately? Partially. Do I still do the thing I teach? Yes. Does it survive tool changes? Yes.

Two out of three with an honest caveat on the third is better than most courses will give you, and infinitely better than a $1,997 countdown timer.

If that's enough, you know where to go.

Why AI Courses Cost So Much (And Don't Need To)

I spent $2,000 on an AI course during the pandemic.

It promised to "unlock the future of business automation" and "give me an unfair advantage." What I got was 80% hype, 20% outdated tool demos, and a Discord server full of people who also felt scammed but were too embarrassed to admit it.

Here's the thing: I learned a lot from that course. Just not what the instructor intended.

I learned that the AI education industry is built on artificial scarcity. That "gurus" are charging four figures to read you documentation that companies like OpenAI literally give away for free. That most courses are just repackaged blog posts with a countdown timer and a fake "5 spots left" banner.

And I learned that if I ever taught this stuff, I'd do it differently.

The AI Course Scam, Explained

AI tools are designed to be easy to use. OpenAI, Anthropic, Google—they've spent billions of dollars ensuring that you don't need a PhD to use their products. ChatGPT has a text box. You type. It responds. That's the interface.

So why are people charging $2,000+ to teach you how to use it? Because they can. Because AI feels intimidating. Because FOMO is a hell of a drug. Because if you wrap basic information in enough jargon and urgency, people will pay.

Most expensive AI courses follow the same playbook:

1. Hype up the stakes. "AI will replace you if you don't act NOW."

2. Show flashy results. "I made $10k in a week using this ONE prompt!"

3. Gatekeep the 'secrets.' "This is only for serious entrepreneurs."

4. Charge $1,997. (Why $1,997? Because it feels less than $2,000.)

The actual content? Usually:

• A walkthrough of ChatGPT/Claude/Midjourney (available on YouTube for free)

• 50 "magic prompts" (that stop working in 3 months)

• A template library (that you'll never use)

• Lifetime access to a community (that goes dead in 6 weeks)

What AI Education Should Actually Be

Here's what I wish that $2,000 course had taught me:

• When NOT to use AI. (Most courses skip this entirely.)

• How to think about AI as a tool, not a religion. (It's not going to solve all your problems.)

• Frameworks that don't break when the tools update. (Prompts are tactics. Thinking is strategy.)

• Real use cases from someone who's actually using it. (Not someone who teaches courses for a living.)

I'm a video creator and small business owner. I've built automation systems while raising a newborn. I've spent five years in contemplative practice figuring out how to use technology without letting it use me.

I don't have a Lamborghini. I don't have a course about courses. I just have a framework that works, and I'm tired of watching people get ripped off.

So I Built This

cheapaiclasses.com (http://cheapaiclasses.com/) costs $99 because that's what it's worth. No fake scarcity. No income promises. No countdown timers.

You're paying for:

• Structure (so you don't drown in YouTube tutorials)

• Frameworks (that work regardless of which AI tool is trending)

• Honest guidance (including when to put the AI down and think for yourself)

If you want implementation support or 1-on-1 help, there are higher tiers. But the core knowledge? $99. That's it.

The Real Cost of Expensive Courses

The $2,000 I spent wasn't just money. It was trust. I believed someone when they said they had answers. I believed that the price tag meant quality. I believed that if I just bought this one thing, I'd finally "get it."

The course didn't deliver. But the lesson did. AI education should be accessible. The tools are free or cheap. The information is abundant. What people need is structure, honesty, and someone who's actually done the work.

So that's what I built.

If you're tired of gurus and gatekeeping, this is for you (https://cheapaiclasses.com/).