How to Vet an AI Course or Educator Before You Pay
Somebody is going to take your money this year for an AI course. The question is whether what they teach you will be worth it.
The AI education space right now is flooded. Everyone with a ChatGPT subscription and a Canva template is selling a course, a masterclass, a coaching program, or a “system” that promises to teach you how to make money with AI. Most of them are recycled free content repackaged with a price tag and a countdown timer.
I’ve spent a lot of money on AI education and evaluated dozens of offers. And I’ve watched people in my audience buy courses that taught them nothing they couldn’t have learned from a YouTube video. The reality is that difference between a good AI course and a waste of money is not always obvious from the sales page.
I’ve been in two AI mentorships over the last year. The hard truth is that everything I learned in both of them I could have learned for free on YouTube. The people running them did a good job of marketing and I liked them and their personalities. But when it came down to brass tacks, the substance wasn’t there. I stayed in one for a full year hoping it would get better, but replays didn’t get posted in a timely manner and I ended up paying a lot of money for content I barely used. The other one I clocked sooner and exited as soon as I realized it was overhyped and underdelivered.
Having said that, I’ve also purchased some $47 and $97 offers that were easily worth 10x what I paid for them. So the price tag alone tells you nothing. The filters I’m about to share with you are what I wish I’d had before I spent that money.
These experiences are also why I’m committed to creating and promoting offers that truly deliver value. I already publish two articles a week here for free. And for my paid subscribers, I’m making the full recordings from my 7-day AI in Action LIVE training available inside Substack. Seven days of structured AI training as part of your subscription.
But even with my own offers, I’d tell you the same thing. Before you hand over money to anyone for AI education, including me, run it through these filters.
Are They Actually Using AI in Their Own Business?
This sounds obvious but it eliminates about half the field immediately. A lot of AI educators are teaching AI as a topic. They’ve researched it, they understand the concepts, and they can explain the tools clearly. But they’re not running a business on AI systems. They’re not dealing with the reality of what happens when AI gets it wrong on a Tuesday night when you’re tired and the content needs to go out tomorrow. If their entire presence is AI education content and nothing else, ask yourself what they’re actually building with AI besides the course they’re selling you.
What Do They Say When AI Falls Short?
This is the fastest filter I know.
I produce rubbish drafts from Claude on a regular basis. Even with 98 documented guardrails loaded into every project. I talk about it publicly because pretending AI works perfectly would be a lie. If all you’re seeing from an educator is clean demos and smooth workflows, they’re hiding the messy parts to keep you buying.
The consequence of learning from someone who hides the limitations is that you have NO framework for what to do when AI gives you something wrong. And it will. You’ll publish content with errors, miss patterns that make your writing sound generic, or trust an output that damages your credibility. The educators who are honest about the real limitations of AI and who show you their own failures are the ones preparing you to handle yours.
The Framework Test
Prompt packs are everywhere. “100 ChatGPT Prompts for Your Business.” “The Ultimate AI Prompt Library.” These sell well because they feel actionable. You pay, you get a list, and you feel like you have something concrete. (You don’t, but it feels that way for about a week.)
The problem is that prompts without a system or a framework underneath them are like recipes without understanding how to use a knife or a stove. You end up buying the next prompt pack instead of understanding how to think about AI and build your own approach.
The courses worth paying for teach you how to build your own systems. That’s what separates education from a subscription to someone else’s shortcuts.
Are They Teaching Ethics or Ignoring Them?
AI raises real ethical questions. About authorship, about transparency, and about what should be automated and what should stay human.
If an AI educator never mentions ethics, boundaries, or discernment around responsible use, they’re giving you half the picture. And the missing half is the part that protects your credibility. That catches up with people eventually, usually in the form of lost trust, embarrassing corrections, or an audience that quietly stops engaging because something feels off about the content.
Follow the Money
I’m going to spend some time on this because I’ve been in business for over 30 years and online business since 2016. I know how incentive structures shape what people sell you.
When the course IS the business, the entire operation is built around launching and selling that course. The landing page will be immaculate and the email sequence will be dialed in. Testimonials curated, urgency manufactured (countdown timers, limited spots, bonuses expiring). And the actual content inside the course doesn’t have to be good for the business to make money. The revenue comes from getting you to buy. Once you’ve paid, the transaction is done whether the course delivers or not.
I’ve seen this model up close. I ran a multiple seven-figure coaching business. I know exactly how these launches work because I built them. The marketing machine can be so polished that the buyer assumes the product must be equally polished. That assumption is what the launch model is designed to create.
The other model looks different. Some AI educators make money USING AI in their actual business, and the education is an extension of what they do every day. The course exists because the system works and they’re teaching what they built. If their system doesn’t work, their business doesn’t work. They have skin in the game beyond the sale and that changes what you get.
I want to be fair here. Some course-first businesses are genuinely excellent. The model alone doesn’t make the education bad. But it does mean you need to look harder at what’s inside before you assume the sales experience reflects the learning experience. The shinier the launch, the more carefully I examine the curriculum.
How I Vetted AI Revolution Secrets (And Why It Passed)
I don’t put my name behind things lightly. AI Revolution Secrets by Miguel Carrasco is the one AI course I recommend, and I want to show you exactly why by walking through my own vetting process.
Filter 1: Is he actually using AI in his own business?
Miguel built and operates Captivation Hub, an all-in-one AI-integrated software solution for business operations that I’ve been using for three years. He also runs a company that integrates AI into HVAC businesses, and has several other ventures that all use AI as core infrastructure. He created AI Revolution Secrets to share how he uses AI to make money across all of his businesses. He teaches from what he built and continues to operate daily. When I looked at his content across platforms, I could see the systems in action.
He’s also offering a limited-time opportunity to white label his AI software, which is something nobody else in the AI education space is doing. That alone tells you how much he’s invested in the ecosystem beyond just selling a course.
Filter 2: Does he talk about limitations?
Yes. The training covers what AI can and can’t do. He doesn’t frame AI as a magic solution that runs itself. The 10-day micro-business blueprint is structured around implementation, which means you’re dealing with the real friction of building something from scratch.
Filter 3: Framework or prompts?
The course teaches AI cloning, seven income streams, and a complete micro-business system. These are frameworks you adapt to your situation. He’s not handing you a list of prompts and sending you on your way. The structure is designed to build capability. I could see that from the webinar alone before I ever paid for anything.
Filter 4: Does he address ethics?
The training teaches responsible use alongside the tactical implementation. This was important to me. I won’t recommend someone who teaches AI without addressing what it should and shouldn’t touch. Miguel’s approach includes human oversight and quality control at every stage of the system he teaches.
Filter 5: Where does the money come from?
This is where it got interesting for me. Miguel’s revenue doesn’t come exclusively from selling the course. He sells Captivation Genius, his AI software, alongside AI Revolution Secrets. So the success of the software IS dependent on how good the course is. If the training doesn’t deliver, people don’t use the software. If they don’t use the software, that revenue disappears. His business model forces the course to be good. That’s the kind of incentive structure I trust.
The one thing that surprised me:
The webinar is free. I went in expecting a pitch disguised as education (that’s how most webinars work). What I got was actual teaching. Substantive, specific, and useful even if you never bought the course. Miguel gives you enough to start building before you ever spend a dollar. That’s rare.
That was the moment I decided to put my name on it.
Register for the free AI Revolution Secrets webinar
What I’d Tell You Over Coffee
I’ve been on both sides of this. I’ve bought courses that were complete trash. I’ve also built and sold courses that generated millions. I know what a launch machine looks like from the inside.
The filters in this article exist because I’ve been burned and because I’ve watched other people get burned. AI education is going to be a massive industry for the next several years and most of what gets sold will not be worth the price. That’s just the reality of any gold rush.
Protect your money and your time. And protect your trust, because once your audience figures out you learned from someone careless, that reflects on you.
If you’re a paid subscriber, the full AI in Action LIVE recordings (all 7 days) are available inside your subscription. If you’re not subscribed yet, that alone is worth it.
Paid subscribers also get access to AI with Leah: Unfiltered, a weekly podcast where I go deeper on the topics I write about here.
And if you’re ready to learn AI from someone who passes every filter on this list, register for the next AI Revolution Secrets webinar. It’s free and you can evaluate the teaching before you spend a dollar.
The most efficient instructor on the subject is the subject itself. The most efficient tutor on the topic of AI os AI itself. One can prompt AI into a course on AI itself.