AI Side Hustles Are Out-Earning the Old Grind, New Data Shows

The side hustle has a new job description. New survey data finds that people who use artificial intelligence to run a side business report earning substantially more than those who do not, and the newest AI side hustles are starting to look less like experiments and more like real second incomes. In a Network Solutions survey of 1,007 side hustlers, reported by Black Enterprise, AI users reported average monthly earnings of $555, compared with $333 for non-users. The gap widened at the median: AI users reported $500 a month against $250 for those working without the tools.

The survey's authors add a caution that matters. The numbers show correlation, not proof that the technology caused the income difference. People who adopt AI early may already run more serious operations, or simply put more hours in. Either way, AI side hustles are now part of the standard toolkit for people building income outside a day job. The shift is part of a wider change in how platform work pays: most gig workers now say platform work makes up the majority of their household income.

Starting faster, saving hours

A third of respondents said they probably or definitely would not have started without AI. For them, AI side hustles were the difference between an idea and a business. According to the report, the hardest part for most of the people surveyed was never the work itself but the blank page, the not-knowing-where-to-begin stretch that kills ideas before they become businesses. That is the exact gap AI side hustles close: the tools write the first draft of everything, from the logo to the pricing page to the market research.

Once running, users said they saved an average of nine hours a week, with writing, social media content, branding, logo creation and market research among the tasks most commonly handed off. Nearly 40 percent of AI users said they got their businesses running faster than expected, compared with 30 percent of non-users, and the average trip from idea to launch took about a month. For AI side hustles competing for evening and weekend hours, that time matters as much as the money.

The gigs paying right now

A separate report from NetCredit maps where the paid work in AI side hustles sits this year. It lists six side hustles with a going rate of about $100 a day, and several are AI jobs through and through: AI spokesperson videos, business planning, AI applications work, applications and registration, marketing strategy, and generative AI lessons, according to The Sun's reporting on the report.

The AI spokesperson gig is the strangest of the bunch. Instead of hiring an actor, clients get a digital recording with a computer-generated presenter delivering a script in a synthetic voice, with natural body movement and realistic lip-syncing. The creator writes the script, often with a chatbot, picks a photorealistic presenter, and generates the video in minutes. The client pays a flat fee per video, overhead sits near zero, and the output lands as product ads or explainers. It is one of the clearest examples of AI side hustles turning a tool demo into billable work.

The other entries are more ordinary, which is the point. Business planners act as part-time consultants writing formal business plans and financial projections for startups. The applications-and-registration hustle covers paperwork-heavy jobs like LLC registrations, trademark filings, and grant or scholarship applications. Marketing strategy work covers social media management, SEO consulting, paid ads and short-form video, though the report notes the rate has slipped $50 from last year's level. Generative AI lessons mean teaching clients to use tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Muse from Meta, covering prompt engineering and workflow setup. Taken together, the six show how AI side hustles are splitting into two lanes: pure AI services and AI-assisted versions of old freelance work.

"Side hustles are here to stay, especially for younger workers," said Daniel Zhao, chief economist at Glassdoor, in a statement cited alongside the NetCredit findings.

What AI cannot hand off

For people running AI side hustles, the same survey draws a line where the tools stop. Twenty-eight percent of respondents said staying motivated was the hardest thing to hand off, and 20 percent pointed to finding and keeping customers. Nearly half, 45 percent, said they worry AI makes it easier for competitors to copy what they sell, a concern sharpest among digital-product sellers and content creators.

The takeaway from the entrepreneurs themselves is plain, and it echoes what other surveys keep finding about young owners stacking a side venture on top of a full-time job. AI side hustles can cut the workload, speed up the launch and open room to earn more. But the business still has to make sense: find a customer, solve a real problem, sell something people will pay for. One entrepreneur quoted in the report put it as advice for newcomers: do not reinvent the wheel. Use the tools, but make sure the business works.