The Future of Online Education: A Practical Guide for How Educators and Entrepreneurs Can Thrive in the New Era of AI-Powered Courses
Topics Covered in This Article:
- The Five Phases of Technological Disruption
- Custom GPT VIDEO Tutorial
- Why AI is Transforming Course Creation Now
- Practical Ways Educators and Thought Leaders Are Using AI Today
- How to Implement a Custom AI GPT into Your Course or Membership
- Actionable Advice for Getting Started with AI Tools
Overview:
We are living through a major inflection point in technological history. The rise of AI tools, particularly large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, marks the dawn of a new era for digital education, course creation, and online communities. This article explores a brief overview of the timeline of technological revolutions, the current role of AI, and an easy way course and content creators can leverage this moment to scale, engage, and innovate today!
The Technological Tipping Point
We recently attended a webinar hosted by a long-time industry expert we’ve followed and respected for years, Ryan Deiss. His insights captured everything we’ve been sensing, observing, and experiencing in the marketing world over the past 6 to 12 months.
Here’s a summary of some of the details and insights he shared that really hit the mark for us.
To understand the present, it helps to look at the past. Historically, every major technology follows a familiar five-phase pattern: discovery, proliferation, standardization, consolidation, and innovation/disruption.
From the steam engine to the automobile to digital marketing, these phases shape how we build, adapt, and compete. Today, AI is entering that critical fifth phase, disruption, which means those who adapt will lead, and those who hesitate risk becoming irrelevant.
The Digital Marketing Parallel
- In 1994, the discovery phase, the first digital banner ad had a stunning 78% clickthrough rate.
- By the early 2000s, blogs, Facebook, and YouTube led to proliferation.
- Then came standardization: Google’s algorithm updates, Facebook’s quality controls, and platform regulations.
- Today, the consolidation is visible: Meta, Google, and Amazon dominate.
- And now, with the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, we’ve entered innovation/disruption.
“This is not a doom and gloom message… But if you’re marketing and you’re not leveraging AI today, you’re like a lumberjack who refuses to use a chainsaw.” – Ryan Deiss
As he described the historical patterns of disruption and the direction things are headed, we found ourselves nodding in agreement. It was also exciting to confirm that here at Marketecs, we’ve already been stepping into this new phase of technology, making progress, and putting real results behind our efforts.
We were energized by the message, as well as the direction and disruption we see unfolding in marketing and tech. In fact, it inspired us to create a video to share what we’ve been working on, and offer some of our early insights along the way.
Video Time Stamps
00:00 Introduction to AI in Online Courses
01:23 Getting Started with ChatGPT
02:22 Creating a Custom AI Assistant
03:42 Training Your AI with Content
07:43 Deploying Your AI Assistant
09:19 Using AI for Lead Magnets and Support
12:39 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Links
Check out our AI Lead Magnet for yourself.
Learn more about Marketecs Engine for deploying your lead generation and marketing automation.
Need Help? Book a free consult.
Visit our YouTube Channel for more tips and tutorials.
Why AI Matters Now for Course Creators
If you’re managing an online course or membership program, you’re likely seeing how quickly technology is shifting. AI is no longer a tool reserved for tech giants. It’s now accessible, affordable, and immediately useful, even for solo entrepreneurs.
According to a 2024 McKinsey report, 65% of businesses that adopted AI saw increased efficiency, and 40% reported cost savings within the first year. For educators and content creators, this means a chance to enhance learning, support members, and scale operations without adding more hours to your day.
AI isn’t coming, it’s already here. As Kathrine Farris outlines, AI tools are becoming intelligent assistants that can support online courses and memberships around the clock.
“Imagine a 24/7 assistant inside your course, answering questions, guiding members, and keeping people engaged while you sleep.” – Kathrine Farris
And this isn’t fantasy or far-future speculation. It’s already happening, at a low cost and with minimal technical skills required. A GPT customized and trained with your course materials can:
- Answer course-related questions in real time
- Offer coaching-style guidance and support
- Personalize learning experiences
- Reduce customer support loads
- Keep students engaged between live sessions
- Increase content consumption and engagement
Online learners today expect fast responses and personalized support. AI-powered course assistants can deliver both, without requiring coding expertise or a big budget.
A 2023 survey by HolonIQ found that over 72% of online learners prefer courses that offer some form of AI-assisted interactivity. It’s not about replacing instructors, it’s about augmenting what you already do.
Practical Examples of AI in Course Creation
In the video tutorial above, Kathrine walks through how to build a custom GPT using OpenAI’s tools, which start at just $20/month. She uses:
- Transcripts of past workshops and videos
- Website copy and blog article content
- Knowledge base files like worksheets and guides
These Custom GPTs create customizable AI bots or agents that can mirror your tone, knowledge, and frameworks. In theory, this allows your custom GPT to act like you and answer questions.
Use Cases:
- Lead Magnet: An assistant trained on your content or particular process, that also promotes your solutions and business, offered via opt-in.
- Member Support: A support agent trained on setup guides and FAQs, with easy access, available inside a community or course.
- Interactive Learning: A GPT that acts like a course assistant, prompting learners and guiding them step-by-step through your process or course.
Action Steps: How to Embrace AI in Your Education Business
- Start Small: Use the low-cost ChatGPT Pro option.
- Train your AI with Your Content: Upload course transcripts, video transcripts, worksheets, call transcripts, and blog articles.
- Test Internally: Build an internal version and test it with your team.
- Deploy with Access Control: Use opt-ins or community platforms to share your AI bot.
- Iterate with Feedback: Update responses based on real user interaction.
How to Build Your Own AI Assistant with Chat GPT
You don’t need a technical background to build a useful AI bot. In the tutorial above, Kathrine guides you through the process.
Here’s a step-by-step walkthrough using Chat GPT’s custom GPT feature, available for just $20/month.
Step 1: Explore and Create
After signing into Chat GPT, navigate to “Explore GPTs” and click “Create.” You’ll be guided through a setup process where you define your bot’s purpose, name, and appearance.
Step 2: Train your GPT with Your Content
This is the key. Upload:
- Course video transcripts
- Worksheets and lesson plans
- Blog posts and lead magnets
- Past Q&As or workshop transcripts
The AI uses this content to understand your voice, style, and subject matter. The richer the training material, the smarter the assistant becomes.
Step 3: Fine-Tune your AI Configuration
Decide what capabilities your AI should have. For example:
- Enable web browsing for real-time references
- Activate file interpretation to help users with downloads or guides
- Provide starter prompts aligned with your teaching sequence
Step 4: Share or Deploy
You can keep your Custom GPT private, share it via a link (great for lead magnets), or publish it to the GPT Store.
- Private: great for your own use, think of it like another team member helping you brainstorm and create content
- Share via link: this is how you can keep your GPT relatively private, sharing the direct link only after someone opts-in, joins your course, or pays for it
- Public: if your GPT is intended to be shared with the masses, you may want to make it public and discoverable in the GPT store for the most engagement and reviews
Final Thoughts
We’re standing on the edge of a transformation. AI isn’t just a tool, it’s a partner in innovation. As we shift from teaching to enabling, educators have a choice: resist the change or reshape the future.
“Change happens. But unlike nature, you get to decide if this is going to be a nuclear winter or a spring of renewal.” – Ryan Deiss
The technology is ready, and the learning audience is eager. Whether you’re launching a new course or improving an existing one, custom AI agents provide a strategic advantage.
Don’t wait for perfection. Start with what you have, experiment, and evolve. As the World Economic Forum noted in its 2024 Future of Jobs report, roles involving AI interaction are among the fastest-growing across industries.
You have a chance to lead, not just keep up. However, we don’t want to see you get left behind…if you need help planning, building, or deploying AI in your business, we invite you to schedule a consultation today.
Be sure to watch the video above and learn how to create a trained GPT that reflects your voice, your content, and your strategy.
