If AI Knows What You Know, What Is Your Course Really Selling?
Sep 09, 2026If AI Knows What You Know, What Is Your Course Really Selling?
A few years ago, one of the main reasons people bought an online course was simple.
You knew something they did not.
You had the framework. The checklist. The steps. The examples.
They paid you to get the information.
That worked pretty well when the alternative was spending hours on Google, watching a pile of YouTube videos, buying a few books, and trying to piece everything together.
Now someone can open ChatGPT and ask a question.
Twenty minutes later, they may have an outline, a checklist, a plan, and a pretty decent answer.
So here is the hard question:
Why should someone pay you for information they can get from AI?
That is the trap.
The answer is not to panic and stop creating.
But we do need to get clearer about what people are actually paying us for.
AI Does Not Have to Be Better Than Your Course
When I talked with Brent Stutzman, founder of TheraSaaS CRM, he made a point that stuck with me.
AI does not have to be better than your course.
It just has to be good enough.
If someone has a $300 course sitting in front of them and thinks, “Maybe ChatGPT can answer this,” they may try AI first.
And AI may give them 70% of what they need.
Will it be perfect?
Probably not.
Will it understand every detail of their situation?
Probably not.
But sometimes 70% is enough to keep someone from pulling out their credit card.
That changes what people will pay you for.
If the main promise of your course is, “I have information you do not have,” that information is getting cheaper every day.
Information Is Easier to Get. Results Are Still Hard.
Knowing something and doing something are two very different things.
I know I should exercise.
I know I should eat better.
I know I should clean out my garage.
Knowing is not usually the problem.
Doing is.
Your students are the same way.
They may know they need to write the sales page.
They may know they need to pick a course topic.
They may know they need to reach out to referral partners, record the videos, write the emails, or finally put the offer in front of people.
AI can give them a list.
But a list does not automatically create movement.
This is where we get tricked.
People may not pay you just for information anymore.
They will still pay for help getting a result.
That might mean helping them:
- Make a decision when they are stuck
- Apply an idea to their specific situation
- Get feedback when something is not working
- Use a tool that saves them hours
- Have someone beside them when they want to quit
- See what they cannot see on their own
That is a very different course than a folder full of videos.
Brent Changed the Course Instead of Fighting the Change
Brent shared a good example from the Private Pay Practice Program, which he co-founded with Dr. Deb Legge.
The program originally sold for $3,000.
Students received their content, frameworks, templates, and coaching calls.
Then AI started changing the market.
Sales slowed down.
Instead of pretending nothing had changed, Brent and Deb changed the offer.
They dropped the price from $3,000 to $300 and removed the regular coaching calls.
But they did not simply make the same course cheaper.
They started adding custom ChatGPT tools built around their frameworks.
One GPT helps with brand messaging.
Another can help with a website and SEO.
Deb created one to help therapists write customized referral letters.
Before, a therapist might download a template, stare at a blank page, and spend an afternoon trying to fill it out.
Now the tool can help them get much farther in a few minutes.
Brent said they started seeing sales pick up again.
That is the part that matters.
They did not ask, “How do we protect our information from AI?”
They asked a better question:
How can we help our students get the result faster?
A Simple Way to Think About Course Value
Brent also shared an equation from Alex Hormozi that he keeps near his desk.
At the top:
Dream Outcome × Perceived Likelihood of Achievement
At the bottom:
Time Delay × Effort and Sacrifice
The idea is simple.
Make the top bigger.
Make the bottom smaller.
Help people believe they can get the result they want, then make it easier and faster for them to get there.
That changes how I think we should build courses.
Maybe you do not need 14 more videos.
Maybe your student needs a template that helps them finish the job in 15 minutes.
Maybe they need a custom GPT trained to walk them through your process.
Maybe they need a monthly call where they can ask, “Am I doing this right?”
Maybe they need to watch you actually do the thing.
Maybe they need a community where somebody can say, “Yes. I got stuck there too. Here is what worked for me.”
More information is not always the answer.
Sometimes more information is just another pile on the desk.
Human Help Still Matters
This came up in our conversation too.
I told Brent one reason I still believe in community is because of what happened during our own interview.
I mentioned that I had started separating my custom GPTs by task instead of trying to make one GPT do everything.
Brent said he did the same thing.
That small moment mattered.
Someone else who had been doing this basically said, “Yep. I do that too.”
I could stop wondering if I was doing it wrong and keep moving.
AI is very good at giving answers.
But sometimes we do not need another answer.
We need someone who understands the situation.
We need somebody to tell us what matters and what does not.
We need to see how another person handled the messy part.
We need somebody who understands the work.
That is hard for AI to replace.
Stop Asking Only, “What Should I Teach?”
For years, a common course creation question has been:
What do I know that I could teach?
That is still a useful question.
But I think there is a better one now:
What does this person need to be able to do?
That question changes what you build.
You stop asking, “What should I put in Module Four?”
You start asking, “What is keeping this person from getting the result?”
Now you are building around the result, not the lesson plan.
AI may be able to explain the map.
Your job may be helping someone actually cross the bridge.
What Result Does Your Client Really Need?
Maybe the question is not:
What should I put in my course?
Maybe the better question is:
What result does my client really need?
Be specific.
Your client may not need six modules about marketing.
They may need to know what to put on their homepage so the right person calls.
They may not need ten videos about creating a course.
They may need to choose one course idea and know it is worth testing.
They may not need another lesson on private practice growth.
They may need a simple way to follow up with leads so good clients stop falling through the cracks.
AI can give people information.
Your course should help them do something with it.
So before you record another lesson, add another module, or build another worksheet, ask:
What result does my client really need, and what would help them get there faster?
Build from that answer.
Resources
Brent Stutzman and TheraSaaS
Learn more about TheraSaaS CRM for therapists and practice owners
Connect with Brent Stutzman on LinkedIn
Join the Group Practice Scaling Summit waitlist
James Marland Workshops
Stop hoping you are HIPAA compliant. This workshop helps you work through the foundation and get clear on what needs attention.
15 Ways To Create Income Flow from What You Already Know
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