The Complete AI Stack for Online Course Creators

11 Tools to Create, Market, and Sell Courses Like a Pro

If you’re building an online course in 2025, you need the right tools.

And I’m not talking about expensive software that costs hundreds of dollars a month.

I’m talking about a powerful stack of AI tools that can help you create, market, and sell your course faster and better than ever before.

Most of these tools are free or very affordable, and together, they form a complete system that replaces what used to require a whole team.

Today I’m going to walk you through my complete AI stack for online course creators.

These are the exact tools I use to build courses from scratch.

PART 1: Course Creation Tools

The foundation of any great course is the content, and AI can help you create it faster than you ever thought possible.

Tool #1: ChatGPT

What it does:
Your content creation engine.

Use it to:

✅ Brainstorm course ideas
✅ Create outlines
✅ Write lesson scripts
✅ Generate discussion questions
✅ Draft quizzes

ChatGPT is like having a co-author who never gets tired and can produce content on demand.

Cost: Free (with paid upgrade option for $20/month)

Tool #2: Descript

What it does:
AI-powered video and audio editing.

Why it’s amazing:

You can edit videos by editing the transcript.

Remove filler words
Cut mistakes
Polish recordings in minutes instead of hours

Special feature: Overdub lets you fix mistakes by typing instead of re-recording.

Cost: Free plan available, Pro plan $24/month

Tool #3: Canva

What it does:
Visual design made easy.

Use it to create:

✅ Professional-looking slides
✅ Workbooks
✅ Certificates
✅ Promotional graphics

The AI-powered templates and design suggestions mean you can create stunning visuals in minutes.

Cost: Free (Pro version $13/month)

Tool #4: Synthesia or Pictory

What they do:
Create AI-generated videos without being on camera.

Perfect for:

Intro videos
Explainer content
Supplemental materials

How it works:

Input your script
Choose an avatar or style
AI creates a video for you

Cost: Synthesia starts at $30/month, Pictory starts at $19/month

PART 2: Sales & Marketing Tools

Creating a great course is only half the battle.

You also need to sell it.

And AI can help with that too.

Tool #5: ChatGPT (For Copywriting)

Use it to write:

✅ Sales pages
✅ Email sequences
✅ Social media posts
✅ Ad copy

Give it details about your course and target audience, and it will generate persuasive copy that converts.

You can test multiple versions and optimize based on what works.

Cost: Free

Tool #6: Jasper or Copy.ai

What they do:
AI copywriting tools specifically designed for marketing.

They have templates for:

Sales pages
Product descriptions
Email subject lines
Social media ads

Slightly more specialized than ChatGPT for marketing copy, so they can save you time if you’re creating a lot of promotional content.

Cost: Jasper starts at $49/month, Copy.ai starts at $36/month

Tool #7: ManyChat

What it does:
AI-powered chatbot for your website or social media.

Use it to:

✅ Answer common questions
✅ Collect leads
✅ Pre-qualify potential students

This automates a lot of customer interaction and makes your sales process run smoother.

Cost: Free plan available, Pro starts at $15/month

PART 3: Course Delivery & Automation Tools

Once your course is created, you need a platform to host it and deliver it to students.

Tool #8: Teachable, Thinkific, or Kajabi

What they do:
Course hosting platforms that handle everything from payment processing to content delivery.

Comparison:

Platform	Best For	Starting Price
Teachable	Beginners	Free plan available
Thinkific	Growing creators	$49/month
Kajabi	All-in-one solution	$149/month

Choose the one that fits your budget and needs.

Tool #9: Zapier or Make

What they do:
Automation tools that connect all your other tools together.

Example automation:

When someone buys your course on Teachable:

Zapier automatically adds them to your email list
Sends them a welcome message
Tags them in your CRM

Automation like this saves you hours of manual work every week.

Cost: Zapier has a free plan, paid plans start at $20/month. Make is similar.

Tool #10: ConvertKit, Mailchimp, or ActiveCampaign

What they do:
Email marketing platforms to communicate with students and promote courses.

AI features help you:

✅ Optimize subject lines
✅ Personalize content
✅ Segment your audience for better results

Cost: ConvertKit free up to 1,000 subscribers, Mailchimp has a free plan, ActiveCampaign starts at $29/month

Tool #11: Otter.ai or Rev

What they do:
Transcription tools that turn audio into text automatically.

Perfect for:

Recording live sessions
Interviews
Coaching calls

You can then repurpose that content into:

Blog posts
Social media updates
Additional course materials

Cost: Otter.ai has a free plan, Rev charges per minute

The Complete AI Stack Recap

Category	Tool	Purpose
Content Creation	ChatGPT	Course outlines, scripts, quizzes
Video Editing	Descript	Edit videos by editing transcript
Design	Canva	Slides, workbooks, graphics
AI Videos	Synthesia/Pictory	Videos without being on camera
Copywriting	ChatGPT/Jasper	Sales pages, emails, ads
Chatbot	ManyChat	Automated customer interaction
Course Hosting	Teachable/Thinkific/Kajabi	Deliver courses to students
Automation	Zapier/Make	Connect tools, automate workflows
Email Marketing	ConvertKit/Mailchimp	Communicate with students
Transcription	Otter.ai/Rev	Turn audio into text