This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Chirag Patel
Are you ready to make serious money with AI? It’s not about just playing around with tools like ChatGPT. It’s about learning skills that businesses need and will pay a lot for. This post will show you seven AI skills that can help you make six figures in 2025.
1. Prompt Engineering: Talking to AI
Prompt engineering is the most important AI skill. It’s how you tell AI what to do. Think of AI as a smart worker who needs clear instructions. If you give bad instructions, you get bad results. If you give good instructions, you get great results.
- 78% of AI projects fail because people don’t know how to talk to AI correctly.
Here’s how to do prompt engineering:
Understand Prompt Structure
Don’t just type short requests. Use a structure with these five parts:
- Role: Tell the AI who to act like.
- Context: Give the AI background information.
- Task: Tell the AI what to do.
- Audience: Tell the AI who the output is for.
- Output Format: Tell the AI how to format the results.
For example, instead of saying “Write me a weight loss ad,” try this:
- Role: You are a direct response copywriter for health and fitness.
- Context: I’m launching a 12-week weight loss program for women over 40. It costs $297.
- Task: Write a Facebook ad to get clicks to my landing page.
- Audience: Women aged 45-55 going through menopause.
- Format: Headline, 3-4 sentences, call to action, under 125 words.
Role-Based Prompting
Tell the AI to act like an expert. For example, “Act like a business consultant with 15 years of experience.” This gives the AI a base of knowledge to work from.
Example-Based Training
Show the AI examples of what you want. If you want emails in a certain style, show the AI emails in that style.
Chain of Thought Prompting
Break down big tasks into smaller steps for the AI. This helps the AI think logically. You can even use it to plan a business.
The key is to be specific and structured. Clear instructions lead to better results.
2. AI Automation: Making Work Easier
Businesses waste a lot of money on tasks that can be automated. AI automation means using AI to do these tasks automatically. It’s like having a smart assistant who works for free.
- Workers spend 40% of their time on repetitive tasks.
Tools like Zapier, Make, and Neon can help you automate tasks.
- Zapier: Easy to use for simple automations.
- Make: For more complex workflows.
- Neon: For advanced, custom automations.
To succeed with AI automation:
1. Pick a Niche: Focus on one type of business.
2. Study How They Work: Learn about their industry.
3. Research Their Problems: Find out what wastes their time.
4. Talk to Business Owners: Ask about their challenges.
5. Find Automation Opportunities: Look for tasks that can be automated.
Become an expert in automation for one type of business. You can charge more and provide better value.
Important: Learning to code can help you build even more custom automations.
3. AI Development: Building Custom Solutions
AI development means building custom AI applications. It’s about creating tools that solve specific business problems.
- Businesses often need AI that understands their industry.
To get started with AI development:
- Learn Python: A common language for AI applications.
- Work with AI APIs: Connect your apps to AI services.
- Understand Data: Learn how to clean and use data.
A great place to learn is Kaggle. Companies post real AI problems and you can compete to solve them. You can also see how others solved the same problems.
4. Data Analysis: Finding Hidden Insights
Businesses collect a lot of data. But most don’t know how to use it. AI data analysis can find hidden insights and predict what will happen next.
- Traditional data analysis shows what happened.
- AI data analysis predicts what will happen.
To get started with data analysis, learn SQL. SQL is a simple language for asking questions about data.
5. AI Copywriting: Writing Words That Sell
Every business needs good writing. AI copywriting can help you create words that sell.
Tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Ghostwriter OS can help you write better:
- Ad copy
- Webinar scripts
- Website content
If you can improve writing and get more customers, you will become valuable. You can even train AI to write like you, but with the skills of a top copywriter.
6. AI-Assisted Software Development: Building Your Own Tools
AI can now help you build software. Tools like Replit and Bolt let you create software by describing what you want.
- This means you can build custom solutions for specific business problems.
Instead of paying a lot for developers, you can build your own tools.
7. AI Design: Creating Professional Visuals
You no longer need to spend a lot on design. AI design tools can create professional-quality visuals in minutes.
- Logos
- Websites
- Ad creatives
- YouTube thumbnails
Tools like Thumbnail.ai, Canva, Getimg.ai, and Freepik can help. This makes it easier and cheaper to start a business.
Start Building Your Future Today
AI has made it easier than ever to start a business. You can now do things yourself that used to require a team of experts. The key is to learn these skills now, before everyone else does. Don’t wait, start learning today!
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Chirag Patel