A recent Fiverr survey of 12,000 Gen Zers and Gen Alpha--representing the youngest and upcoming generations of the workforce--reveals that most have the correct idea when it comes to how we view job stability and financial security.

  • About 67% of Gen Z respondents believe that income stacking (the practice of having several streams of income instead of the traditional idea of merely having one form of employment), will be needed to ensure financial security and stability.
  • More than half believe that traditional employment will become obsolete in the future, resulting in nearly 40% of Gen Zers already having side hustles.

Meanwhile, Millennials are some of the highest earners from this income stacking idea, with Bankrate research last year indicating that they make an average of $1,129 a month from external side hustle and passive income sources.

With so many widespread layoffs and RTO policies in 2024 and 2025, you’re likely worried about your own future in the workplace too. The positive news is that you can future-proof your income and career too, just like others are discovering.

And what’s more, you can have a side hustle that earns you money even while you’re working at your job, on vacation, or sleeping.

That’s what passive income is--an income source that continues generating without you needing to be physically present for every transaction and without you needing to trade hours for dollars.

And thankfully, AI gives you several options to achieve just that.

Let me show you how.

Is Passive Income For Me?

SurveyMonkey’s research revealed that most people with a side hustle start one for either of these reasons:

  • 48% of people are saving towards specific financial goals
  • 44% need the extra income to survive
  • 37% are developing new skills or pursuing passions

In the conversations I’ve had with professionals, I’ve also observed a growing sentiment of dissatisfaction with one’s employment, usually due to a toxic work environment or an unfulfilling, growth-constraining job.

But I don’t tell people to quit their roles immediately because that’s not a wise idea. I usually advise them to test the waters by building an income stream that can be monetized while they’re working.

This is the best approach because passive income is usually scalable without you needing to put significantly more hours in, and it provides the perfect proof of concept for your business idea before you decide to venture into the deep and hand in your notice.

However, to be clear, if you’re expecting to get rich quickly, or make money off something random without putting any effort in, this is not the best approach for you.

Passive income is not a rapid money-earning scheme, and anyone who claims it is, is lying to you or scamming you.

Although some of the setup steps may be quick and easy, the real work is the marketing, updating your skill set, and ensuring you’re constantly relevant with your audience/customers, which is often the hardest part.

But once you’ve figured this out, the “earning part” will come naturally.

3 Passive Income Ideas To Make Money Online With AI

Here are some ways you can monetize AI tools and get paid, even while you step away:

1. Video Editing With Sora 2

Video editing underwent a serious revolution when Sora 2 was released over a month ago. Marketing teams and design firms have a powerful tool within their hands, but since the tool is still pretty new, not everyone knows how to use it effectively as yet. And that includes an audience of freelance video editors and video content and marketing professionals, spanning various industries across multiple social media platforms.

This is where you can make yourself stand out by building niche expertise in Sora 2 and other popular AI video software.

If you’ve already gained extensive experience over the past month experimenting with Sora 2 and developing cinematic professional grade quality footage using this AI tool, why not teach others what you know?

You can launch a YouTube channel teaching people step-by-step basics of video editing and creation using AI tools like Sora 2. The best part is you don’t even need to be seen, (although having a face to your business can certainly help with building credibility and trust).

Simply share your screen and start recording as you edit, anything from complex videos to more simple layouts spanning multiple genres including corporate settings, action, videos, adventure, etc.

  • You can do a video series for beginners and eventually you can do a video series for more advanced professionals.
  • As your channel gains popularity, you can monetize your YouTube presence through YouTube's Partner Program.
  • You can also monetize your channel by creating and linking a course that teaches the skills you’re learning and applying in video editing and creation with AI, in-depth. Then direct your subscribers and viewers to that course in each video.
  • You can also monetize this channel through affiliate links to any editing software you use.

How Much Can You Earn?

There’s no limit here since, like I mentioned earlier, depending on your research and the approach you choose, passive income is scalable. However, through combining the Partner Program with affiliate links and paid content, making $1,000 or more each month is certainly achievable.

2. Get Paid To Do AI Voiceovers With ElevenLabs

Another great passive income idea using AI is to sign up with a platform like ElevenLabs and train AI on your voice. The only caveat is you will need to pay a small fee to begin with for a subscription to ElevenLabs so you can access the creator tools on the platform and essentially license your voice.

Anytime your voice gets licensed and used for other people's AI videos, voiceovers, etc, you get a cut. It's that simple.

Some key features you should know about monetizing your voice on ElevenLabs:

  • You can earn from having your voice added to their voice library and getting paid whenever it’s used.
  • You can earn more as a professional voice actor with ElevenLabs, by applying for a partnership so you can licence your voice. The benefit of this is that your voice joins the default list for all users, you get “white glove licensing deals from 1 to 11 years," as well as “guaranteed earnings from up-front fees.”
  • You can earn for a specific niche, such as accent, use case, or even a language.

How Much Can You Earn?

You get paid in royalties. Some Redditors report starting out making between $100 to $250 monthly and months later, earning up to $1,000 in passive income.

3. Build Passive Income Writing With AI

The next and probably most obvious way to monetize your skills using AI to create passive income is through writing with AI. But not in the way you expect.

Many people wrongly assume that you can mass-create content through simply using a content tool like Jasper, Semrush, or even ChatGPT to produce content at scale and then publish without a second thought.

That is not the way to build passive income with AI.

If you're going to monetize your blog, website, or content creation as a social media creator, influencer, or freelance marketing and copywriting professional, you need to develop AI expertise that extends beyond knowing how to copy-paste outputs.

You need to understand and actively apply skills such as:

  • Innovation and originality of thought (not, ChatGPT can you write a LinkedIn post on XYZ subject for me?)
  • Strong communication skills
  • Understanding what resonates with your audience
  • A/B testing
  • Audience analytics and performance tracking
  • Trend spotting and following
  • Human-centered communication and rapport building

AI can only amplify your existing skill set, not replace it. Otherwise, you’ll come off as fake and insincere, and it will be harder for you to build credibility or attract copywriting projects. Once you use AI tools to speed up the writing process and then proofread and bring originality with your human voice and touch, here are some ways you can monetize your writing to build passive income:

  • Get paid as a LinkedIn ghost-writer for CEOs and other thought leaders
  • Become a leading creator and thought leader on your chosen social media platform, attracting paid clients and speaking engagements
  • Write a newsletter and receive sponsorships
  • Promote your paid offer in your newsletter or written content
  • Create a paid newsletter on Substack or Medium and earn every time someone subscribes

There are tons of other ways, but these are just a few ideas to get you started. For more ideas, check out my recent article, "7 Ways To Make Money Online As A Writer In 2025."

There’s no limit to how much you can make as a writer, and I know this personally, because, with my paid newsletter on Substack alone, I’m able to bring in passive income that goes towards covering my bills each month.

I’ve also been paid through newsletter sponsorships (this pays significantly more since I have a strong newsletter following) as well as direct writing assignments, so I understand through experience what goes behind building passive income as a writer. Some months, I’ve made as much as $30,000+ as a writer through combining all my writing income avenues.

It takes time to set up, and consistency (which is the hardest part), but it pays off.

Now, over to you.

Which idea are you going to pick and run with this week to start future-proofing your career and building your financial cushion for 2026?