A couple of days ago, my CEO and I were discussing the performance of marketing campaigns. He had received some pieces of data from the engineering team, but he couldn’t extract insights from them because they were too bulky. During the conversation, he fed the data to rows.com, and the AI-powered platform extracted the information he needed. We were pleasantly surprised! 

That’s 2025 for you: generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and machine learning (ML) tools are here to improve workplace efficiency. In fact, Upwork estimates that companies actively seek freelancers with AI skills, such as generative AI modelling, data analysis, AI engineers, and natural language processing (NLP) specialists. 

What does this mean for you? In the current work climate, you need AI skills to boost your income, especially if you’re a freelancer or remote worker. To achieve that, this piece explains the top jobs and skills to prioritise to make money with AI. 

How to make money with AI in 2025

1. AI data analytics    

Data analytics is the skill that enables you to derive useful insights, patterns, and trends from data. It involves collecting, cleaning, and visualising data. However, given the sea of data enterprises typically handle, manual data analysis is exhausting and labour-intensive to the point of inefficiency. 

AI tools, however, simplify the data analysis process. The tools use advanced AI, machine learning (ML), and learning algorithms to automate data interpretation and visualisation, making it easy to derive insights from multiple sources in minutes. 

The table below highlights AI-focused data analytics tools you need to make money. 

2. Videography

AI improves video editing by fast-tracking manual processes and providing advanced features, such as object removal and addition, video enhancement and noise reduction, scene detection and smart transitions, and auto-cutting or trimming, that shorten the creative process. 

For example, @iamtowo on Instagram creates high-class videos with AI tools in seconds. Before the ubiquity of GenAI tools, you’d need years of experience and practice to create the same videos. AI tools don’t mean your traditional video editing skills don’t matter. However, adding AI skills and tools to your video editing repertoire will significantly boost your creativity and income. 

Examples of video editing tools you need are listed below:

• Descript
• CapCut 
• Higgsfield.ai
• Adobe Firefly
• Invideo AI

3. Prompt writing 

Prompt writing is the creative and linguistic side of working with AI tools. It involves creating clear, concise instructions for AI tools to generate specific answers. If you’re a content writer or marketer, prompt engineering is a skill you can add to your portfolio to boost your income. In August 2025, the average hourly pay of prompt writers was $24.29 in the US, with hourly wages reaching a peak of $42.55. 

4. AI engineering and vibe coding

Vibe coding is a chatbot-based approach to building software. Unlike the traditional engineering process, it tasks large language models (LLMs) to generate lines of code via prompts. In vibe coding, developers move away from human code micromanagement, instead maximising the capabilities of AI tools to build software systems in double quick time.

Vibe coding efficiency enables developers to build and ship products faster. For example, Rebecca Beach, a software developer and app designer, used vibe coding to double her income from $10k to $20k in 2025. The developer no longer needed to write every line of code to create digital products, while AI tools, such as ChatGPT and Midjourney, helped them fast-track the software building process. 

Rebecca explained how vibe coding has helped their career like this: “Before I started vibe coding, it could’ve taken me weeks or months to create a single course or printable. Now I can create a printable workbook in under 20 minutes, and I can create a course and an app in under an hour and a half.”

Unlike vibe coders, AI engineers are builders. They build, design, and deploy AI systems. They also manage risks, including bias and security, associated with AI systems and architecture. Per ZipRecruiter, the average salary of AI engineers in August 2025 is $106,386/year in the US.

5. AI graphic design

If you already work on designs, you should incorporate AI into your workflow to improve your skill set and income. AI graphic tools, such as Midjourney, DALL-E, and Canva, can help you create better designs in minutes. 

What is the best app to receive freelance payments in Nigeria?

As a remote worker or freelancer working with international clients, you need a reliable platform to collect international payments. In this sense, Crane is the payment platform you need. We are a blockchain-powered financial app for receiving payments from foreign clients and business partners. 

The benefits of using our service are listed below:

• Zero fees on deposits: Unlike traditional cross-border payment systems such as Geegpay, Cenoa, and Grey, Crane doesn’t charge deposit fees, allowing you to keep your freelance earnings. 

• Affordable transaction fees: No one likes to lose a significant portion of their money to transaction fees. That’s why we provide discount cards and free transfer vouchers. The former offers 25% to 100% off conversion fees, while the latter allows you to withdraw funds from your digital naira Crane wallet to a local bank account for free.

• Automated conversion to naira: Why spend so much time and energy converting from digital currencies to your local currency when you can just automate it? We built Bank Direct on Crane for this purpose—it helps you receive crypto earnings directly into your local bank account. It works like this: send your wallet address to clients > receive the naira equivalent into your preferred naira account number. 

• Double your freelance earnings for free: Like fiat, the crypto market is volatile—the prices of digital currencies fluctuate based on external factors. However, we don’t want your money to lose value while with us. To insulate your money from market inconsistencies, we provided Auto-Convert. The feature automatically converts your crypto earnings to naira once it reaches a preconfigured (high) price or rate.
  
  Here’s a simple scenario on how Auto-Convert can double your freelance earnings. Suppose 1 USDT currently sells for ₦900 per $. If you set the Crane app to automatically convert $300 worth of USDT to naira when it matches ₦1700/$, you’d make almost double the income when you convert at ₦1700/$ compared to ₦900/$.