Create Online Courses with ChatGPT

Jul 22 / Ashley Gross

Overview

Creating an online course doesn’t have to mean weeks of outlining, scripting, and formatting. With ChatGPT, you can turn your expertise into structured, engaging lessons — fast.

Whether you’re a coach, freelancer, educator, or business owner, this guide shows you how to use ChatGPT to plan, write, and enhance your next online course.

This guide walks you through:
  • Why ChatGPT is useful for course creation
  • What you’ll need
  • Step-by-step methods to create your course
  • Optional enhancements
  • Practical applications
  • A real-world example

Why Use ChatGPT for Course Creation?

  • Speed up planning: Get structured outlines and lesson breakdowns instantly.
  • Boost creativity: Brainstorm lesson titles, activities, and quizzes.
  • Stay consistent: Maintain tone and flow across modules.
  • Save time: Spend less time writing and more time recording or launching.


Whether it’s your first course or your fifth, ChatGPT helps simplify and accelerate the process.

What You’ll Need

Before you begin, gather:
  • Your topic or expertise area
  • Target audience
  • Course length or number of modules
  • Preferred format (video, slides, text-based, etc.)
  • Access to ChatGPT


Optional:
  • A competitor course for inspiration
  • A specific platform (like Teachable, Thinkific, Kajabi)

Step-by-Step: Create an Online Course with ChatGPT

Step 1: Define the course topic and audience

Start by telling ChatGPT what your course is about and who it’s for.

Example Prompt:
“Create a course outline for beginners who want to learn personal finance in 4 weeks.”

Step 2: Generate a full course outline

Ask for a structured course with clear module titles.

Prompt Example:
“Give me a 6-module course outline on productivity for remote workers. Include key lessons in each module.”

Step 3: Build lesson content

Now dive into each module and expand on the lessons.

Prompt Example:
“Write a 500-word lesson on time-blocking for Module 2: Time Management Basics.”

Step 4: Create supporting materials

Ask for content like quizzes, checklists, or summaries.

Prompt Example:
“Write 5 multiple-choice quiz questions for a lesson on budgeting basics.”

Step 5: Adjust tone and format

Tailor responses based on delivery method.

Prompt Example:
“Rewrite this lesson to sound conversational and be suitable for voice-over narration.”

or:
“Turn this into bullet points for a slide deck.”

Optional Enhancements

  • Marketing content: Ask ChatGPT to generate email sequences or landing page copy.
  • Assignments: Request ideas for student projects or reflection prompts.
  • Scripts: Turn written lessons into voiceover-ready scripts.
  • SEO help: Optimize lesson titles for search engines if the course will be publicly listed.

Practical Applications

  • Solo educators: Quickly turn expertise into passive income products
  • Agencies or teams: Build training programs for clients or internal use
  • Startups and founders: Launch educational products alongside services
  • Freelancers: Use ChatGPT to create niche mini-courses for lead generation

Case Study: Mia’s Nutrition Course

The Problem:
Mia, a certified nutritionist, had years of experience but struggled to structure her knowledge into a sellable course.

What She Did:
She used ChatGPT to:
  • Outline a 4-week course on clean eating
  • Write 8 lessons with clear objectives
  • Generate end-of-module quizzes
  • Draft promotional emails for launch


The Outcome:
Mia launched her first course in under 3 weeks — and made her first sale within 48 hours of publishing.

You don’t need to be a content expert or hire a production team to create a course.

You just need your knowledge — and a tool like ChatGPT to help you shape it.

With the right inputs, ChatGPT can structure your ideas, generate lesson material, and help you launch faster.

It’s like having a co-creator that works 24/7.