Article · 2026-07-03 · 4 moments

Quoting Josh W. Comeau

I just launched my third course, Whimsical Animations, and so far, it’s on track to sell roughly ⅓ as many copies as a typical course launch. It’s a similar story with my two existing courses. Sales are down significantly from last year. There are likely a lot of reasons for this, but I think the biggest is AI. There’s sort of a double whammy with AI: Many people are wondering whether developer jobs will even exist in a few months, so they’re reluctant to spend time/money learning new dev ski ✦ AI generated

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Mechanism◆

AI is causing a double whammy on course sales: fear over whether developer jobs will still exist makes people reluctant to invest time or money learning new dev skills, and those who still want to learn can get free personalized tutoring from LLMs instead of buying a course.

Comeau attributes the sales decline mainly to AI: job insecurity discourages learning investment, and LLMs offer free personalized tutoring that substitutes for paid courses.

transcript

Josh W. Comeau: Many people are wondering whether developer jobs will even exist in a few months, so they're reluctant to spend time/money learning new dev skills. Even if they do want to learn new dev skills, LLMs can provide personalized tutoring, so there's less incentive to buy a paid course.

rebuts · 1

Data

My third course, Whimsical Animations, is on track to sell roughly one-third as many copies as a typical course launch.

Comeau's just-launched third course, Whimsical Animations, is tracking at about 1/3 the sales of a typical launch for him.

transcript

Josh W. Comeau: I just launched my third course, Whimsical Animations, and so far, it's on track to sell roughly ⅓ as many copies as a typical course launch.

explains mechanism · 1

Context◆

Other course creators are seeing the same pattern: revenue down 50%+, less engagement, and audiences switching to LLMs that scrape and regurgitate creators' work without consent or compensation.

Comeau says other course creators corroborate the trend: steep revenue and engagement drops as people turn to LLMs that absorb and repackage their content without permission or pay.

transcript

Josh W. Comeau: I've spoken to a few course creators now, and we're all seeing the same trend. Revenue down 50%+. Fewer people engaging with our content. People switching to LLMs, which slurp up all of our work and regurgitate it, without consent or compensation.

explains mechanism · 1gives example · 1

Fact

Sales on my two existing courses are also down significantly from last year.

The sales slump isn't limited to the new course; Comeau's two older courses have also seen a significant year-over-year drop.

transcript

Josh W. Comeau: It's a similar story with my two existing courses. Sales are down significantly from last year.

extends · 1supports · 1explains mechanism · 1

Highlight slides

AI's Double Whammy on Course Sales✦ from: AI is causing a double whammy on course sales: fear over whether developer jobs will still exist makes people reluctant to invest time or money learning new dev skills, and those who still want to learn can get free personalized tutoring from LLMs instead of buying a course.Course Creators Report a Shared Decline✦ from: Other course creators are seeing the same pattern: revenue down 50%+, less engagement, and audiences switching to LLMs that scrape and regurgitate creators' work without consent or compensation.Why: LLMs Scrape Without Consent✦ from: Other course creators are seeing the same pattern: revenue down 50%+, less engagement, and audiences switching to LLMs that scrape and regurgitate creators' work without consent or compensation.Two Forces Discouraging Paid Courses✦ from: AI is causing a double whammy on course sales: fear over whether developer jobs will still exist makes people reluctant to invest time or money learning new dev skills, and those who still want to learn can get free personalized tutoring from LLMs instead of buying a course.

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AI is causing a double whammy on course sales: fear over whether developer jobs will still exist makes people reluctant to invest time or money learning new dev skills, and those who still want to learn can get free personalized tutoring from LLMs instead of buying a course.

My third course, Whimsical Animations, is on track to sell roughly one-third as many copies as a typical course launch.

Other course creators are seeing the same pattern: revenue down 50%+, less engagement, and audiences switching to LLMs that scrape and regurgitate creators' work without consent or compensation.

Sales on my two existing courses are also down significantly from last year.

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