Top 20 Generative AI Courses [Free & Paid]

Generative AI is revolutionizing how we work, create, and solve problems. According to Accenture, companies using generative AI are seeing 5× higher productivity improvements, while Gartner predicts its impact on society comparable to the steam engine, electricity, or the internet.

This blog post curates the best generative AI courses available in 2025, helping you choose the right learning path based on your:

• Current skill level
• Career goals
• Time commitment
• Learning style

What is Generative AI?

Generative AI is a cutting-edge branch of artificial intelligence that can create new content—ranging from text and images to music and code, often indistinguishable from human work. This ability to produce novel content on the fly opens up exciting possibilities, making generative AI one of the most talked-about innovations in tech today.

Why Generative AI is Important

Generative AI is transforming how we approach creativity, problem-solving, and productivity across various industries. An Accenture study noted that companies achieved 5× higher productivity improvements by reinventing processes with generative AI. Beyond enhancing output, generative AI can handle tasks that were previously time-consuming or impractical, allowing humans to focus on higher-level work. Gartner predicts that generative AI could become a general-purpose technology with an impact on society comparable to the steam engine, electricity, or the internet.

In practical terms, this means generative AI is already making a real-world impact in many fields:

• Content Creation & Media: Automating the writing of articles, reports, marketing copy, and even screenplays or music compositions.
• Design & Entertainment: Generating graphics, product designs, or game environments from simple descriptions, accelerating the creative design process.
• Science & Healthcare: Proposing new drug molecules and materials by analyzing vast datasets.
• Customer Service & Education: Powering advanced chatbots and virtual assistants that can converse naturally, answer questions, and provide personalized support or tutoring.
• Software Development: Assisting programmers by generating code snippets, finding bugs, or suggesting improvements.

Each of these applications highlights how generative AI can augment human abilities, working alongside professionals as a creative partner or tireless assistant. Businesses that leverage these tools can iterate faster and remain competitive in the modern, data-driven economy.

Why Take a Course on Generative AI?

With generative AI's rapid rise, there's a surging demand for skilled individuals who understand how to use and build these systems. For those new to AI, taking a course can demystify complex concepts and provide hands-on experience with tools like neural networks and creative AI software. You don't need to be a programmer to start. Beginner-friendly courses can teach you the basics of how models like ChatGPT work and how to apply them in your field. For experienced professionals, upskilling in generative AI can help you stay ahead as your industry evolves. From marketers and educators to designers and software engineers, professionals are finding that AI expertise lets them work more efficiently and even unlock new career paths.

The job market reflects this trend. AI skills are among the fastest-growing in demand, and employers are eager for talent who can harness generative AI effectively. For example, job postings requiring generative AI skills jumped 411% following the debut of ChatGPT in 2023. Gartner forecasts that by 2027 about 80% of engineers will need to upskill to work with generative AI, as new AI-driven roles and workflows become the norm. In short, understanding generative AI is becoming a must-have skill.

Another reason to pursue a structured course is the guided, practical learning it offers. Quality courses will take you from the foundations (like how generative models learn from data) to actually building or using AI models for real tasks. Along the way, you'll also learn about vital considerations such as ethics in AI, bias and fairness, and how to interpret AI outputs.

Below, we've compiled a list of courses (for both beginners and professionals) that will help you dive into generative AI. These courses cover a range of topics and skill levels, so you can find the perfect starting point to build your AI expertise and take advantage of the opportunities in this dynamic field.

Course Comparison at a Glance

Course	Level	Duration	Free/Paid	Certificate
ChatGPT for Everyone	Beginner	1 Hour	Free	Yes
Introduction to Generative AI in Marketing	Intermediate	3 Days	Some free lessons, full access: $21/month billed annually	Yes
Introduction to Prompt Engineering	Beginner	3 Days	Some free lessons, full access: $21/month billed annually	Yes
Image Creation with DALL·E 3	Beginner	3 Days	Some free lessons, full access: $21/month billed annually	Yes
Introduction to Generative AI for Business Professionals	Beginner	3 Days	Some free lessons, full access: $21/month billed annually	Yes
Boost Your Day-to-Day Efficiency With Generative AI	Beginner	3 Days	Some free lessons, full access: $21/month billed annually	Yes
Introduction to Large Language Models (LLMs) for Business Professionals	Beginner	3 Days	Some free lessons, full access: $21/month billed annually	Yes
Technical Fundamentals of Generative AI	Beginner	9 Hours	$995.00	Yes
Complete Generative AI Course With Langchain and Huggingface	Advanced	2 Hours	$14.99	Yes
Generative AI Guide: DALL-E, ChatGPT, and Creativity With AI	Beginner	4 Hours	$19.99	Yes
Generative AI Unleashed: Exploring Possibilities and Future	Beginner	1 Hour	$16.99	Yes
Generative AI Fundamentals Specialization	Beginner	1 Month	Included in Coursera Plus ($59 per month)	Yes
Generative AI Assistants Specialization	Beginner	1 Month	Included in Coursera Plus ($59 per month)	Yes
IBM Generative AI Engineering Professional Certificate	Beginner	6 Months	Included in Coursera Plus ($59 per month)	Yes
Generative AI: Introduction and Applications	Beginner	7 Hours	Included in Coursera Plus ($59 per month)	Yes
Generative AI Concepts	Beginner	2 Hours	Included in DataCamp subscription	Yes
Generative AI with Large Language Models	Intermediate	16 Hours	Free audit, paid certificate	Yes
Generative AI for Everyone	Beginner	5 Hours	Free audit, paid certificate	Yes
Introduction to Generative AI - Art of the Possible	Beginner	1 Hour	Free	No
Introduction to Generative AI	Beginner	1 Hour	Free	No

1. ChatGPT for Everyone

• Level: Beginner
• Instructors: Sander Schulhoff, Shyamal Anadkat
• Duration: 1 Hour
• Free/Paid: Free
• Certificate: Yes
• Visit Course: ChatGPT for Everyone

This introductory course is tailored for absolute beginners and curious learners eager to explore the exciting world of Generative AI. In just one hour, you'll discover how to set up a ChatGPT account, craft your first prompt, and unlock the practical applications of ChatGPT across work, learning, and creative projects. Taught by industry leaders Sander Schulhoff and Shyamal Anadkat, the course offers engaging video lessons, interactive exercises, and quizzes designed to build foundational skills in prompt engineering and AI safety. Whether you're a professional seeking to streamline everyday tasks or an enthusiast looking to demystify AI, this course provides a clear, hands-on introduction to using ChatGPT effectively.

2. Image Creation with DALL·E 3

• Level: Beginner
• Instructors: Camryn Streib, Sander Schulhoff
• Duration: 3 Days
• Free/Paid: Included with Learn Prompting Plus (Some lessons are free; full access to 15 courses for $21/month billed annually)
• Certificate: Yes
• Visit Course: Image Creation with DALL·E 3

This course empowers creative professionals, digital artists, and AI enthusiasts to master the art of AI-driven image generation using DALL·E 3. Over three self-paced days, you'll learn how to craft precise prompts that produce high-quality visuals—from logos and pixel art to comprehensive visual storytelling. The curriculum covers advanced prompting techniques, multi-modal inputs combining text and images, and methods to ensure consistency using Gen-ID tools. With a balanced mix of written content, interactive quizzes, and hands-on assignments, this course provides practical guidance to optimize your workflow for both personal and professional creative projects.

3. Introduction to Prompt Engineering

• Level: Beginner
• Instructors: Sander Schulhoff, Fady Yanni
• Duration: 3 Days
• Free/Paid: Included with Learn Prompting Plus (Some lessons are free; full access to 15 courses for $21/month billed annually)
• Certificate: Yes
• Visit Course: Introduction to Prompt Engineering

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the art of prompt engineering—the process of crafting effective instructions for AI systems like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity. Over three self-paced days, you'll explore essential techniques to write, refine, and optimize prompts, enabling you to harness the full potential of large language models (LLMs) for content creation, problem-solving, and workflow automation. Through engaging video lessons, interactive quizzes, and hands-on assignments, you'll gain insights into how LLMs process inputs, the characteristics of effective prompts, and strategies to mitigate issues such as bias and hallucinations. Whether you're a business professional, educator, or AI enthusiast, this course equips you with the foundational skills needed to improve AI responses and boost overall productivity.

4. Introduction to Generative AI for Business Professionals

• Level: Beginner
• Instructors: Sander Schulhoff and Fady Yanni
• Duration: 3 days
• Free/Paid: Included with Learn Prompting Plus (Some lessons are free; full access to 15 courses for $21/month billed annually)
• Certificate: Yes
• Visit Course: Introduction to Generative AI for Business Professionals

Designed for business leaders and non-technical professionals, this course covers the fundamentals of generative AI, including text, image, audio, and 3D content generation. It teaches how to AI tools like ChatGPT and DALL·E to automate tasks, enhance productivity, and drive innovation across marketing, design, and customer engagement.

5. Introduction to Generative AI in Marketing

• Level: Intermediate
• Instructors: Brian Paul
• Duration: 3 days
• Free/Paid: Included with Learn Prompting Plus (Some lessons are free; full access to 15 courses for $21/month billed annually)
• Certificate: Yes
• Visit Course: Introduction to Generative AI in Marketing

This intermediate-level course teaches marketing professionals, entrepreneurs, and content creators how to harness generative AI tools like ChatGPT and DALL·E 3. It also covers how to use prompt engineering techniques to create high-quality, brand-aligned content across web, email, and social media while optimizing SEO and automating audience engagement.

6. Introduction to Large Language Models (LLMs) for Business Professionals

• Level: Beginner
• Instructors: Sander Schulhoff, Fady Yanni
• Duration: 3 Days
• Free/Paid: Included with Learn Prompting Plus (Some lessons are free; full access to 15 courses for $21/month billed annually)
• Certificate: Yes
• Visit Course: Introduction to Large Language Models (LLMs) for Business Professionals

This course offers a concise yet comprehensive introduction to the fundamentals of large language models (LLMs) for business professionals and non-technical learners. In a series of brief, focused lessons, you'll learn how LLMs such as GPT-4, Claude, and LLaMA work—from text generation and tokenization to pre-training and fine-tuning. The curriculum is designed to connect technical concepts to real-world business applications, covering use cases in customer service, content creation, research, and process automation. By the end of the course, you'll be equipped to make informed decisions about integrating LLMs into your business strategy and engaging effectively with technical teams.

7. Boost Your Day-to-Day Efficiency With Generative AI

• Level: Beginner
• Instructors: Sander Schulhoff, Fady Yanni
• Duration: 3 Days
• Free/Paid: Included with Learn Prompting Plus (Some lessons are free; full access to 15 courses for $21/month billed annually)
• Certificate: Yes
• Visit Course: Boost Your Day-to-Day Efficiency With Generative AI

This course is designed to transform your daily workflow by integrating practical Generative AI techniques to boost productivity. Over three self-paced days, you'll learn to identify inefficiencies, automate repetitive tasks, and optimize various work processes using AI tools like ChatGPT, DALL·E, and other automation platforms. The curriculum covers streamlining text-based tasks, generating visual and audio content, and even enhancing coding workflows. With a combination of written lessons, interactive quizzes, and hands-on assignments, you'll acquire actionable skills to integrate AI into your everyday routines—whether you're drafting reports, generating presentations, or automating code. Taught by industry experts Sander Schulhoff and Fady Yanni, this course offers a clear, practical approach to mastering the power of AI for enhanced efficiency.

8. Technical Fundamentals of Generative AI

• Level: Beginner
• Instructors: Stanford Department of Computer Science
• Duration: 9 Hours
• Free/Paid: $995.00
• Certificate: Yes
• Visit Course: Link

This course, developed in collaboration with the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI), offers a comprehensive exploration of generative AI's technical principles, ethical considerations, and societal impacts. Designed for professionals seeking to navigate the rapidly evolving AI landscape, this course provides a conference-style learning experience featuring insights from distinguished experts in the field.

9. Introduction to Generative AI

• Level: Beginner
• Instructors: Google Cloud Team
• Duration: 1 Hour
• Free/Paid: Free
• Certificate: No
• Visit Course: Link

This beginner-friendly microlearning course provides a foundational understanding of generative AI, including its definition, functionality, and distinctions from traditional machine learning methods. Participants will also explore various applications of generative AI and gain insights into Google's tools designed for developing Gen AI applications. Upon completion, learners are awarded a digital badge to showcase their proficiency in the subject matter.

10. Complete Generative AI Course With Langchain and Huggingface

• Level: Advanced
• Instructors: Krish Naik
• Duration: 2 Hours
• Free/Paid: $14.99
• Certificate: Yes
• Visit Course: Link

This advanced-level program is designed to equip learners with the skills necessary to build, deploy, and optimize generative AI applications using Langchain and Huggingface. Participants will gain hands-on experience in constructing robust AI architectures, deploying models across various environments, integrating Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipelines, and fine-tuning AI models for applications such as chatbots and content generation. The course balances theoretical knowledge with practical application, making it suitable for individuals aiming to deepen their expertise in generative AI technologies.

11. Generative AI with Large Language Models

• Level: Intermediate
• Instructors: DeepLearning.AI, AWS
• Duration: 16 Hours
• Free/Paid: Free audit, paid certificate
• Certificate: Yes
• Visit Course: Link

This course provides an in-depth understanding of generative AI and its deployment in real-world applications. Designed for learners with Python programming experience and a foundational grasp of machine learning concepts, this intermediate-level covers the lifecycle of Large Language Model (LLM)-based generative AI, including data gathering, model selection, performance evaluation, and deployment.

Participants will explore transformer architecture, training methodologies, fine-tuning for specific applications, and the application of empirical scaling laws to optimize models based on dataset size, computational resources, and inference needs.

12. Generative AI for Everyone

• Level: Beginner
• Instructor: Andrew Ng
• Duration: 5 Hours
• Free/Paid: Free audit, paid certificate
• Certificate: Yes
• Visit Course: Link

This course offers a comprehensive introduction to generative AI, focusing on its practical applications and implications. The course covers how generative AI works, its capabilities and limitations, and provides hands-on exercises to integrate AI into daily tasks. Participants will learn effective prompt engineering techniques and explore advanced AI applications beyond basic prompting. The curriculum also delves into real-world use cases, offering insights into how generative AI can transform various industries and societal sectors. Designed for learners without prior AI or coding experience, this course aims to empower individuals to actively engage in the evolving AI landscape.

13. Generative AI Guide: DALL-E, ChatGPT, and Creativity With AI

• Level: Beginner
• Instructors: Reza Mora, Robyn Suchy
• Duration: 4 Hours
• Free/Paid: $19.99
• Certificate: Yes
• Visit Course: Link

This course offers a comprehensive introduction to generative AI, focusing on models like DALL-E and ChatGPT. Participants will learn the principles and functioning of these models, enabling them to create custom AI applications. The curriculum includes building conversational AI engines and developing applications using tools such as Google Cloud's Gen AI Studio, Maker Suite, and the PaLM API. Additionally, the course covers prompt engineering techniques to optimize AI outputs and explores the ethical considerations of AI-driven content creation.

14. Generative AI: Introduction and Applications

• Level: Beginner
• Instructors: Jacob Coccari
• Duration: 7 Hours
• Free/Paid: Included in Coursera Plus ($59 per month)
• Certificate: Yes
• Visit Course: Link

This course is designed for individuals eager to grasp the fundamentals and evolution of generative AI. Participants will dive into the capabilities of generative AI across various domains, including text, image, audio, video, virtual worlds, code, and data. The curriculum highlights real-world applications of generative AI in sectors such as IT, entertainment, education, finance, healthcare, and human resources. Learners will gain insights into popular generative AI models and tools like GPT, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, and Synthesia.

15. Generative AI Fundamentals Specialization

• Level: Beginner
• Instructors: IBM
• Duration: 1 Month
• Free/Paid: Included in Coursera Plus ($59 per month)
• Certificate: Yes
• Visit Course: Link

This beginner-level specialization includes 5 courses. Participants will explore topics such as prompt engineering, foundational models like GPT and DALL-E, and the ethical considerations surrounding generative AI. The curriculum emphasizes practical experience, offering hands-on labs and projects that utilize tools and platforms including IBM watsonx.ai, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Stable Diffusion, and Hugging Face.

16. IBM Generative AI Engineering Professional Certificate

• Level: Beginner
• Instructors: IBM Team
• Duration: 6 Months
• Free/Paid: Included in Coursera Plus ($59 per month)
• Certificate: Yes
• Visit Course: Link

A comprehensive six-month program designed to equip learners with in-demand skills for building and deploying AI applications, chatbots, and NLP models using Python libraries like Flask, PyTorch, and Keras. Participants gain expertise in prompt engineering, fine-tuning models, and applying transformers like BERT and GPT.

17. Introduction to Generative AI - Art of the Possible

• Level: Beginner
• Instructors: AWS
• Duration: 1 Hour
• Free/Paid: Free
• Certificate: No
• Visit Course: Link

This introductory course explores the potential of generative AI, illustrating its benefits, risks, and real-world use cases. Through practical examples, participants learn how AI-generated content can drive business innovation and efficiency.

18. Generative AI Concepts

• Level: Beginner
• Instructors: Daniel Tedesco
• Duration: 2 Hours
• Free/Paid: Included into DataCamp subscription
• Certificate: Yes
• Visit Course: Link

A non-technical deep dive into how generative AI works, its role in machine learning, and the legal and ethical considerations of AI development. This course helps participants prepare for an AI-driven future by providing insights into bias mitigation, responsible AI use, and collaboration with AI tools.

19. Generative AI Assistants Specialization

• Level: Beginner
• Instructors: Dr. Jules White
• Duration: 1 Month
• Free/Paid: Included in Coursera Plus ($59 per month)
• Certificate: Yes
• Visit Course: Link

This hands-on specialization focuses on building customized GPT-style AI assistants for different industries, from legal to logistics. Participants train AI models to process documents, engage in natural conversation, and adopt specific communicative tones while ensuring accuracy and reliability.

20. Generative AI Unleashed: Exploring Possibilities and Future

• Level: Beginner
• Instructors: Learnsector Team
• Duration: 1 Hour
• Free/Paid: $16.99
• Certificate: Yes
• Visit Course: Link

A deep technical course covering cutting-edge generative AI techniques such as Bayesian models, autoregressive models, Variational Autoencoders (VAEs), Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), and transformers. The course offers practical insights into applying these techniques across various domains such as art, healthcare, gaming, and business, highlighting AI's transformative impact on creative content generation, drug discovery, procedural content creation, and marketing strategies. Additionally, it addresses critical ethical considerations, privacy concerns, and the societal implications of AI-generated content, including the phenomenon of deepfakes.

Conclusion

Generative AI is transforming the way we work, create, and innovate. With advancements in AI models and increasing accessibility to AI tools, learning about generative AI is no longer just for researchers and engineers. Whether you're looking to enhance your professional skills, develop AI-powered applications, or simply explore the creative potential of AI, these courses provide an excellent starting point. The variety of options available ensures that there is a course suited for every learning style and experience level.

Happy learning!