Why the “How To” Info Marketing Business Is Dying Because of AI

AI is replacing “how to” info marketing by offering instant, personalized answers—leaving old-school courses in the dust.

HOW TO information was a product, once upon a time. If you had a step-by-step formula to lose weight, make money, fix a relationship, or build a business, you could bottle that knowledge into a product and sell it. The “How To” info marketing industry—built on books, tapes, CDs, webinars, and coaching funnels—was a multi-billion-dollar goldmine for creators and experts.

But today, artificial intelligence is not just nibbling at the edges of this model. It’s dismantling its core. The “How To” business as we knew it is dying—not because people don’t want to learn, but because access and expectation have changed forever.

The golden age of boxed courses and online academies is over. AI isn’t just challenging info marketing—it’s replacing it. As consumers demand faster, smarter, and more personalized learning, yesterday’s step-by-step products are being left behind. The “how to” business model is dying—and what comes next?

Look Back: The Golden Age of “How To” Info Marketing

In the 1980s and ‘90s, knowledge felt rare. If you wanted to become wealthy, you bought Tony Robbins tapes. If you wanted to master sales, you sent away for Brian Tracy’s CDs. The value of information was based on the assumption that only certain people had access to it—and that they were willing to sell it to you.

Imagine a vast warehouse filled with rows of boxes, each containing info products like CDs, DVDs, and printed guides. These boxes, offering step-by-step solutions in business, personal development, and more, once represented the heart of the info marketing business. Now, they’re a relic of a time before digital delivery and AI-powered learning took over.

These programs were often physically large—literally. They arrived in boxes filled with cassette tapes, VHS videos, or spiral-bound workbooks. You might remember the thrill of opening a Nightingale-Conant package, or the dense feel of a Jay Abraham marketing binder. Knowledge had weight. You could hold it.

Seminars, too, became immersive info events. In the early 2000s you flew across the country, booked a hotel, took furious notes, and returned home believing you now had the keys to a better life. Many of these products were life-changing. Some were over-hyped. But either way, they were part of a culture where learning was packaged and sold like a box set.

The Shift to Digital: From Physical to Portal

As the internet evolved, the distribution model became faster, cheaper, and wider. Why ship DVDs when you could upload videos to a portal? Why print and mail workbooks when you could turn them into PDFs and add a login?

This was the era of “online academies.” The same content was now accessed through usernames and passwords. Kajabi, Teachable, Thinkific, and ClickFunnels became the tools of the trade. The structure was mostly the same: a high-ticket course, a 7-step framework, a sales funnel, and a series of upsells. Only now, instead of boxes, you had dashboards. Instead of discs, you had downloads.

In many ways, this digitization was revolutionary. It removed physical limitations. It allowed creators to scale. But it also opened the floodgates. With fewer barriers to entry, more and more “experts” began launching courses—and not all of them were qualified. What followed was a saturation of the market and a growing distrust from buyers.

Columbia House: A Nostalgic Parallel to Info Product Subscriptions

Long before streaming services and digital downloads, Columbia House pioneered a clever (and infamous) model of subscription content. For just a penny, you could receive a dozen records or CDs—after which you were automatically enrolled in a monthly club, often with fine print that made it hard to cancel.

This business model mirrored what later happened in info marketing: get customers in with an irresistible offer, then move them into continuity programs or recurring payments. It worked—for a while. Eventually, consumers grew wise to the tactics. They got tired of being trapped in subscriptions, annoyed by unrequested shipments, or disillusioned by the value they received.

Info marketing followed the same arc: an initial rush of excitement, followed by skepticism and fatigue. Consumers began asking tougher questions: Is this content unique? Is it worth the price? Is there a catch?

AOL: Access, Control, and the Illusion of Relevance

In the 1990s, AOL (America Online) was synonymous with getting on the internet. It came to your house on floppy disks, then CDs—millions of them. These disks were everywhere: in mailboxes, magazines, cereal boxes. They were AOL’s gateway drug.

AOL didn’t just offer access—it controlled it. It created a closed ecosystem of news, chatrooms, games, and emails. You didn’t surf the web. You surfed AOL’s web.

But AOL’s dominance didn’t last. As broadband internet and open browsers gained popularity, people realized they didn’t need a gatekeeper. They could go directly to Google, Yahoo, or MSN. AOL became irrelevant not because it stopped offering value—but because its value had been unbundled and democratized.

Not only did AOL decline, all the supporting businesses: the floppy disk and CD manufacturers, the floppy disk and CD fulfillment houses, shipping, stamps, and all related businesses closed or went bankrupt.

Today’s info marketers face the same risk. Their courses are no longer the exclusive paths to knowledge. The gates have been kicked open.

Since we mentioned floppy disks, the business called Corporate Disk with the website, Disk.com, originally focused on providing floppy disks and physical media since 1984, almost 40 years, has adapted as technology evolved. With the decline of floppy disks, they shifted to offering CDs, DVDs, and writable media. As cloud storage and digital solutions became more popular, Disk.com transitioned to selling USB flash drives and external hard drives. Today, the company customizable hybrid solutions. Their ability to pivot with changing technology has kept them relevant in an era where data management is increasingly driven by AI and cloud services.

AI Has Arrived—and It’s Not Just Disrupting, It’s Replacing

Artificial Intelligence has flipped the learning model on its head. Instead of signing up for a five-week course, users can ask AI for instant, customized guidance. No waiting. No upsells. No logins.

With tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity AI, you can:

• Get a personalized business strategy in seconds.

• Learn how to code interactively with explanations in your preferred language.

• Generate recipes tailored to your dietary needs and grocery list.

• Ask follow-up questions as if talking to a coach or consultant.

AI provides not just information, but conversation, context, and iteration. It doesn’t say, “Buy my course.” It says, “Let’s figure it out—together, right now.”

Timeline: Evolution of “How To” Info Marketing

1970s:

• How-to books and mail-order guides become popular through classified ads in newspapers and magazines.

1980s:

• Columbia House Records dominates subscription selling with 12 albums for a penny—an early precursor to info marketing subscription models.

• Cassette tapes deliver audio programs on success, sales, and motivation (e.g., Zig Ziglar, Tony Robbins).

1990s:

• VHS tapes and printed binders sold through infomercials and mail-order catalogs.

• Tony Robbins and Nightingale-Conant explode in popularity through TV and direct mail.

• AOL floods mailboxes with floppy disks, then CDs, offering free trial hours—shaping how people access digital content.

2000s:

• CD/DVD-based home study courses become dominant in personal development and business niches.

• Transition to online access portals and password-protected member areas begins.

• Broadband internet enables streaming video tutorials and e-books.

• ClickBank and other platforms make digital product sales turnkey.

2010s:

• Course platforms like Teachable and Kajabi take off.

• Email autoresponders and webinars drive the sales funnel model.

• YouTube and blogs begin to offer free “how to” content at scale.

• Rising consumer fatigue over high-ticket info products with repetitive content.

2020:

• Pandemic creates a spike in online learning, but also leads to massive saturation in info products.

2022–2023:

• AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Bard, etc.) begin offering free, real-time answers—more tailored than expensive courses.

• AI replaces keyword-based research, course blueprints, and sales copy creation—cutting into info marketers’ edge.

2024–2025:

• AI-driven learning threatens the traditional “how to” info marketing model with instant access, personalization, and scalability.

• Consumers now prefer interactive, AI-powered experiences over passive video courses.

Why the “How To” Model Is Dying

Let’s unpack the key reasons this business model is collapsing under the weight of AI and changing consumer behavior:

A. Information Abundance

The old model thrived on the illusion of exclusivity. AI obliterates that. There are no “hidden secrets” anymore—only better questions and better prompts. The value has shifted from what you know to how well you help someone apply it.

B. Speed of Consumption

Modern users want instant answers, not hours of video. They want clarity in minutes, not commitment over weeks. AI caters to a generation of impatient learners.

C. Trust Erosion

The info marketing industry is now associated with scams, shady launches, and overpriced fluff. AI, by contrast, has positioned itself as an objective tool. It doesn’t pretend to be a guru. It just gets things done.

D. Subscription Burnout

Just as Columbia House users canceled when they felt duped, today’s consumers are ditching membership programs that feel exploitative or vague. AI offers more value, more quickly, often for free.

E. Static vs. Dynamic Learning

Courses are static. AI is dynamic. You don’t have to wait for Module 5. You can jump straight to what you need and get it rephrased until it makes sense.

What Still Works in the AI Era

So, is the “How To” world over entirely? Not quite. But it must evolve. The future belongs to those who reframe their value.

1. Transformation Over Information

People still want results. But they no longer pay just for steps—they pay for support, belief, and guidance. Coaching, mentoring, and live interaction still matter.

2. Emotional and Human Experience

AI can’t yet replicate human empathy, intuition, or inspiration. Retreats, live events, accountability groups—these provide energy and connection that AI can’t mimic.

3. Curation and Perspective

There’s still massive value in knowing what to ignore. Experts who filter noise, provide frameworks, or give personalized shortcuts can thrive if they move beyond regurgitating “how to” steps.

4. Brand and Identity

People follow people—not prompts. Storytelling, positioning, personality, and trust matter more than ever. AI won’t replace those who become someone worth listening to.

The Future: From Teacher to Translator, from Seller to Sensei, from Gatekeeper to Guide

In the past, info marketers said, “I know something you don’t. Pay me, and I’ll share it.” In the future, the winning message will be: “You already have access. Let me help you make sense of it all.” The Sensei or Sensemaker will be in demand.

AI has turned the world into a buffet of endless insight. But people still need someone to guide them through it with discernment, kindness, and wisdom. The next generation of educators will be interpreters, not instructors. Collaborators, not commanders.

Like AOL, like Columbia House, the “How To” model is suffering because it failed to recognize a simple truth: distribution shapes desire. The way a product is access or organized can influence our choices, When knowledge was hard to get, people paid dearly for it. But now, knowledge is everywhere. The power of knowledge is no longer in the access—it’s in the application.

AI isn’t the enemy. It’s the new environment. Those who cling to the old way—just like those who kept mailing out floppy disks or boxed CDs—will vanish. But those who adapt, lead, and connect will build something far more enduring than a one-time course: they’ll build movements.

The “How To” info business is dying, yes—but something more human, agile, and meaningful is waiting to be born.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_House
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightingale-Conant
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AOL
https://www.wired.com/story/the-rise-and-fall-of-aol-instant-messenger/
https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/27/business/yourmoney/27aol.html
https://www.teachable.com/
https://www.kajabi.com/
https://www.clickfunnels.com/
https://openai.com/chatgpt
https://www.anthropic.com/index/introducing-claude

https://www.perplexity.ai/
https://blog.google/technology/ai/google-gemini-ai/

• How to info marketing

• Info product business

• Online courses dying

• AI vs info marketers

• Columbia House subscription

• AOL decline

• AI replacing educators

• Digital info marketing trends

• Rise and fall of info products

• Future of online learning

The key ideas were provided and this article was written by AI.

See also Legacy Timeline: Innovation & Constant Change

A simple truth: distribution shapes desire. Desire is individual.

“Everyone hears only what he understands.”

– Goethe, scientist and and philosopher