How to Create a Course with AI, Step by Step

Most "how to create a course with AI" guides stay theoretical: talk about prompts, talk about instructional design, never actually show the steps. This one is the concrete version, the exact flow inside Konstantly, from a blank workspace to a published, assigned course. For the broader "why AI is changing training" context, see our AI course creation overview; for the traditional, tool-agnostic instructional-design process, see how to create an e-learning course step by step.

What you need before you start

One of two things:

• A topic, described in plain language ("new hire safety orientation for a warehouse team," "how to use our return policy for support reps"), or
• Content you already have: a PDF employee handbook, a PowerPoint deck, or a SCORM export from a previous platform.

Either input works. You don't need a script, a storyboard, or prior authoring experience.

The steps

1. Describe it, or upload it

Open the AI course assistant and either type a description of what the course needs to cover, or drop in your existing document. If you're converting a PowerPoint deck specifically, we cover that conversion in more depth in our PowerPoint-to-course guide.

2. AI drafts the outline, lessons, and quiz on the canvas

This happens in real time on the visual course canvas: a lesson structure appears, individual lesson pages get stubbed out, and a quiz is generated against the material. You watch it build rather than waiting on a loading spinner.

3. Review and fill in the specifics

Here's the honest part: the AI draft gives you real structure and a working starting point, not a finished, publish-ready course untouched by a human. Lesson pages come out as solid drafts and outlines; the specifics that make training actually useful, your company's exact policy wording, real examples from your floor or your product, tone that sounds like you, still need a pass from someone who knows the material. Budget for a review step, not a rubber stamp.

Try the actual flow below:

4. Adjust the structure if needed

Branch a lesson based on quiz results, reorder sections, or ask the assistant to regenerate a specific lesson rather than the whole course. This is the same AI assistant, in a conversational follow-up mode, not a one-shot generator you're stuck with.

5. Publish and enroll people

Once you're happy with it, publish the course and set up auto-enrollment by group or role so new hires or existing staff get assigned automatically, no manual CSV upload required.

What this replaces

Traditional e-learning development runs 72 to 184 hours per course by outside industry estimates (Chapman Alliance's often-cited research, discussed in more depth in our course creation time guide). Going from a description or an existing document to a structured draft cuts the blank-page time significantly. It does not eliminate the review and polish step, and we'd rather say that plainly than let you find out the hard way.

The generation cap, and why we disclose it

Konstantly includes AI course generation on every plan, Free included, with a fair-use cap of 500 generations per user per month. That's not a marketing number we're hiding behind fine print, it's the actual limit, and we'd rather tell you upfront than have you discover it mid-project.

Compare that to how several competitors handle AI: TalentLMS and Docebo both offer AI features gated behind add-on credit packs you purchase separately from your subscription. That model works fine if you use AI generation rarely. If you're actively building courses every week, it can add real, unpredictable cost on top of your subscription price. Our cap is designed around normal course-building use, not to be a soft paywall.

FAQ

Does the AI write the entire course, word for word, without me touching it?

No. It drafts the structure, lesson outlines, and a starting quiz. The specifics, your exact policies, examples, and tone, are yours to add. Treat the AI output as a strong first draft, not a finished product.

What happens if I hit the 500 generations/month cap?

The cap resets monthly and applies per user. Drafting a full course typically uses a small fraction of it in one sitting; you'd need to be generating very heavily, well beyond normal course-building use, to hit it.

Can I use this with content I already have, like a PDF or PowerPoint?

Yes. Upload the document and the AI drafts a course structure from it rather than starting from a blank prompt. See our PowerPoint conversion guide for that specific flow.

Do I need a paid plan to try this?

No. The free plan includes the AI course builder for up to 10 users, no credit card required. Start free and try it against your own content.