The demand for online learning continues to grow, and there are plenty of creators out there to prove it. But the opportunities that come with online learning don't belong only to creators. Businesses and entrepreneurs are also seeing the value in providing educational programs. It's a huge opportunity, which is why Thinkific is re-focusing its learning commerce platform to provide the tools these businesses need to be successful.
CEO Greg Smith started Thinkific in 2006 based of a need to deliver online Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) training. He was teaching people how to study and pass the LSATs at the same time he was studying to become a lawyer:
My goal was I wanted to be able to create an amazing learning experience in a course. I wanted to be able to brand it and sell it and have it be a business that could generate revenue for me. And so we went looking for a software solution. Initially, we weren't looking to build software. We're just looking to build the course, and couldn't find anything that met the needs we had. We found marketplaces like Coursera and Masterclass, but the problem with them is that you put your content on someone else's site, and they control it, price it, and build a business out of it while you just get royalties. Those marketplaces didn't exist at the time, but there were other ones like that.
What Smith soon saw was an opportunity to fill a gap in the market that differed from other online course platforms and traditional, internally focused learning management systems (LMS) by enabling course creators to earn real revenue from their courses.
What started as a platform that supported individual course creators evolved into a full commerce engine and a range of digital products (e.g., downloads, coaching, webinars, group calls, and community) - what Smith refers to as "Shopify for digital products."
Online learning is evolving, and Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly gen AI, is having an impact on the quality of learning content. Smith says the trust in digital education is eroding, and learners are demanding higher-quality, higher-impact experiences. At the same time, there is a growing trend for businesses to launch academies, certifications, and training hubs, not to sell products directly but to help them engage with customers.
To support these demands, Thinkific is entering a new phase of growth, repositioning itself to support businesses, academies, and experts. It wants to empower its customers with the latest innovations in AI to create new revenue streams, retain customers, and build community.
And the timing couldn't be better. The global market for AI in education is projected to reach $88.2 billion by 2032 and there aren't many online learning companies focused on the business market.
Thinkific's new positioning aligns with four core themes or strategic pillars.
Learning as a marketing tool
First, it wants to help businesses leverage learning as a marketing and loyalty tool. Smith asks, what if learning became part of the marketing stack? He says the focus is on building authenticity and solving problems, not just pitching products:
We've already seen a bit of a degradation of trust in conventional marketing, and so more AI-generated content, I think, amplifies that trend where, how can you trust pure marketing or conventional marketing, if you know even more of it is being created by something automated, and the volume goes up? Just the volume of content is already skyrocketing. And so I think what learning does is it creates really authentic contact. It's not just convincing you to buy something; it's actually helping solve a problem for you. And so you get to come in and learn. What we're finding is that the companies that are leveraging learning as part of their martech stack. Even though it's a product they can sell, it can also build loyalty and connection with their customers. Because if you come in and learn from me, then you're more likely to recommend me.
Fostering connection
The second theme is the idea of fostering human-to-human connections through community. Smith says remote work and AI are driving the need for more human interaction, so if you could build a community where people can interact with each other, one that is built around education and shared value, people would want to pay for it. Now, the dynamic shifts from support to a shared journey of growth and learning - or 'Come for the content, stay for the community'. He explains:
What I see more and more is that the best brands are building community amongst their customers. So, as opposed to it just being, 'let me tell you what we do,' and you can buy it. It's let's invite you in. I'll teach you things that better your life, that are sort of broadly in the service of what we do, and I'll connect you with all our other customers in a wonderful community, and you start to build loyalty and trust amongst that group.
Smith says people perceive paid communities as more valuable, moderated, and conducive to higher levels of conversions. It also shifts the discussion of a community that is a cost center to one that is a revenue generator and, therefore, worthy of budget and resources.
Augmenting with AI
The third strategic pillar is augmenting learning with AI. Thinkific is investing heavily in agentic AI to augment, not replace, human instructors. Smith also emphasizes the importance of transparency when utilizing AI agents:
We're looking to augment, take away the drudgery, the difficult stuff that people don't want to be doing so that you can open up more time for human connection. So if the agents can do a bunch of data analysis and prep work on, say, marketing for you, then you have more time to spend with your customers.
Examples Smith offered included data analysis, answering low-level support questions, and guiding learners through a program 24/7.
Thinkific builds AI agents for its customers, training the agents on three data sources:
Smith suggests:
I think the next stage in that is much more communal learning, where you're interacting with other humans as you're learning, so you can share things and have accountability. This goes back to the roots of a great classroom, but doing it more online, combined with AI agents that can actually jump in and pick up and guide you or help you with the next step, or even stimulate the conversation or moderate the community in some ways. So we're combining AI agents with community and human connection and the learning content itself that comes from the authentic instructor.
Right now, AI agents are included in existing subscription models. However, Smith says that it will shift to usage-based pricing over time, where customers pay based on their consumption of AI.
Integrating community learning experiences
The final strategic pillar involves a deeper integration between community and learning. Smith says the future of learning involves interacting with other humans while learning:
We're really narrowing in on what we can be unique and good at. This focus on commerce, learning, and community, and providing an exceptional, easy-to-use, and beautiful user experience around that. There are a bunch of things that I think we're leaning into, and even who we're serving that are unique.
To support its new direction, the Thinkific platform is getting some new capabilities in three key areas, all enhanced by agentic AI:
This is a huge opportunity for Thinkific. While universities and community colleges have their place and will always be around, there is a need for what Smith called "just-in-time learning" to keep pace with the rapid changes in technology and markets, something traditional schools can't do.
There are plenty of tools for creators to offer online courses and other digital products. However, businesses that aim to offer the kind of online learning that helps individuals keep pace with change and serves as a thought leadership strategy also require the right tools, and these requirements can be quite different.
Creating a revenue-generating online learning strategy requires different thinking. It's not a nice-to-have, simple course or Slack channel that gets minimal attention from the marketing team. Businesses need to treat it like a product, putting time, resources, and budget into it and promoting it appropriately. Smart companies will do this sooner rather than later, and have the opportunity to lead - and make money doing it.
