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AI paid Adavia Davis roughly $40,000 to $60,000 a month from faceless YouTube channels
AI PAID ME · RECEIPTCHECKED OCT 15, 2026
- Paid to
- Adavia Davis, 22, a college dropout (per Fortune)
- For
- A network of faceless YouTube channels, led by six-hour 'history to sleep to' videos
- Tools used
- Claude, ElevenLabs, TubeGen, YouTube
- Type
- Revenue, not profit
Amount, exactly as the source states it
“roughly $40,000 to $60,000 a month in revenue”
- Davis told Fortune his network generates “roughly $40,000 to $60,000 a month in revenue.”
- His operating costs “run at about $6,500 per month, he said.”
- Fortune says the AdSense payout records it reviewed equate to “annual gross revenue of roughly $700,000.”
Fortune says it “reviewed screenshots from Davis’s social media analytics dashboards, as well as recent AdSense payout records.” The monthly range and costs are what Davis told Fortune.
Who he is
Adavia Davis grew up making YouTube videos. Fortune reports he was scripting and editing Minecraft and Fortnite playthroughs at age 10. He left Mississippi State University in 2020 to do YouTube full time, and he’s now 22.
What he does
Davis runs a network of “faceless” YouTube channels, meaning videos where no host appears on camera. At the time of the article he had five active channels. His best earner is a “Boring History” channel of six-hour “history to sleep to” documentaries. Fortune notes that many of his viewers are asleep while they watch.
He told Fortune the whole network needs only about two hours of oversight a day. His costs are mostly small salaried teams who look after the different niches.
How AI fits in
Fortune says nearly all of his videos are made with AI, using TubeGen, a software pipeline built by his business partner, Eddie Eizner. Inside that pipeline:
- Claude writes the scripts and generates the visuals.
- ElevenLabs provides the calm British narration.
- The pieces are assembled into long videos, some up to six hours. Fortune says each one can cost “as little as $60 to produce from start to finish.”
Worth knowing before you try this
- It’s getting crowded. Davis says his biggest mistake was posting a video showing how he makes his history videos. Within days, copycats filled his niche.
- He’s not optimistic about the long run. He calls himself “kind of a doomer” and guesses solo creators have until around 2027 to profit from AI long-form videos before big media companies take over.
- Some of his tactics are ones we wouldn’t copy. He describes tricks like flashing a spider on screen to make viewers rewind. Fortune calls this genre “AI slop.”
- He sells a course. Fortune mentions that Davis offers an online course. That doesn’t make his numbers false (Fortune saw the payout records), but it’s good to know.
- This is revenue, not take-home pay. It’s spread across a whole network of channels built over several years.
- Full disclosure: we’re in ElevenLabs’ affiliate program, so we earn a commission if you sign up through our ElevenLabs links, at no extra cost to you. That didn’t change this story’s numbers or its label. See our affiliate disclosure.
Try it yourself: step by step
A small, honest version of a long-form, narrated YouTube channel. Start with one video, not a network.
What you'll need
- A Google account with 2-Step Verification turned on (YouTube requires it for the Partner Program)
- One evergreen topic you enjoy researching, plus a list of 10 video ideas
- A free Claude account for outlining and drafting
- An ElevenLabs plan that allows commercial use (Starter or higher) once you publish
- Any video editor you already know, and images or footage you have the rights to use
- About 5–10 hours a week for at least three months (our estimate)
-
Step 1: Read YouTube's monetization rules first
Read the Partner Program page before you make anything. To apply you need 1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 qualified watch hours in the last 12 months (or 1,000 subscribers plus 10 million qualified Shorts views in 90 days). You also need 2-Step Verification and an AdSense for YouTube account. YouTube says a review typically takes about a month. Read the channel monetization policies too. They decide whether AI-assisted videos can earn at all.
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Step 2: Pick one niche and list 10 video ideas
Choose a long-form topic people return to, like calm history, nature, or science explainers. Ask Claude for 30 angles, then keep the 10 you'd actually want to research.
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Step 3: Draft your first script, then fact-check it
Have Claude outline and draft the script, then check every date, name, and claim against at least two reliable sources. AI makes confident mistakes, and viewers notice.
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Step 4: Record a narration test
Paste a few paragraphs into ElevenLabs and try several voices. The Free plan includes 10,000 credits a month but no commercial license. Starter ($6/month, 30,000 credits) adds a commercial license. Text to Speech uses about 1 credit per character.
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Step 5: Gather visuals you're allowed to use
Use your own footage, public-domain archives, or images you generate. Keep a simple list of where each image came from, in case you ever need to prove you can use it.
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Step 6: Edit, title, and upload video #1
Put the narration and visuals together in your editor. Write a clear, honest title and thumbnail. Answer YouTube's upload questions truthfully.
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Step 7: Publish on a steady schedule for 12 weeks
Pick a pace you can keep, even one video a week. Check watch time and audience retention in YouTube Studio after each upload, and improve your openings.
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Step 8: Apply when you're eligible
When you hit a threshold, apply in YouTube Studio under Earn. If you're turned down, YouTube says you can appeal within 21 days or re-apply after 30 days.
Beginner pitfalls
- Pumping out near-identical videos. YouTube's monetization policies are what decide whether you get paid.
- Publishing AI-written facts without checking them
- Using a free voice plan for videos you plan to monetize (ElevenLabs' Free plan has no commercial license)
- Copying "watch-time tricks" like fake-out flashes. They can cost you viewers' trust.
- Buying a course before you've published 10 videos yourself
Realistic expectations
Expect months of work before any ad money, and know that some channels never reach the threshold. Even after you apply, review takes about a month. Davis grew up making YouTube videos (Fortune reports he was scripting and editing playthroughs at age 10) and built his network over several years. Disclosure: we earn a commission if you sign up through our ElevenLabs links, at no extra cost to you.
Prices and plan details come from each tool's own pricing page or help docs, checked Oct 15, 2026. They change often, so re-check before you pay. Time estimates are our rough guesses for a beginner. Sources: YouTube Partner Program overview & eligibility; Claude pricing; ElevenLabs pricing.
Tools mentioned
- Claude scripts and visuals
- ElevenLabsaffiliate narration
- TubeGen a proprietary pipeline built by his partner, Eddie Eizner. No public link in the source.
- YouTube
Links marked affiliate are affiliate links: we earn a commission if you sign up through them, at no extra cost to you. It doesn't affect which stories we cover or how we verify them. Other links go straight to each tool's homepage. Affiliate disclosure.
Source and verification
This 22-year-old college dropout with an AI powered YouTube empire makes $700,000 a year and works just 2 hours a day, Fortune, Dec 30, 2025.
Verified by outlet: A reporter checked documents (like pay slips or payout records). How we verify.
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