How to Make Money With AI Agents Without Coding

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August 17, 2026
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The Calum Johnson Show
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How to Make Money With AI Agents Without Coding

TL;DR

Start by using Claude Code to build websites for paying clients, since website creation is presented as an accessible service that AI handles well. Use Hermes Agent as a personal assistant for email, calendars, research, reminders, and daily planning, while reserving Claude Code for focused desktop work such as building websites, applications, and software products.

Transcript

It's tough not to make money doing this if you apply the correct steps in the right order. Just think of Hermes as your personal assistant and Claude is the place where we go to build things on your desktop. You said $10,000 websites. That's actually the easiest way to get your first [music] paying client >> is because it's something that AI can pr... Read More

Key Insights

  • Hermes Agent is designed primarily as a personal AI assistant that can review email, inspect calendars, conduct research, build things, and communicate through a phone. Its usefulness can increase as it receives more conversations, preferences, appointments, and other relevant context from its user.
  • Claude Code is presented as a desktop environment for building websites, applications, software products, and other solutions with natural-language instructions. The guest uses it when sitting at a computer and working directly on products for his community, audience, or clients.
  • The difference between a model and a harness is compared to the driver and car in a Formula racing team. Hermes Agent is described as model-agnostic, allowing different models from ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Claude, or Gemini to operate within the same assistant system.
  • Hermes Agent does not replace Claude Code because the tools have overlapping but distinct purposes. Claude Code provides flexible building capabilities, while Hermes packages tools, prompts, systems, code, and integrations into an open-source assistant maintained by hundreds of developers.
  • Website creation is presented as one of the easiest routes to a first paying client because AI can produce polished graphic websites effectively. The episode connects this capability to selling websites valued at $10,000, supported by a live Claude website-building demonstration.
  • A morning brief can save time by reviewing a full week of emails, checking calendar appointments, and producing a concise list of priorities. The assistant can identify what the user needs to know that day and recommend specific actions labeled as A, B, and C.
  • Hermes Agent can operate as a mobile capture and reminder tool when the user is away from a desktop. The guest describes sending interesting articles, videos, and ideas to Hermes, then asking the assistant to preserve or surface them later.
  • An AI operating system can use conversations, emails, appointments, and prior instructions as context for suggesting improvements. Hermes includes a described dreaming capability that reviews this information overnight and identifies features or actions that may improve the user's life or work.

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Questions & Answers

Q: What is the difference between Hermes Agent and Claude Code?

Hermes Agent is designed as a personal AI assistant, while Claude Code is presented as a place to build websites, applications, software products, and solutions from a desktop. Hermes can help with email, calendars, research, reminders, and mobile conversations. Their capabilities overlap, but Hermes packages assistant-focused tools and integrations, whereas Claude Code offers a flexible environment for building almost anything through natural language.

Q: How can a non-technical person make money with Claude Code?

A non-technical person can use Claude Code to create websites through natural-language instructions and sell that work as a service. Website creation is described as an accessible route to a first paying client because AI can produce polished graphic websites effectively. The episode demonstrates this process and discusses websites valued at $10,000, with a carefully developed prompt guiding the website-building workflow.

Q: What can Hermes Agent do as a personal assistant?

Hermes Agent can check emails and calendars, conduct research, build things, prepare reminders, and communicate through a phone. It can also create a morning brief by reviewing a week of email and upcoming appointments, then summarizing the day's priorities. The guest further describes an overnight dreaming capability that reviews accumulated context and suggests ways to improve the user's life, work, or assistant setup.

Q: How does Hermes Agent save more than 20 hours a week?

Hermes Agent is presented as saving more than 20 hours a week by taking on recurring information and planning tasks. It can review email, inspect calendar appointments, prepare a concise morning brief, conduct research, capture ideas, and provide reminders. The episode frames these connected workflows as a personal AI operating system that reduces the need to manage each task manually across separate tools.

Q: How can you use Hermes Agent from a phone without coding?

Hermes Agent can be treated like a mobile personal assistant rather than a desktop development environment. The guest describes chatting with it while away from a computer, recording ideas, and sending it interesting articles or videos with instructions to provide a reminder later. This phone-based workflow lets non-technical users capture information and delegate simple organizational tasks without writing code.

Q: What does model-agnostic mean for Hermes Agent?

Model-agnostic means Hermes Agent can use different AI models instead of being permanently tied to one provider. The guest compares the model and harness to a driver and car in a Formula racing team. He says Hermes can run with the best available model from ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Claude, or Gemini, while preserving the assistant's surrounding tools, systems, prompts, and integrations.

Q: Why use Hermes Agent instead of building an assistant in Claude Code?

Claude Code can be used to build a personal assistant, but doing so can amount to recreating Hermes Agent. Hermes already combines open-source tools, prompts, systems, code, and integrations for assistant work, with hundreds of developers focused on improving it. Users can still modify Hermes as needed while benefiting from an existing foundation designed specifically for personal assistance.

Q: What should a non-technical person do first with AI agents?

A non-technical person should begin with a practical task that produces clear value instead of trying to master every capability at once. For earning money, the episode points to building websites with Claude Code because AI handles that work well and it can lead to a first client. For saving time, Hermes can begin with email, calendar, reminders, and a daily morning brief.

Summary & Key Takeaways

  • Hermes Agent and Claude Code serve different primary roles. Hermes is an open-source, model-agnostic personal assistant that can work with email, calendars, research, reminders, and mobile conversations. Claude Code is positioned as a desktop building environment for creating websites, applications, software products, and solutions through natural-language instructions.

  • For non-technical people seeking income, website creation is presented as an accessible starting service because AI can produce polished graphic sites effectively. The episode proposes using a carefully developed prompt and Claude Code to build websites, then selling the resulting service to clients, including projects valued at $10,000.

  • Hermes Agent can reduce repetitive work by reviewing emails and calendar appointments, preparing a focused morning brief, capturing ideas from a phone, and suggesting improvements based on accumulated context. The broader goal is to create a personal AI operating system that continues helping with planning, research, communication, and business activities.


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