What's Coming Up in 2026
Regular live Q&As, paid subscriber chats, and hands-on learning sessions.
Happy 2026, crew!
I hope all of you are having a smooth start to the year.
I thought I’d kick things off with a “housekeeping” post of sorts.
You see, around 150 of you are now paid subscribers. This is wild and humbling. Truly. Thank you! But this also means I’m feeling a bit of pressure to make paid memberships even more valuable.
So let me outline a few extra things I’m planning for this year.
First off, I’ll continue publishing my twice-weekly posts for everyone, because taking things away from free subscribers would be a dick move.
I appreciate all of you reading along, so that won’t change.
That said, here’s some new stuff that’s coming this year:
🙋♀️ Regular live Q&As
I’ve done a few sporadic video workshops and guides over the years:
This year, I want to put a bit more structure on things by hosting regular live Q&As to showcase different AI tools.
Here’s how the plan looks so far:
All subscribers will be able to join and watch the live session as it happens.
Paid subscribers can also:
Submit questions and suggestions in advance to help me plan the session.
Ask clarifying questions during the session itself via live chat.
Access the session recording, even if they couldn’t attend live.
On that note, mark your calendars for Wednesday, January 28, at 8:00-9:00 PM CET (Central European Time) for our very first session on NotebookLM.
I’ll do a walkthrough of the tool and answer any pre-submitted or live questions.
Technical note: Substack’s “Live Video” only lets me share my screen if I use a third-party streaming platform…and the implementation is quite clunky.
After lots of testing, I think I should be able to make it work. But if it fails, I might end up having to cut the stream short, reschedule the session, and find an alternative for future Q&As.1
TL;DR: Shit can go wrong on the day, but I’ll do my best to make sure it doesn’t.
Also, help me decide what to tackle next (if your option isn’t here, leave a comment):
💬 Regular chat threads
Did you know that—as a paid subscriber—you can always start new chat threads to ask for AI advice from me and others? Because you totally can:
If I’m honest, I haven’t exactly been proactive with this chat feature.
Let’s change that.
I now intend to start having regular paid subscriber chats to share knowledge, discuss recent news, and more.
Speaking of which, this week’s thread lets you pitch in with your suggestions for the upcoming “NotebookLM” live Q&A:
🎓 Live AI sessions with Cozora (+big discount)
Finally, an exciting bit of news.
Fellow Substackers Claudia Faith, Joel Salinas, and Michael Simmons recently launched an AI learning hub called Cozora.
Their entire approach is all about no-fluff, hands-on live sessions: Exactly the kind of stuff that’s right up my anti-hype alley. Cozora already boasts a solid roster of AI experts, including Substack bestsellers like Jeremy Caplan, Jenny Ouyang, Wyndo, and others.
So I’m thrilled to have been asked to join the team and host my own sessions in the coming months.
Here’s what this means for my paid subscribers:
I’ll share recordings of my own Cozora sessions as future Sunday Bonuses.
I can offer paid subscribers a 50% discount on Cozora’s annual membership, granting access to all past and future sessions with dozens of experts.
If you’re an existing paid subscriber and want to claim your Cozora discount, reach out to me at whytryai@substack.com or message me directly here on Substack:
As always, I look forward to sharing more AI tools, tips, comparisons, and guides with you in the months to come.
🫵 Over to you…
What are your biggest AI-related learning goals for this year? Are there any specific tools or concepts you’re especially interested in mastering? What would you like to see me tackle here on Why Try AI?
Leave a comment or drop me a line at whytryai@substack.com.
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I’m thinking of the usual suspects here: Google Meet / Zoom / Microsoft Teams. But if you know of a great alternative, please let me know.
HNY Daniel! New stuff sounds good I’d just ask that the newsletter continues to be the nexus where I could find all your amazing stuff. I have a question but I’ll put it in the chat because that’s the kind of novel stuff I’m about in a new year.