Where do the courses come from?
From 73 sources that feed this site. Where a provider publishes an API or sitemap we use it; otherwise we read its public course pages. 21 of these sites turn away automated requests, so we read them by hand in a browser at human pace.
33 of them are in our source registry as ones we must cover, including the AI companies' own academies, the large course platforms, UK professional bodies and government funding pages; 24 more stay in while they can be checked automatically.
If a platform's terms or robots.txt rule out automated checking, we leave it out rather than work around the rule.
Which courses qualify?
- It teaches AI or the use of AI tools, and people in the UK can sign up (or anyone a public scheme covers).
- The provider's own page sets out the details.
- Its level and whether it is paid are known. Where a provider gives no level, the editor sets one and the page says "our rating".
- The editor has approved its "Before you sign up" note.
Those notes rest on the provider's information and the facts we have checked. Nobody takes every course.
How do you show UK prices?
Exactly as the provider shows them. Prices in pounds keep the VAT wording the provider uses ("+ VAT", "excluding VAT", or nothing if it doesn't say). Courses priced in another currency, such as US dollars, keep that currency: we never convert, because the amount you pay depends on your card and the day. Member and non-member prices are shown side by side when the provider shows both.
How do you check UK funding?
Each scheme on our funding by nation page has its official page, the nation it applies in and the date we last checked it. We quote the official wording on who is eligible rather than paraphrase it. Where an official page doesn't state something, such as the cost to learners, we say so and check it by hand. Funding rules in England changed for 2026-27, so the weekly check compares each quote with its official page word for word.
Which UK sources do you check?
51 UK sources, including BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, ILX Group, The Chartered Institute of Marketing, Chartered College of Teaching, Department for Education (GOV.UK), Google for Education, City Lit, Wise Owl. 16 of them block automated checks; we check those by hand in a browser once a month, at human pace, and never work around a block.
What does the "verified" date mean?
It is the last day the course's details matched the provider's own page. Ninety days without a match and the course comes off our lists until it matches again. Anything the provider leaves out shows as "not stated by provider": prices, dates and hours are never estimated, and an hours figure worked out from a timetable says "estimated".
How does the list stay current?
- Each week an automated job visits the sources that are due: most every week, slower ones every month, and dated courses before their start dates.
- It reads only pages that have changed, and keeps a new fact only if it can quote the provider's page for it.
- The editor reviews price, certificate and level changes and every new course before they appear.
- The site is rebuilt every morning so dates and "starts in" counts are right for the day.
What do the tags mean?
| Tag | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Free | The course is free to take, as stated by the provider. |
| Free for a limited time | The provider says the course is free only for now, for example during a beta. |
| Free to learn | You can take the course for free, but the certificate, exam or full access costs extra. |
| Funded | A public scheme pays some or all of the fee for eligible people. |
| Free certificate | The certificate, badge or exam is included at no cost. |
| RQF or SCQF level | A regulated qualification at that level of the framework for England, Wales and Northern Ireland (RQF) or Scotland (SCQF), as the provider states it. |
| UK | A UK provider, a UK location or a UK funding scheme. |
| Licence needed | You need a paid tool licence or subscription to take part, such as Microsoft 365 Copilot or ChatGPT Plus. |
| Price in USD | The provider shows the price in US dollars. We never convert currencies; pounds are shown with the VAT status the provider states. |
| Closed | Applications are closed. We show the next intake if the provider has announced it. |
How are courses ordered?
Every list says which order it uses, in a line or caption next to it. The recommended order is the same on every page:
- Fit to the page. On a topic, tool, role or provider page, courses mainly about that subject come first: it's their first topic or tool, it's in the title, or the course is only for that role. Courses where it's one of two subjects follow, then courses that only mention it.
- The page's promise. On the free courses page, free with a free certificate first, then free, then free to learn. On the beginners page, courses for a wide audience first, then lower cost, then shorter stated length, the criteria behind "Good places to start".
- Open now. Courses you can start any time, or on an announced date, before courses with no dates.
- Wide audience. Courses for everyone, or for the page's role, before courses for one other group, such as teachers or retailers.
- Level. Beginner before intermediate and advanced.
- UK courses before international ones.
- Cost and length. Lower cost first, then shorter stated length.
Closed and past courses always come last. Remaining ties go to the course we verified most recently, then to a fixed code worked out from the course's address, never to its name. No provider can pay to move up. City and funding lists are ordered by start date, soonest first.
Alternatives on a course page match the kind of course first: a master's suggests other master's and postgraduate programmes, a full-time course full-time ones first, a short course other short courses. Shared topic comes next, then UK courses, then free ones. Where none of the three is a UK course, the third place goes to the first UK course of the same kind on a shared topic. A closed course is never suggested.
How are the guides researched and written?
By the AI Course Check editorial team. A guide starts from search demand: a question people are searching for that the checked course data can answer. Each fact in it is taken from the provider's own page or an official one, such as a government funding page, and the list at the foot of every guide gives the pages used with the date each was checked.
Research and drafting are automated and follow editorial rules set by the editor, Jake Boland. Nothing is invented or estimated, a missing detail shows as "not stated by provider", and funding eligibility is quoted from the official page word for word. Since October 2026, before it goes live, every draft is checked against those rules by a separate review that played no part in writing it, and the page has to pass the site's automated style and search checks.
No guide gives a star rating or review score. If you spot a mistake, use "Report an error" at the bottom of the guide.
Who pays for the site?
We're independent. Providers can't pay to be listed or ranked. The site earns nothing at present: no paid listings and no affiliate links. Any affiliate link added later will be labelled and will have no effect on which courses appear or in what order.
How do I report a mistake?
Use "Report an error" on the course page. The provider's page is checked again, the listing is corrected, and the change appears on New this week.
How does your crawler behave?
It sends the user agent ai-courses.ie-bot/1.0 (+https://ai-courses.ie/methodology/#bot), follows robots.txt and any crawl-delay, waits at least two seconds between requests to a site, and never logs in or gets around bot protection. The same crawler serves AI Course Check and its sister site.