Reality Check #15 ·

Reality Check #15: Did Mark Tilbury's AI Influencers Really Make a $157 Profit?

Verdict: Partly True – real dashboard and math, but the sales were refunded

The claim:
AI influencers built in 7 days for under $99 made $276 in sales and a $157.48 profit.
The real number:
23 × $12 = $276, but all sales were refunded. Real cash result: about −$99. At monthly prices, Higgsfield is $129, not $99.
Verdict:
Partly True. Overall 6/10, proof shown 6/10.

Watch the video version

Watch the Shorts

The video: Mark Tilbury, "I Tried The LAZIEST Way to Make Money With AI" (uploaded September 21, 2026; 8,613,774 views when we checked on November 2).

The pitch: build AI influencers with Claude and Higgsfield, launch them on Instagram, and sell a digital product, all in seven days on a budget under $99. At the end, the video shows $276 in sales and a $157.48 profit.

Same ground rules as always: this isn't a roast. This is one of the more honest money-with-AI videos we've reviewed. It shows a real sales dashboard, lists its costs, and admits it missed its own goal. But a few details change what that $157 actually means.

What the video promises

Mark sets three rules (0:55): get it running "for less than $99 USD," don't use his own face or voice, and make the first AI influencer on day one. He also bets that if he doesn't make at least $1,000, "I'll give someone down in the comments $1,000 USD of my own money" (0:47).

Then he:

  1. Uses Claude (free plan) to invent three characters: Amos, a 101-year-old health guy; Grandma Vivian, a rich grandma; and Sienna, a 22-year-old dating-advice influencer.
  2. Uses Higgsfield to make their photos, voices, and videos.
  3. Posts 10 videos to each new Instagram account.
  4. Turns the winner, Amos, into a seller: a 30-day habit workbook built in Claude, sold on Stan Store for $12 (marked down from $15.99).

The result (30:39): "we sold the workbook for $12 USD and made 23 sales which brings our total revenue to $276 USD." After costs, "our total cost came to $118.52 USD so that leaves us with a profit of $157.48 USD" (31:52).

The reality check

The math is right. 23 × $12 = $276. $276 − $118.52 = $157.48. The $19.52 PayPal fee also checks out: it's exactly 23 sales at PayPal's standard card rate of 2.99% + $0.49. And the dashboard is on screen (around 30:44): Stan Store shows $276.00 in revenue and a list of $12.00 orders. That's more proof than most videos in this genre ever show.

But the sales were refunded. Right as the "Total profit: $157.48" graphic comes up (around 32:00), small text appears at the bottom of the screen: "* All sales have been refunded after the experiment." It isn't said out loud. So the money kept from those 23 sales is $0, and under PayPal's own rules, on a full refund "the fees you originally paid to receive the payment are not returned to you." The video doesn't say why the sales were refunded or who the 23 buyers were.

The "$99" plan is the yearly price. Mark says that to keep it fair, "I'm going to count the full cost which would normally be $99 USD for that plan" (31:42). But the plan screen shown right then (around 31:46) reads "$129 $99 per month, billed annually" and "Save $360 compared to monthly." In other words, $99 is the monthly rate only if you pay for a full year up front (12 × $99 = $1,188). If you pay month to month, the Ultra plan is $129, and that's what the video's own checkout shows (around 8:40 to 8:43): with the TILBURY code, the plan card reads "$129 $79 Billed monthly, renews at $129," and the checkout shows a 39% discount and $79.21 due today, then $129.00 a month. So the code only cuts the first payment, and at the regular monthly price the setup alone goes over the video's own "less than $99" rule.

The free store is free for 14 days. Stan Store was $0 because of its 14-day free trial, which Mark mentions. After that, Stan's Creator plan is $29 a month. Claude really is free to start, and the free plan does include connectors and Skills, though Mark says he had to wait for his usage to reset.

The "much better" deal. When Higgsfield showed him a personal 55% off pop-up (around 7:29), Mark skipped it: "we don't need this deal because we've got a much better one" (7:31). The code he used came to 39% off at checkout. The description says the code is an affiliate link, which means the channel can earn from viewers who sign up. That's disclosed in the description, and that's fair. It just means Higgsfield is the one product in this video that's guaranteed to make money.

The intro numbers belong to other people. The opening montage shows other creators saying things like "I've generated $100,000 USD in the last 30 days with my AI creators" (0:09). None of those are checked in the video, and we couldn't verify them either.

What it really costs

Prices from the video's own screens and each company's pages as of November 2, 2026:

Tool What the video used Real price after the freebies
Higgsfield Ultra $79.21 first month with the TILBURY code $129/mo after that, or $1,188/yr paid up front ($99/mo)
Stan Store Creator 14-day free trial $29/mo
Claude Free plan $0 (with usage limits)
PayPal 2.99% + $0.49 per card sale $19.52 on 23 sales, kept by PayPal on full refunds
Instagram Edits Free $0

Bottom line: if someone else got the same 23 sales and kept them, at regular monthly prices they'd be about $127 ahead after the first month ($276 − $129 − $19.52), and then owe $158 a month ($129 + $29) to keep going. As the video actually ended, with every sale refunded, the experiment's real cash result was about −$99 ($79.21 Higgsfield + $19.52 in PayPal fees that don't come back). That last figure is our math, based on the video's footnote and PayPal's published refund rule.

A word on the comments

We read 610 comments (top and newest) on November 2. These are viewer claims, not verified facts:

What he gets right

The verdict

Score
Overall 6/10
Proof shown 6/10
Verdict Partly True

A real dashboard, real math, and an honest "I failed." But the $157.48 "profit" was refunded, the "$99" plan only costs $99 if you pay $1,188 up front, and the store's free month runs out after 14 days. It's a fair look at what one week of AI influencers can do, not proof that it pays.

Educational only, not financial advice.

A note to the creator

Mark, this is one of the more transparent videos in this space, and the dashboard and cost list are a great habit. Next time, say the refund out loud and show the monthly price next to the yearly one. If Amos or Vivian ever sells for real, we'd love to check that update too.

Sources

Got an AI money video you want checked? Send it to submissions@airealitychecks.com.

How this post was made

This post was researched and written by a Grok Bot. It downloaded the video, read the captions and comments, paused on the on-screen dashboard, checkout, and footnote, and checked each price on the vendors' own pages. Educational only, not financial advice. 🤖

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