17 Best AI Courses on Coursera

Everybody wants to learn AI now, as it can take care of repetitive tasks at the very least.

Automating monotonous work is the siren call for most people to learn AI.

Some genuinely love learning about artificial intelligence and devote their life to it.

The best AI courses on Coursera I picked will work for you, no matter what group you fall into.

Best AI Courses on Coursera in 2024

Coursera has many courses on AI. Some only teach you the basics, while others delve into the subject more deeply.

So, you will find a course that suits your requirements whether you have just heard about AI or have been studying it for a while.

So, take a look at the 17 best Coursera AI courses I chose for you:

1. AI for Everyone by DeepLearning.AI

Deeplearning.AI developed this course to cover the fundamentals of AI. It is available in 21 languages and can be purchased or audited. You will have access to all the course materials except the graded assignments or quizzes if you choose to audit the course. This course is among the best AI courses for beginners and takes around 6 hours to complete. 

Coursera courses have flexible schedules and this course is no different. You can set the pace for your learning. This course has four modules. They explain what AI is, what machine learning can do, how to choose and build an AI project, what AI tools you can use, what pitfalls to look out for, and how AI will aid in your jobs. The course is highly rated and trustworthy.

2. AI Foundations for Everyone by IBM

IBM developed this four-course series. The first course will help you learn the AI basics and the courses will teach you more in-depth knowledge as you progress. This is one of the best generative AI courses. Unfortunately, you cannot audit this course; you must choose a subscription plan.

You can build AI-powered ChatBots when you complete this course without writing a single line of code. Instead, you will use IBM’s Watson Assistant to build chatbots. Improving the chatbot’s user-friendliness will be no big deal for you. Moreover, you will learn to deploy the chatbot you developed and test it.

3. Google AI Essentials

Google’s course pops up when you search for the best generative AI courses online and has a 4.7 rating on Coursera. It takes 9 hours to complete the course and you don’t have an audit option. This course will teach you to use generative AI tools, use AI responsibly, and prompt engineering – writing clear, specific prompts to get the output you seek.

This course has five modules; the last module teaches you how to continue learning more about AI. It also helps you see how other organizations have used AI in their work field. These insights help you come up with innovative ideas to integrate AI into your work. You will have several assignments to get you acquainted with what is taught.

4. Introduction to Generative AI Learning Path by Google Cloud

This course on Generative AI is comprehensive and teaches you everything you need to know about it. It is one of the best AI ML courses online. You learn what Generative AI is, how it works, and its types in the first course. The second course teaches you about large language models (LLMs) and you will get familiar with Google’s Gen AI development tools.

The third and fourth courses will teach you about Responsible AI and how to apply it in your work. You should purchase the course or subscribe to one of Coursera’s subscription plans to gain access to this course. You can avail of the 14-day refund policy if you are unsatisfied or feel the course is too hard. It is meant for intermediate-level learners.

5. Machine Learning Specialization by Stanford University and DeepLearning.AI

Stanford University developed this 3-course program in collaboration with Deeplearning.ai to help you develop practical machine learning skills. The course cost varies depending on how many months you need to finish learning. This is the best AI/ML course on Coursera and teaches you about artificial neural networks, decision trees, linear regression, etc.

You will learn to build machine learning models using Python and learn to access the NumPy library. The course also teaches you anomaly detection, collaborative filtering, and reinforcement learning.

6. Deep Learning Specialization

This 5-course series is a foundational program that teaches you the fundamentals of deep learning. You need to have an intermediate level of knowledge to understand this course. What is deep learning, its capabilities, the challenges you will face, and the results of using deep learning will all be explained.

This course is the best AI machine learning course for a reason. You will learn Tensorflow, hyperparameter tuning, natural language processing, LSTM, artificial neural networks, python programming, facial recognition systems, and object detection and segmentation.

7. IBM AI Engineering Professional Certificate

This is a 6-course program and you need some prior experience if you want to enroll in this program. You will learn image processing, how to build neural networks using TensorFlow, machine learning, hierarchical clustering, etc. It also teaches you to code in Python, use PyTorch, and build a deep-learning model to solve a real problem.

8. AI for Business by University of Pennsylvania

This University’s program is among the best AI courses for business. The program consists of 4 courses. You will learn how to use machine learning to handle and interpret big data and what is TensorFlow. Also, they teach you about AI-powered applications, fraud prevention, how AI applies to HR management, and how to gain a competitive edge using AI.

9. IBM AI Developer Professional Certificate

This program has 10 courses to make you an expert in AI and is the best Coursera AI course. You don’t need prior AI knowledge to enroll in this program. Job-ready AI skills, practical experience, and knowledge to build generative AI-powered apps will be at your fingertips at the end of 6 months. 

You will also learn Python and Flask to develop AI applications. Flask, prompt engineering, web development, code generation, full-stack development, and natural language processing are the other skills you will learn.

10. AI, Business & The Future of Work by Lund University

This AI course is for beginners, takes 11 hours to complete, and is available in 22 languages. You learn how to use AI to make better decisions and automate tasks and the impact it will have on your work. The instructor also warns about the pitfalls to avoid and teaches how to derive more benefits.

11. Generative AI for Everyone by DeepLearning.AI

Andrew Ng is one of the best instructors; so, it won’t be a surprise if you type ‘Andrew Ng AI Coursera’, and get tons of results. He teaches this course, too. It takes around 5 hours to complete. It is beginner-friendly. Therefore, you will have no problem diving in.

You will learn what generative AI can do, the lifecycle of generative AI projects, and the opportunities and risks generative AI technologies provide. You have to pass 6 quizzes to prove your comprehension of the concepts.

12. AI Product Management by Duke University

This University’s program is the best AI course for product managers and consists of 3 courses. You will learn about predictive modeling, project and product management, product design, artificial neural networks, UX, and ethics. 

The instructor also teaches you when and how to apply AI to solve your problems. It takes 5 months to complete the course at 5 hours of learning per week. You will also learn to build AI systems to accentuate and augment human intelligence.

13. AI in Healthcare by Stanford University

If you weren’t sure whether AI could be applied in healthcare and typed ‘artificial intelligence in healthcare Coursera’, this 5-course program will pop up. It takes a month to finish this course if you spend 10 hours a week studying. You will learn which of the many problems healthcare providers face machine learning can solve. 

You are also taught to analyze how AI affects patient care quality. Have you ever played the game Choices by Pixelberry? An adorable AI-powered robot takes care of patient meals, cleans bedpans, detects moods, and asks them in what way it can help them. More advanced robots are on the way, and you may be the one to create them one day.

14. Artificial Intelligence in Marketing by University Of Virginia

As the name suggests, this course is among the best AI courses for marketers and takes around 10 hours to complete. You will learn how to increase customer engagement using AI and how to create a competitive advantage from the data AI gathers. The course also teaches you to develop networked business models.

However, the unique thing about this course is it teaches you to use algorithms, data, and networks to personalize AI for individual customers. Cool, right? In short, you will learn digital marketing and marketing strategies with AI integration.

15. Introduction to AI in the Data Center by NVIDIA

This course is for beginners with no prior experience. It explains what AI, machine language, and GPUs are. You will know about generative AI and deeplearning frameworks besides learning about requirements for multi-cluster AI systems and accelerating AI using GPUs. You will know a great deal about AI foundations when you finish this course.

The course is interesting and easy for some, while others feel it was hard but worth it. Some feel it focuses more on NVIDIA products. However, the content is good and you won’t be wasting your time if you choose this course. Unfortunately, the course does not have hands-on projects to work on.

16. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Education for Teachers By Macquarie University

You can audit this course if you don’t want a certificate. It is for beginners, one of the best free courses on AI, and it takes 16 hours to complete this course. You will learn about the evolution of AI and how to compare it with human intelligence. The course is surprisingly refreshing showing you how AI is used in design, creative, and critical thinking.

It also teaches you ethics regarding AIs. Fortunately, the disturbing scenario shown in the movie I, Robot has not arrived yet. However, AI can be biased just like humans, as we are the ones who create them. Therefore, learning about ethical decision-making and being more aware of AI bias is crucial.

17. Generative AI with Language Learning Models By AWS

This course designed by Amazon Web Services will come up if you use your search engine to peruse courses on generative AI with LLMs Coursera. You will gain knowledge about artificial intelligence, generative AI, LLMs, and Python programming. Moreover, this course teaches you how to fine-tune and reinforce LLM-powered applications.

Enrollment Options

With Coursera Plus, you can get access to almost all the above mentioned Coursera AI courses. You don’t have to buy courses individually.

Best part is you’ll also get access to more than 7,000 Coursera courses with the Coursera Plus subscription. You can also get unlimited certificates.

If you just want to try one artificial intelligence course on Coursera, then you can simply purchase that single course. You’ll get complete access to the course you buy.

But I would recommend you Coursera Plus instead of taking this option. And that is for a simple reason, Value for money. If you compare the cost of one course to Coursera Plus, you’ll definitely see the difference.

If you don’t want the certificates but if you just want to learn, you can choose the audit option. With this option, you can enroll in a course for free and get access to most of the course content like videos, articles, etc. to learn artificial intelligence (AI) from it.

You’ll see this audit option only in individual course page. It won’t be available directly in specialisation or professional certificate page.

Please note that for some courses you won’t see an audit option.

Why I Selected These Coursera AI Courses

Almost all the courses on Coursera are trustworthy and worth your time. However, I chose these 17 courses because of their rich content, top-notch instructors, and dependable course creators. The reviews were great, too.

I have keen interest in knowing more about AI, as for me, it’s like learning the tricks behind the magic. I have taken some of these AI courses on Coursera. So, it is no longer magical to me. It is merely science, algorithms, networks, and codes when I look past the outcomes.

On the other hand, you must either love learning about AI or thrive on overcoming seemingly insurmountable challenges. So, these AI courses should help you out. Just be sure to pick one that matches your experience level.

Final Words

Learning about AI is similar to suddenly knowing there are billions of galaxies. It can be daunting at first, but you will grow to love artificial intelligence once you realize its potential. A word of caution – please don’t create murderous AI-powered robots that will lock us in for our own good. I, Robot is not the only film that made a lasting impact on my memory. 

The character Ultron gave me nightmares because I thought his thoughts on humanity might be true. Fortunately, I binge-watched Star Trek and my doubts vanished. Never mind that; be innovative but responsible. Learn in-depth about AI using these best AI courses on Coursera and catapult this world into the future.