INDEPENDENT REVIEW SITE — not the official page · we attended the April 27–May 1 cohort and documented all five days

Independent field review · Attended all five days

AI Secrets Challenge 2026: What It Is, What It Costs & What Happens Next

AI Secrets Challenge 2026 — free 5-day live event

The AI Secrets Challenge is a free, live, 5-day online workshop from Russell Brunson and Todd Dickerson, the ClickFunnels co-founders. It costs $0 to attend, VIP is $0 with a 14-day MarketingSecrets.AI trial ($97/month after), and Platinum was sold for $2,997.

This is not the official event page. We registered, sat through the April 27–May 1 cohort, and wrote up what the week is actually like, including the $2,997 pitch. This page is the short version with links to every full answer.

Attended · Apr 27–May 1 cohort

In plain English

What the AI Secrets Challenge is

The AI Secrets Challenge is a free, live, 5-day online workshop run by Russell Brunson and Todd Dickerson. Each day runs about 90 minutes at 11:00 AM Pacific. The idea: set up a small stack of AI agents inside MarketingSecrets.AI that handle marketing, content and, on Day 4, a simple software tool you describe in plain English.

It is built for solo operators, bootstrapped founders and small teams. Beginners with no offer yet get less from it. The full breakdown of who wins and who wastes their time is on the worth-it page.

Attending is free. The VIP upgrade is also $0 because it comes bundled with a 14-day MarketingSecrets.AI trial that renews at $97/month if you keep it. The one paid tier is Platinum at $2,997, first pitched live on Day 2 and re-offered through Day 5. Nothing paid is required to get value from the live sessions.

We are an independent affiliate, not the event team. Every claim on this site comes from our own seat in the April cohort. Read the full review for the day-by-day evidence.

The AI marketing agents built during the AI Secrets Challenge — traffic, sales, conversions and revenue
Day 2 is where the four marketing agents get built: traffic, sales, conversions, revenue

Short answers, full pages

Every question about the AI Secrets Challenge, answered in one line

Each answer below is the short version. The linked page has the screenshots, the numbers and the reasoning.

Verdict

Is the AI Secrets Challenge any good?

Yes. About 80% teaching, 20% pitch, which is unusually good for a free event. We rated it 4.6/5 after attending all five days. Read the full review with day-by-day evidence.

Decision

Is it worth my time?

Free tier: worth it for almost any operator with an existing offer. Platinum: only for three specific profiles. The decision matrix is on the worth-it page.

Cost

How much does it cost?

$0 to attend. VIP is $0 with a 14-day MarketingSecrets.AI trial, then $97/month. Platinum was one payment of $2,997. Every fee and renewal is on the price page.

Platinum

Is Platinum worth $2,997?

It pays off for operators with a working offer, paid traffic and 30 days to implement. For everyone else it is an expensive course library. We saw the full pitch and screenshot it.

Legit?

Is it legit or a scam?

Legit. Real event, real founders, real training. The catch is the $97 trial fine print on the VIP path. The legit page traces exactly where the free funnel leads.

VIP

Should I take the free VIP upgrade?

Yes, if you set a cancellation reminder for day 12. VIP unlocks replays and the MarketingSecrets.AI trial. Skip it and the replays expire nightly.

Bonuses

Which bonuses matter?

Three of the eight VIP bonuses are useful on Day 1. Three need setup before they pay off. Every bonus is graded A, B or C after we used it.

Refunds

Can I get my money back?

Free tier: nothing to refund. VIP trial: cancel before day 15 and you pay nothing. Platinum: terms are on the checkout page and change by promotion. Details on the refund page.

Offer

What is inside the $2,997 offer?

Six months of Platinum software, five coaching sessions, Overskill, the Lost Secrets books and a bonus stack stated at $42,479. Every line item, screenshot by screenshot.

What happens next

No new cohort is announced. Here is where the same team went.

The last advertised AI Secrets Challenge cohort ran August 10–14, 2026. The official site still shows those dates and lists no new ones. The software the challenge was built around, MarketingSecrets.AI, is sold on its own: a 14-day trial then $97/month, or $1,997 lifetime entry plus $97/month per seat for Founder access.

Russell Brunson's next free live event is the Side Hustle Summit, September 6–13, 2026, co-hosted with Iman Gadzhi. Same format: free virtual sessions, a paid program near the end. We compared the two events side by side so you can pick the right one.

If you missed the challenge: the Side Hustle Summit is the closest free replacement right now. Reserve a free seat, then read our AI Secrets Challenge vs Side Hustle Summit comparison before the first session.

Receipts

We didn’t review this from the sales page

Four screenshots from our own registration and attendance of the April 27–May 1 cohort. More on the review page and the about page.

Our logged-in Day 1 live session registration for the AI Secrets Challenge
DAY 1 · Our live-session registration, logged in on opening day
Our logged-in MarketingSecrets.AI dashboard used during the challenge
SOFTWARE · Inside our own MarketingSecrets.AI account during the week
Day 2 curriculum screen from inside the AI Secrets Challenge
DAY 2 · Building the four marketing agents, as shown live
The VIP upgrade button shown to attendees during the challenge
UPSELL · The VIP upgrade prompt attendees actually see

The five days

What each day covers

One line per day. Each links to our full recap of that session.

Day 01Attended

The Seven-Figure AI Shortcut

The Chief of Staff agent gets configured live. This session did most of the convincing.

Day 1 recap →
Day 02Attended

The Billion Dollar Breakthrough

Four marketing agents get built. The $2,997 Platinum offer is pitched for the first time.

Day 2 recap →
Day 03Attended

The One-Person Marketing Machine

Email frameworks and funnel hacking with AI. The email demo crashed twice on camera.

Day 3 recap →
Day 04Attended

Building Software With AI

Todd builds working software with no code. Homework was assigned on Lovable, not Overskill.

Day 4 recap →
Day 05Attended

Your AI Side Hustle

Five ways to monetize the week, plus the final Platinum re-offer.

Day 5 recap →

Who’s teaching

Your hosts for the five days

Strategy · Story · AI — Co-founder of ClickFunnels

Russell Brunson

Co-founder of ClickFunnels and author of DotCom Secrets, Expert Secrets, and Traffic Secrets. Handles the strategy and storytelling half of the week. We reviewed his other programs on the Russell Brunson reviews hub.

CTO/CPO · Tech AI — Co-founder of ClickFunnels

Todd Dickerson

Co-founder of ClickFunnels and the lead technical architect behind the platform. Has spent the last two years wiring AI agents into ClickFunnels’ own internal operations. He runs the hands-on build sessions.

Quick answers

AI Secrets Challenge FAQ

Is the AI Secrets Challenge actually free?
Yes. The five live sessions cost nothing. VIP is also $0 because it comes with a 14-day MarketingSecrets.AI trial ($97/month after, only if you stay). The only paid tier is Platinum at $2,997, first pitched on Day 2, and it is optional.
When does it run?
The last advertised cohort ran August 10–14, 2026. No new cohort is announced. The team behind it now runs the Side Hustle Summit, a free live event from September 6 to 13, 2026. See the comparison.
Is it legit?
It is a real event run by Russell Brunson and Todd Dickerson, the co-founders of ClickFunnels. We registered and sat through all five days of the April 2026 cohort. It is a genuine training week with a sales pitch for a $2,997 upgrade. Both sides are in the legit-or-scam breakdown.
Do I need ClickFunnels or any technical skills?
No. You do not need a ClickFunnels account, and no coding is involved. The week is built around setting up AI agents by describing what you want in plain English.
Are there replays if I miss a day?
Free seats lose each day's replay at midnight. VIP keeps the encore replays during the event week. Treat it as a live commitment; if you can’t make 11:00am PT, plan to catch each replay the same day.

Missed the challenge? The same team's next free event starts September 6.

We’ve done the week ourselves. If you want the AI workflow without the guesswork, the free seat is the place to start.

Reserve a free seat

SIDE HUSTLE SUMMIT · SEPT 6-13, 2026 · FREE

Reserve a free seat — Sept 6-13