The more commodified your job, the more likely AI can do it – lessons from online freelancing
The more commodified your job, the more likely AI can do it – lessons from online freelancing
Publish Date: 2026-04-09 10:53:00
Source Domain: theconversation.com
Not long ago, if you needed a speech polished, a document translated or a logo designed, you would probably have hired a freelancer online. Millions of people did exactly that. They went to platforms such as Fiverr and Upwork and paid someone (maybe on the other side of the world) to do the job.
In 2023, online gig workers were estimated to number between 154 million and 435 million globally. As such, they could represent as much as 12.5% of the global labour force.
Today, however, many people do something else. They open ChatGPT. Generative AI now acts as a copy editor, translator, illustrator and research assistant in one. It can summarise a report in seconds, write social media posts, create a presentation or produce a simple logo at virtually no cost.
What, then, has happened to the freelancers who used to do this work?
AI has long been discussed as a threat to jobs and livelihoods. But what’s the reality? In this new series, we explore the impact it is already having on different occupations – and how people really feel about their AI assistants.
Some freelancers are struggling. But perhaps surprisingly, others are doing better than ever.
Demand and wages have fallen for some kinds of online freelance work. Translation, basic copywriting and simple graphic design have been hardest hit. According to one study, demand for freelance writers was found to have fallen by up to 30% after the release of generative AI tools. Other research suggests that freelancers who are highly exposed to AI saw earnings fall by as much as 14%.
Yet there is also evidence that many freelancers are thriving. Freelancer platform Upwork reports that higher-value contracts – those worth more than US$1,000 (£745) – increased across various disciplines after the arrival of generative AI. Freelancers using AI-related skills earn around 40% more than comparable freelancers who do…
