Work at the Frontier: AI’s effect on freelance work

OpenAI partnered with Upwork to study how AI is changing freelance work, using Upwork job postings alongside ChatGPT usage data. The research finds that writing accounts for a much larger share of ChatGPT use, while video and animation make up larger shares of Upwork postings. Of 63 work categories analyzed, 43 saw activities common in ChatGPT lose market share on Upwork while less common activities gained, though 20 categories showed the reverse—indicating ChatGPT use alone does not explain shifts in freelance demand. By late 2025, clients requested AI across many more kinds of work, including chatbot development, video production, marketing automation, and application integration, and AI-related postings more often combined tasks that had rarely appeared together before. The mix of tasks in AI-related postings became 45% more diverse between early 2023 and late 2025. Although hourly rates were similar, AI-related projects carried larger fixed-price budgets and more hours, suggesting broader scope. The authors conclude that AI’s effects may appear first in the work people do rather than in employment statistics, and that the findings do not point to simple substitution but rather to shifts in what clients seek and how they assemble projects.

(Source：OpenAI)