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Who Is AI Replacing? The Impact of Generative AI on Online Freelancing Platforms

Author

Listed:
  • Ozge Demirci

    (Department of Analytics, Marketing and Operations, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom)

  • Jonas Hannane

    (Firms and Markets Department, DIW, 10117 Berlin, Germany; and Economics and Management, Technische Universität Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany)

  • Xinrong Zhu

    (Department of Analytics, Marketing and Operations, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom)

Abstract

This paper studies the impact of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies on the demand for online freelancers using a large data set from a leading global freelancing platform. We identify the types of jobs that are more affected by generative AI and quantify the magnitude of the heterogeneous impact. Our findings indicate a 21% decrease in the number of job posts for automation-prone jobs related to writing and coding compared with jobs requiring manual-intensive skills within eight months after the introduction of ChatGPT. We show that the reduction in the number of job posts increases competition among freelancers, whereas the remaining automation-prone jobs are of greater complexity and offer higher pay. We also find that the introduction of image-generating AI technologies led to a 17% decrease in the number of job posts related to image creation. We use Google Trends to show that the more pronounced decline in the demand for freelancers within automation-prone jobs correlates with their higher public awareness of ChatGPT’s substitutability.

Suggested Citation

  • Ozge Demirci & Jonas Hannane & Xinrong Zhu, 2025. "Who Is AI Replacing? The Impact of Generative AI on Online Freelancing Platforms," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 71(10), pages 8097-8108, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:71:y:2025:i:10:p:8097-8108
    DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2024.05420
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