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

Author

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  • Ozge Demirci
  • Jonas Hannane
  • Xinrong Zhu

Abstract

This paper studies the impact of Generative AI technologies on the demand for online freelancers using a large dataset 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 to 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 while 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, 2024. "Who Is AI Replacing? The Impact of Generative AI on Online Freelancing Platforms," CESifo Working Paper Series 11276, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11276
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Knotz, Carlo Michael, 2025. "The Political Effects of the AI Revolution: Micro-level Evidence," SocArXiv 4xdn8_v1, Center for Open Science.
    2. Lawrence P. W. Wong, 2024. "Artificial Intelligence and Job Automation: Challenges for Secondary Students’ Career Development and Life Planning," Merits, MDPI, vol. 4(4), pages 1-30, November.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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