Pavel Shynkarenko, an entrepreneur with 20 years of experience in fintech, founder and CEO of Solar Staff, a payroll company for freelancers
As ChatGPT breaks records for the fastest-growing user base—estimated to be at over 200 million now—a question that is staying at the forefront of the conversation is where AI will replace people.
One year ago, the media was frantic about AI’s sudden emergence, and a report by Goldman Sachs covers how AI can put hundreds of millions of people out of a job. But now, the more accurate answer looks different.
Freelancers are a group often perceived as being at risk of AI replacing them. Every year, more people join the freelancing ranks, with the value of the freelance economy at over $1.2 trillion. However, many analysts estimate that ChatGPT and other AI-powered tools have the potential to turn it upside down.
But does it? Freelancers’ perspectives diverge. While some hiring clients are satisfied with the writing output by ChatGPT, others refute this point, saying they need something that is of higher quality.
Is it possible that both answers are true? AI will certainly replace some freelancers, but it can’t replace all of them. I believe it depends on whether the freelancer sees AI as an ally or as an enemy.
Understanding The Freelancer Development Curve: The Four Stages
To further comprehend the real impact that AI can have on freelancers, it is helpful to understand the freelancer development curve, which is marked by four key stages.
First Stage
Here is where about 85% of freelancers can be found. People who are in this first stage are starting their careers as freelancers and actively seeking out more clients. To build up their name, they might offer lower rates, and they will often send a lot of cold emails to get themselves out there.
For freelancers in this stage, AI can free up a significant amount of time by helping manage their social media presence, organize meetings, track expenses and maintain customer communication. In this critical stage where time can be scarce, AI can substantially help freelancers increase productivity.
Second Stage
This level comprises around 10% of freelancers. In this stage, freelancers have found the right service-market fit. They have signed up some clients and are already actively working to deliver a service to them. They are doing their best to prove themselves to their clients while also ensuring that being a freelancer is the proper work that meets their financial needs. Freelancers who are in this tier also have some successful case studies, which is a significant task that AI can help with—in addition to all of the tasks that the tool was already assisting with.
Third Stage
Approximately 5% of freelancers are here. At this level, they already have successful case studies and an ongoing work stream. Their relationships with their clients have been solidified, and now they are considering scaling up their activities and delegating some of their tasks to keep adding value to their work.
In this case, an AI-powered assistant can help understand which clients bring in more money and require less time. It can also take over much of client communication by responding to emails. Other areas that can fall within this assistant’s scope are revenue forecasting, upselling and analyzing customer acquisition channels.
Fourth Stage
I see only 1% of freelancers as having reached this fourth stage. Here, they have possibly gone beyond a one-person business, becoming more of an entrepreneur that hires other freelancers to offer a product or service. For them, AI can help by analyzing their team members. This includes their productivity, time spent per task, method of working, etc. It can also speed up the process of delegation and task management.
Where Can AI Replace Freelancers?
The trajectory of the freelancing market does not only involve substituting human labor with technological tools—it encompasses the automation of tasks that humans can perform.
In line with this, it is evident that artificial intelligence can already do some things better than humans. For example, tasks such as translation, data entry, generating industry-specific questions and creating mock designs can all be outsourced to generative AI. And the same goes for making systematic plans, analyzing different perspectives and researching historical events.
When Can’t AI Function Without Humans?
Despite this wide array of tasks that AI can cover, there are many limitations. For example, AI’s effectiveness diminishes when it is prompted to generate unique ideas, make cultural references or deal with numerous unknown variables. This is where the human touch is important, and there will be an increasing need for people who can work alongside AI and optimize the usage of these tools.
I believe that people with this fluency in working with AI languages will be able to access more opportunities, and there will also be a need for humans who can identify and correct AI-generated errors. For this, the individual should know how to formulate precise requests and effectively communicate them to the AI assistant in order to guide them in the right direction.
Final Thoughts: Will AI Replace Freelancers?
Because of the above, I do not foresee a displacement of freelancers by AI-powered tools as imminent. I believe that more than putting freelancers out of a job, AI can help you grow your businesses and empower you on your way to success.
What I believe we will encounter is that freelancers who know how to use AI effectively and leverage its power will be able to move further at a faster pace than their peers. I foresee a future where the percentage of freelancers involved in first-stage tasks considerably diminishes.
Eventually, I predict that freelancers who are stuck will be able to move on with the help of AI and advance to the second, third or even fourth tier, where they will run scalable businesses and show that, yes, humans and technology can work together; we do not need to choose one over the other.
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