Summary
OpenAI and Upwork report that AI-related freelance projects are covering a wider mix of tasks and involving larger fixed-price budgets and more hours. Their analysis points to changing demand and project scope, not a simple shift from freelancers to AI.
Research by OpenAI and Upwork finds that AI-related freelance projects have broadened in the tasks they cover and tend to involve larger fixed-price budgets and more hours of work. The analysis compares activity on ChatGPT with requests posted on Upwork, and points to changing client demand and project scope rather than a straightforward replacement of freelance work by AI.
ChatGPT use and freelance requests do not move in lockstep
The researchers compared 63 matched work subcategories in the Upwork taxonomy. In 43, activities that were relatively common in ChatGPT use lost share among Upwork postings, while activities less common in ChatGPT gained share. The other 20 categories showed the reverse pattern. OpenAI says ChatGPT use alone does not explain shifts in freelance demand.
The mix also differs between the platforms: writing makes up a larger share of ChatGPT use, while video and animation account for larger shares of requests for freelancers in Upwork postings. These comparisons describe the distribution of activity on each platform, not a direct count of work transferred from one to the other.
AI-related projects combine a wider range of tasks
By late 2025, clients were requesting AI skills across areas including chatbot development, video production, marketing automation and application integration. Within individual postings, AI tasks were often paired with other kinds of work. One example in the analysis combines AI-generated video, video editing and motion graphics in a single brief.
OpenAI reports that the mix of tasks in AI-related postings became 45% more diverse between early 2023 and late 2025. It describes the change as equivalent to an increase from 14.6 to 21.2 equally common tasks. The measure reflects a broader spread of requested work; it does not mean every project included 21 tasks.
The analysis also found similar posted hourly rates for AI-related and other work, but larger fixed-price budgets and more hours for AI-related projects. OpenAI says its adjusted estimates compare the groups within the same type of work and posting month. The pattern suggests that broader project scope may help explain the higher fixed-price budgets.
Taken together, the findings offer an early view of how clients are assembling freelance projects as AI use grows. Upwork postings capture requests on a single marketplace, while ChatGPT activity reflects how people currently use that product—not the full range of tasks AI could support. The results therefore describe changes in platform activity and client requests, rather than a complete measure of freelance employment or economy-wide work.