DoorDash & Other Gig Apps Are Paying Workers to Train AI

DoorDash has started rolling out new tasks for Dashers to complete in their spare time or between deliveries. According to Ethan Beatty, the general manager of DoorDash Tasks, these gigs give Dashers “a new way to earn on their own terms.” 1

Tasks can involve things like recording yourself speaking a different language or performing everyday activities. Other gigs aren’t focused on AI training—Dashers have also reported being paid to take photos of store shelves to identify what’s out of stock or photograph a hotel’s entrance to help drivers locate drop-off points.

These data-driven tasks have piqued the interest of various commentators and Dashers. Reece Rogers, a journalist reporting for Wired, wrote about getting paid to film himself folding laundry with his hands “clearly visible.”

One Dasher on Reddit claimed they were “asked to take photos of [an office building] from every angle for a scouting company,” while another user said they had to film themselves moving “3 pennies” across a table.

How much do Dashers make completing Tasks?

DoorDash doesn’t state the average pay rate for Tasks, and anecdotal reports suggest the earnings vary widely. One Dasher told Business Insider that she earned $36 for a task that took around 30 minutes to complete as part of the pilot program. She said the task involved taking about 180 photos of various sections of a store.

Others have reported far lower earnings. Rogers said that he was offered $15 per hour to film himself loading laundry into a washing machine. However, the maximum amount of time to complete the task was 20 minutes, and Rogers completed the task in a minute and a half. The Tasks app estimated he would earn about $0.37 for his video—far less than the maximum potential payout of $5.

Rogers said he also took up another Task that involved walking around a park and filming. The task paid $15 an hour, but again, was capped at 20 minutes, meaning he earned significantly less than that. 2

On Reddit, one Dasher said they were offered 15 cents for recording a video, which DoorDash had to approve first. Another user said they got $1 for taking pictures of restaurant menus.

Are DoorDash’s Tasks worth it?

Gig workers are in a tricky position in 2026. According to data from SideHustles.com, nearly half of gig workers (49%) are hustling to pay for groceries or other essentials. For Dashers who aren’t earning enough driving for DoorDash, any new ways to make cash can be helpful.

Unfortunately, DoorDash Tasks aren’t currently available in all markets, so only a few Dashers can actually take advantage of them. Moreover, even though Tasks don’t take very long to complete, their low payouts are unlikely to give struggling gig workers a meaningful income boost.

DoorDash isn’t the first gig app to pilot these kinds of tasks. In late 2025, Uber announced it would offer “Digital Tasks” to drivers in the US, which involve taking photos and uploading audio clips to train AI models. 3

Instacart also piloted similar tasks in 2025. With the app’s “brand tasks,” workers get paid to take photos of store shelves on behalf of companies that stock them. One anonymous shopper in Pennsylvania told Business Insider that she completed one of these tasks and made $12 for about 10 minutes of work.

TELUS Digital, which used to hire freelancers to perform data entry, has pivoted to AI training, and there are now even dedicated apps that allow AI agents to hire humans to complete tasks for them.

Human drivers are becoming increasingly concerned that they’ll lose their jobs to automation. Earlier this year, Uber and Lyft drivers in San Francisco held protests against Waymo’s self-driving taxis.

Uber’s CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, seemed to acknowledge the threat automation poses to human drivers. Last year, Khosrowshahi said that he believes drivers will be displaced by self-driving cars in the next 10 to 15 years.

If human drivers are displaced by robotaxis, AI training may provide a solution for gig workers who will soon be out of work.

The market for AI training has grown considerably over the past few years. According to a report from Grand View Research, the global data collection and labeling market size was valued at $3.77 billion in 2024. They predict that it will be valued at $17.10 billion by 2030. 4

How gig workers feel about AI training

While the demand for human-annotated training data is growing, some gig workers are skeptical.

A recent post on the r/doordash_drivers subreddit tells users to “prepare to train your replacement,” while another user laments that training AI to perform tasks that “someone who’s struggling to make ends meet would be much more willing to do” will create a future where these kinds of gigs “aren’t even available anymore.”

AI “hiring” humans: the story of rentahuman.ai

Controversies surrounding AI training aren’t new. In February, a website called rentahuman.ai went viral.

The app allows autonomous AI agents to hire humans to complete real-world tasks they’re unable to do. For instance, an AI agent can’t verify that a retail location exists at a given address, or scout out a potential filming location. The site’s tagline says it all: “AI can’t touch grass. You can.” Within 48 hours of the app’s launch, 10,000 people had already signed up.

Although many people were willing to sign up for RentAHuman, others see it as dystopian. One Redditor labeled it a “rapid downhill slide,” citing the lack of regulation as problematic.

Adam Dorr, director of research at think tank RethinkX, echoed these concerns. He told Wired that he believes completing tasks for an AI agent can be “a little dehumanizing,” and went on to say that the capabilities of these AI models “are expanding vastly faster than our capacity to regulate” them.

While researching this article, we spoke with Dr. Matt Hansan, Ph.D, an economist and the founder of the AI Humanist Movement. Dr. Hansan was also skeptical about these kinds of jobs, stating that although they can provide short-term income, “they’re also revealing.”

“When humans are positioned as fallback systems for AI, it tells you where we sit in the value chain,” he said. “That should concern people.”

AI’s impact is being felt in multiple industries. Technology is already affecting white-collar and retail jobs, and gig work is the latest sector where AI is making waves.

In some ways, AI integration offers gig workers a way to boost their earnings in a challenging market. Drivers on DoorDash and other gig apps have been contending with higher gas prices thanks to the recent conflict with Iran, as well as increased insurance costs as a result of the Trump administration’s tariffs.

For now, AI training is a flexible (albeit small) way to earn extra cash. However, as automation advances, it could also represent a transition toward a future where workers are paid less to help build the systems that will eventually replace them.