More Than 1 in 3 Independent Workers Have Lost Jobs to AI, But Most Still Say It’s “Necessary” in 2026

Although many freelancers and side hustlers have mixed feelings about AI, most have incorporated it into their workflows. We found that:

• 69% of independent workers have used AI in their work in the past six months
• Men and women are equally likely to use AI for work
• Education correlates with AI use; 76% of independent workers with an associate’s degree or higher use AI, compared to 64% of those without

We found that, unsurprisingly, age inversely correlates with interest in AI. Here’s a demographic breakdown of workers who say they do not use AI:

• Ages 18–29: 34%
• Ages 30–39: 26%
• Ages 40–49: 29%
• Ages 50–59: 32%
• Ages 60–69: 47%

Research is by far the most common use for AI. Conversely, relatively few independent workers report that they use it to do creative work (despite the media’s focus on AI’s takeover of creative jobs).

Of the independent workers who use AI:

• 73% use it for research or searching the web
• 51% use it for brainstorming
• 35% use it for writing emails
• 33% use it for generating art, music, or videos
• 31% use it for creative writing
• 21% use it to summarize emails
• 9% report using AI for another type of task not listed here

Most people are at least somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of heavily using AI to do their independent work, but their problems with it tend to be emotional rather than practical.

• 46% of respondents cite taking pride in doing their own work as a reason to avoid heavy AI use
• 33% have ethical concerns about using AI
• 21% are afraid some of their clients may disapprove of AI usage
• 15% are worried their competitors will use AI more effectively than them
• 10% believe they won’t be able to charge as much if they use AI
• 9% find AI just plain unpleasant to work with

Younger workers under 30 are more concerned than other demographics about the ethics of using AI (48%) and the possibility that their clients might disapprove of it (32%). Men are significantly more likely than women to report having no problem with using AI (25% to 18%).

“Most people seem to actually enjoy their gig work and aren’t in a hurry to pass it off to AI,” commented Slack. “However, there is a clear gender gap, which was a theme throughout the rest of our results. Overall, men seem to be more willing to use AI, as well as more comfortable with the way it’s transforming the working world.”

He added that while Gen Z workers are willing to incorporate AI into their workflows, they’re also more attuned to anti-AI sentiments than older independent workers and more wary of the risk of an anti-AI backlash.

When asked whether they’d be open to using AI to complete all of their work—essentially becoming professional AI-prompters—under 20% of gig workers reported that they would welcome that change.

• 5% said they would like that type of work “much more”
• 14% would like it “a little more”
• 16% would like it “a little less”
• 28% would like it “much less”
• The rest had mixed feelings or weren’t sure

Men were much more likely to be okay with outsourcing their work to AI than women (26% vs. 13%).

We found that:

• 2% of workers have lost “all or nearly all” of their independent work to AI
• 6% have lost “a significant amount”
• 15% have lost “a moderate amount”
• 16% have lost “a small amount”
• 65% say they’ve lost “none or almost none”

Creatives have been hit especially hard. 57% of those in writing and content creation have lost work, followed by those in arts and entertainment (54%) and technology and IT (48%). Independent workers in “physical” professions like farming, delivery driving, and cleaning were much less likely to report having lost work (25%, 23%, and 11%, respectively).

Most (60%) respondents said they didn’t think AI would take over their gigs within the next five years.

However, sentiments vary significantly by field. Independent workers in these industries were the most likely to say it was “very likely” or “fairly likely” that they would lose their gigs to AI:

• Writing and content creation (31%)
• Education and teaching (31%)
• Transportation and driving (27%)
• Marketing and sales (27%)

Healthcare workers are the least concerned, with no respondents at all (0%) saying they expected AI to take over for them completely.

“As expected, AI seems to be coming for writers, illustrators, and programmers first,” said Slack. “People who do physical labor like cleaning and gardening are still safe, at least for now.”

He added that at first glance, the pessimism that workers in driving-based roles feel is odd. However, upon closer examination, it makes sense.

“Delivery and ridesharing are some of the gigs least affected by AI, so we weren’t expecting drivers to be so concerned,” he said. “Our guess is that most of them realize that self-driving cars are on the horizon. They might be right that in five years, they’ll become vulnerable to AI job loss.”

Some technology optimists believe that AI-related job loss won’t be a problem because AI will create as many opportunities as it destroys. Gig workers are skeptical about this, although not overwhelmingly so:

• 31% agree that AI will, on net, create jobs
• 36% disagree
• 34% have mixed feelings or aren’t sure

Younger workers are generally more optimistic; 42% of those between 18 and 29 believe that AI will create as many jobs as it eliminates.

To gauge how gig workers feel about job loss, we asked whether they agreed with the statement, “I don’t care if AI replaces humans in certain jobs. People aren’t entitled to the exact kind of work that they want.”

• 60% of respondents either strongly or somewhat disagreed
• Just 13% strongly or somewhat agreed
• However, 18% of men agreed, in contrast to just 9% of women
• Women (47%) were also significantly more likely than men (32%) to strongly disagree

We asked respondents whether they would be willing to be the first to use AI to set cheaper rates, even if doing so would permanently depress wages in their industry.

• Nearly one-fourth (23%) said they would take that step
• 44% would not be willing to do so
• Men were almost twice as willing to take the plunge as women (30% vs. 17%)

On a related note, we found that:

• 30% of workers are “fairly” or “extremely” concerned about competitors using AI to work more cheaply and set lower rates
• 15% are just “a little worried”
• 27% are “not worried at all”

Writers and content creators are the most concerned (57%), followed by finance and accounting professionals (47%). Conversely, teachers and other educators aren’t very concerned (15%).

Independent workers with hair and fashion gigs (e.g., stylists) are the least concerned about this (14%).

We asked if, assuming that AI doesn’t create as many opportunities as it destroys, the government should provide a living stipend—referred to as universal basic income (UBI)—to support people who are rendered unemployable.

• More than half (56%) of gig workers support this measure
• Just 17% are against it
• A higher percentage (60%) of those with yearly household incomes below $50,000 support it, and just 52% earning above that threshold support it

Younger workers are more on board with the idea. 74% of those under 30 support it, with support declining in each subsequent age bracket:

• 30–39: 66%
• 40–49: 59%
• 50–59: 45%
• 60–69: 42%

“The wide acceptance of UBI is one of the biggest surprises of our survey,” said Slack. “This idea has taken off in the past few years as people grapple with the implications of AI, and at this point, supporting it can’t be called a fringe position anymore.”

We asked gig workers whether there should be a legal requirement to disclose it if AI has been used to provide a service.

• More than half (55%) believe there should be a requirement
• 14% believe there should not
• 31% have mixed feelings or aren’t sure
• Overwhelmingly, writers and content creators (81%) support legislation to that effect, followed by administrative and clerical workers (70%)

Most people are at least somewhat open to gig platforms requiring skills tests to force workers to prove they can do their jobs without using AI:

• 17% believe this should be required “for every job”
• 41% support it “for some jobs”
• 12% support it, but “just for a few jobs”
• 30% are against skills tests unilaterally

69% of writers and content creators agree that gig apps should screen workers with AI-proof skills tests. Those in research-intensive, data-driven fields are even more interested in it, with 95% of those in real estate agreeing, followed by 87% in tech and IT and 81% in business and management.

Overall, opinions are mixed on whether it’s easier or harder to start a side hustle now that AI is everywhere:

• 30% of workers think AI has made starting a side hustle or business easier
• 23% think AI has made things harder
• Most (47%) have mixed feelings or aren’t sure
• People who don’t use AI are especially uncertain (62%)

Attitudes toward AI’s helpfulness vary by industry.

• 60% of administrative and clerical workers think it’s helpful; 20% think it’s harmful
• 50% of hair and fashion workers agree that it helps, and 14% think it hurts
• Childcare and caregiving workers find AI the least helpful; 42% believe it makes starting independent work harder, and just 9% think it makes it easier

“Workers in physical professions like hairstyling are some of the most pro-AI,” said Slack. “Our hunch is that’s because they can use it to automate their administrative tasks, but they aren’t in danger of actually losing work to it, unlike freelancers with white-collar gigs.”

When we asked whether using AI was “necessary” to start a side hustle or business in 2026, more respondents were AI-positive than negative.

• Nearly half (46%) agree it’s necessary, with 16% strongly agreeing and 30% somewhat agreeing
• 31% have mixed feelings or aren’t sure
• Just 12% somewhat disagree, and 12% strongly disagree

Degree-holders were significantly more likely to agree with the sentiment than those with no college degree (56% to 39%).

Real estate professionals were the most likely (79%) to proclaim that AI is a necessary tool for entrepreneurship in 2026, even though they were also the most likely to say that gig apps should adopt anti-AI skills tests (95%). Interestingly, this traditional, service-based industry ranked much higher than the tech sector itself, with a 22-point lead.

Just 43% of those in marketing and sales believe AI skills are a must-have. The figure for writers and content creators is similar (40%).

Yet again, men (51%) were more likely than women (42%) to declare that learning to use AI is a necessity.

We surveyed 600 self-employed Americans in 2025 to explore the prevalence of AI usage in their work and the impact that it’s had so far.

Of the respondents, 8% were from Gen Z (ages 18–29), 53% were Millennials (ages 30–49), 30% were from Gen X (ages 50–59), and 9% were Baby Boomers (ages 60–69).

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