Upwork

It’s been one month since we launched the Upwork MCP Server, bringing Upwork’s talent marketplace into the AI tools where people are already working. We’re seeing clients and independent professionals turn AI conversations into action: ideas into job posts, work histories into better-matched opportunities, and disconnected tools into more seamless workflows. The result is a faster path from idea to execution. Learn more about what you can do with Upwork MCP inside your favorite AI tools like Claude and ChatGPT: http://spr.ly/6047BGiZGt

The future of work is being built now and Upwork's Mindful AI, Uma is unlocking new possibilities for how work gets done. 💚 We’re proud to see Uma, named a finalist for Best Agentic AI Tool in the 2026 Digiday Technology Awards.

Businesses are getting more specific about what they need AI to do. ⚙️ Upwork’s latest Monthly Hiring Insights show “AI automation” remained the most-searched AI term on our marketplace for the second month in a row. 📈 And demand is getting more specialized. Automation experts, workflow automation, and automation engineers were among the fastest-growing searches. 🎥 Businesses are also looking for talent to help them get more from AI video. AI Video Generation ranked #1 among skills growing both year over year and month over month. The takeaway? Businesses are looking beyond AI tools alone. They’re searching for skilled people who can connect AI to real workflows, real needs, and real business outcomes. Explore the latest Monthly Hiring Insights: http://spr.ly/6045BGuvBx

Businesses aren't just experimenting with AI anymore. They're becoming more specific about the outcomes they want. Upwork's Monthly Hiring Insights found searches are shifting away from broad requests like AI images and AI content creation toward more defined deliverables like AI UGC videos and AI video ads. It's a subtle shift, but an important one. Businesses are becoming more fluent in what AI can actually help them accomplish. Instead of searching for a technology, they're searching for an outcome. That's a sign the AI hiring market is maturing. What AI-related skills are you seeing more demand for?

Since 2018, the Upwork Foundation has granted more than $6 million to workforce development nonprofits across North and South America, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. These grantees are helping their communities build the skills people need as work keeps changing. We put together a video that captures that impact. Take a look:

In some areas, AI is generating more work, not less. On Upwork, jobs asking humans to fix, refine, or finish AI-generated work are up 70% year over year. In the software and development category, jobs asking humans to improve AI-generated work have increased more than eightfold since 2023. The signal is clear: AI can create the first draft. Human judgment is what gets it across the finish line. Read our new research on the rise of “AI slop” and why human expertise is becoming even more valuable. http://spr.ly/6049B1iLcz

AI hiring is getting more specific. In July, three of the top 10 AI searches on Upwork were role-based, while AI UGC became the fastest-growing AI-related search. The signal for business leaders: companies are getting clearer on what they need AI to do and who they need to make it happen. Swipe for July’s key hiring insights, and read the full report: http://spr.ly/6041B150EP

Skilled talent shows up ready to work. What breaks the project is a vague brief, no definition of done, and no milestones. Fix that, and most of the risk you worried about disappears. Discover the hidden risks of outsourcing creative and dev work and the setup system that prevents them:

AI isn't creating value equally. According to Upwork's Future Workforce Index, freelancers doing AI work earn 34% more per hour. But the biggest gains aren't coming from AI alone. Freelancers using AI for more complex work saw earnings increase by 45%. That's an important distinction. The premium isn't just for knowing how to use AI tools. It's for combining AI with expertise, judgment, and business context to solve more complex problems. As AI becomes more accessible, technical fluency will matter. But knowing where, when, and how to apply it may become even more valuable.