Upwork’s Strategic Embrace of AI Could Push the Stock to $25, According to Experts!

Freelancer.com and Others: Freelancer.com (an Australian-based platform) and similar sites (Guru, PeoplePerHour, etc.) are also players in the online talent market. Freelancer.com operates more closely to Upwork’s legacy model – an open marketplace with millions of users, where freelancers bid on posted projects across a wide array of categories. In terms of AI adoption, Freelancer has introduced some platform tools but nothing as prominent as Upwork’s Uma or Fiverr’s Neo. For instance, Freelancer.com has long offered “contests” as a feature (especially popular for design work), effectively crowdsourcing AI-like multiple options from humans. While not AI, this feature differentiates it: clients can get 50 logo drafts from different freelancers and pick the best – an approach somewhat analogous to generative AI producing many outputs, but driven by human contributors. Recently, as AI image generators rise, Freelancer.com ran contests like “AI image: reimagine Harry Potter” where participants use AI tools to generate art, blurring lines between freelancer skills and AI usage. The platform likely uses machine learning for fraud detection and maybe for job recommendations, but it has not made headlines for integrating generative AI into its core service. Market positioning: Freelancer.com has a strong global presence (especially in Asia-Pacific) and appeals to small businesses and individuals looking for cost-competitive bids. Its fee structure and user interface are similar to Upwork’s, though many users find Upwork has more high-paying clients while Freelancer.com has a lot of very small gigs. In the competitive landscape, Freelancer.com is a bit of a laggard in innovation recently – Upwork and Fiverr (both NYSE-listed) have outpaced it in growth and new features. That said, Freelancer’s large user base means it will also be touched by macro trends: for example, the most popular skills on Freelancer.com now include AI and machine learning, and projects involving GPT or automation are common on the site. In short, Freelancer.com remains a broad marketplace competitor, but without a distinctive AI-driven strategy, it competes more on breadth of freelancers and price. Other niche platforms like Guru or PeoplePerHour similarly have not made notable AI moves; they survive by catering to specific regions or types of work (e.g. PeoplePerHour is UK-focused). We also see new specialized marketplaces such as Turing.com, Arc.dev, and Andela, which pitch AI-driven vetting or remote work solutions for software developers. These upstarts often advertise “AI-powered talent matching” or testing, but they operate in a narrower lane (mostly placing full-time remote developers). For example, Turing claims to use AI to evaluate and match engineers to Silicon Valley companies, essentially positioning itself as a tech-enabled remote staffing firm.