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

Platforms are reporting surging demand for AI-related freelance work. Upwork’s CEO noted that in 2024, client spend in AI categories on Upwork grew about 60% year-over-year, with subcategories like “prompt engineering” up over 90% in Q4. Similarly, Fiverr’s data shows an explosion in AI-driven projects: in Fiverr’s Spring 2025 business trends index, searches for freelancers who can build or integrate “AI agents” (autonomous AI systems that can handle tasks) spiked. Companies are essentially flocking to freelance platforms to find experts who can help them leverage technologies like GPT-4, ChatGPT plugins, Midjourney, and other AI tools in their business. Fiverr observed that businesses have gone from asking “What can AI do for us?” to “How quickly can we integrate AI into our workflows?”– and because many firms lack that know-how in-house, they turn to freelancers to fill the gap. In particular, there’s high demand for specialists who can implement agentic AI (systems of AI “agents” performing complex tasks autonomously) and those who can connect AI solutions across platforms (e.g. integrating an AI customer service agent into WhatsApp or a website).