New research from Wharton management professor Manav Raj shows how the release of the generative AI chatbot upended the online labor market by quietly and dramatically altering how workers carry out tasks, and accordingly, how they compete for jobs. The study analyzes millions of records on Upwork, a leading global freelancing platform, before and after ChatGPT’s launch. Co-authored by Wharton PhD student Shun Yiu, NYU Stern professor Robert Seamans, and Upwork research manager Teng Liu, the research shows how the competitive dynamics on the platform evolved, with new freelancers pouring in and incumbents recalibrating how they worked to stay competitive.
