Artificial Intelligence

17 Fiverr Categories That Could Be Replaced by AI

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve, the impacts on various industries are becoming more apparent. Freelance platforms like Fiverr are no exception. Let’s explore the top 17 categories/sub-categories on Fiverr that might face elimination or significant change due to advancements in AI.

Creative Jobs

AI replacing freelance jobs in creative fields has proven to be one of the most disturbing to industry observers. Yet it is also some of the most exciting areas of innovation.

1. Content Writing

Content Writing: AI has made significant strides in content creation, and tools like OpenAI’s GPT-4 have been at the forefront. These AI-based models are trained on vast amounts of data, enabling them to generate high-quality, SEO-friendly content across various topics. This can include blog posts, product descriptions, scripts, and even creative stories.

However, there’s still a gap to bridge. While AI can mimic human writing styles, it lacks the human touch needed for nuanced and emotive pieces. AI can’t replace a writer’s unique voice, personal experiences, or the ability to empathize with the reader.

Example:

Chat-GPT

2. Graphic Design

AI’s impact on graphic design is growing, with tools like Canva’s design AI making the design process more accessible to non-designers. These tools use AI to create logos, infographics, and social media graphics based on pre-defined templates. The designs are generated following the best design practices and trends — though they aren’t quite ready to compete with a great designer.

That’s because AI is yet to master tasks requiring high creativity and intuition, like creating an original brand identity or a complex illustration. The human touch remains crucial for these tasks.

Example:

Canva’s design AI

3. Voice Overs

AI is transforming the voice-over industry with text-to-speech technologies like Amazon Polly and Google Text-to-Speech. These tools can generate high-quality voice overs in multiple languages and accents, providing a cost-effective and quick solution. Computer voice overs in the age of AI are going to be harder and harder to spot.

But while these tools can more or less get the job done, they can’t fully capture the emotional depth and tonal nuances that a human voice actor can bring. For instance, in a dramatic narration or an advert that needs to evoke specific emotions, human voice actors are irreplaceable. Unfortunately, most voice over gigs are for situations that an AI can pretty effectively fill.

Examples:

4. Social Media Management

AI tools like Buffer and Hootsuite’s AI are changing the game in social media management. They can automate tasks like scheduling posts, analyzing engagement data, and even generating basic content. These tasks have proved a lucrative freelancing opportunity in the past, but they likely won’t survive for much longer.

At least for now, it is still a good idea to have somebody looking over the output. AI may lack the ability to handle complex interactions, respond to crises, and understand brand voice and audience sentiment the way a human can. Moreover, creating engaging, brand-specific content that resonates with the audience is a profoundly human skill.

Examples:

5. Basic Video Editing

Machine learning and AI is making video editing more accessible with tools that can handle basic tasks like cutting, cropping, adding simple effects, and even editing to the beat of the music. Of course, not all editing tasks are fit for AI, but basic video editing is more than ready to be automated.

Storytelling elements in video editing, creating special effects that align with the mood of the video, and making judgment calls on what to keep and what to cut are beyond the current scope of AI. These tasks require a human editor’s artistic touch, expertise, and understanding of the audience.

Examples:

Administrative Assistant Services

Freelancers have slowly taken over many administrative assistant tasks for professionals who aren’t quite ready to hire someone full time to handle matters for them. But today, these gigs are more and more being handled by AI.

6. Translation Services

In recent years, we’ve seen significant improvement in the quality of machine translations, with tools like Google Translate and DeepL leading the way. These services are capable of translating text in real-time and across numerous languages. That makes translation services and AI technology a major focus in the industry.

Though idiomatic expressions, cultural references, and other nuances continue to be a bit of a struggle, they are rapidly being taken into consideration by AI tools. For professional documents, literary translations, or any content where cultural context and localization are vital, AI translators work, but having a human double checking the work is wise.

Examples:

7. Data Entry

Data entry is a highly repetitive task, making it a prime candidate for automation. AI tools, like UiPath’s Robotic Process Automation, can manage large data sets more efficiently than humans, drastically reducing errors and improving productivity.

You might still want a human expert to do high-level data analysis, interpretation, and decision-making based on the data, but the actual entry is easily automated. In fact, its superior speed and accuracy make it irresponsible not to try data entry automation with AI.

Example:

UiPath’s Robotic Process Automation

8. Virtual Assistants

Virtual assistants are probably the most widely used tools on this list. That’s because AI is making inroads in administrative tasks with virtual assistants like Google Assistant and Apple’s Siri. They can manage scheduling, email filtering, reminders, and other routine tasks.

While some users may prefer interacting with a human rather than a machine, especially for sensitive or complex tasks, it is becoming commonplace for people to rely on these assistants. There is also some growing concern around the ownership of all this data, but that has not slowed down the adoption of tools like Siri.

Examples:

9. Customer Service

AI chatbots, such as LivePerson and IBM Watson Assistant, can handle basic customer inquiries, provide information, and direct complex queries to the appropriate human representative.

These chatbots can operate 24/7, enhancing customer service efficiency and consistency. They are less appropriate for handling complex customer issues, empathizing with frustrated customers, or offering the personalized service that a human agent can — but for the vast majority of customer service needs, they are a much less expensive alternative.

Examples:

10. Data Analysis

Data analysis is a key skill in the 21st century, and AI is quickly becoming a vital component to this task. Tools like Tableau’s Explain Data can automate the process of collecting and organizing data, and even generate basic reports, handling tasks that would be tedious and time-consuming for humans.

Analysis and interpretation are still seen as mostly human work, but the more we use and refine our AI tools, the more they will be able to take over that part, too.

Example:

Tableau’s Explain Data

Technical Work

It’s no surprise that AI is great at accomplishing technical work. When it comes to the impact of AI on Fiverr categories, this will be one of the worst hit.

11. User Experience (UX) Design

The field of UX design is currently integrating AI, and in the future, this trend will likely swallow up much of the work. Tools like Adobe’s Sensei AI can generate intuitive interface designs based on best practices and user data. They can also conduct A/B testing and make adjustments based on user interactions.

While high level UX design is outside the realm of AI, most companies are not looking for that. They need something that works really well, not something that is deeply inspired. Still, understanding the emotional aspect of user interaction, empathizing with user needs, and crafting a design narrative that resonates on a human level still requires a human designer.

Example:

Adobe’s Sensei AI

12. SEO Auditing

Tools like Moz’s AI Auditor can crawl a website, identify broken links, analyze on-page SEO factors, and even suggest improvements. This automation speeds up the auditing process and increases efficiency.

Comprehensive SEO services — even when you hire a human team — are going to continue to bring in more and more AI tools into every step, especially during auditing. That’s because these tools are able to integrate the best practices consistently and analyze using certain measurements across every dimension of a website.

Example:

Moz’s AI Auditor

13. Keyword Research

Popular platforms like Ahrefs’ Keyword Generator can conduct keyword research, find long-tail keywords, and predict trends based on historical data. In fact, you can even do a lot of this in the free version of ChatGPT.

Automating these tasks saves a lot of time and money. These tools are still crucial when you hire a professional to align your keyword strategy with your brand’s voice, audience language, and search intent.

Example:

Ahrefs’ Keyword Generator

14. Site Speed Optimization

Google’s PageSpeed Insights AI can compress images, minify code, and perform other tasks to improve a website’s load time. But so far, freelancers on Fiverr working on site speed optimization don’t have to be too scared just yet.

Diagnosing and fixing complex speed issues often requires a deep understanding of web development and server management, areas where AI currently falls short. But still, the vast majority of speed issues involve simple fixes of common problems — the exact kind of thing AI excels at.

Example:

Google’s PageSpeed Insights AI

15. Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)

AI can conduct multivariate testing and adjust website elements to improve conversions. Tools like Unbounce’s Smart Traffic use AI to route traffic to the most relevant variant, improving conversion rates over time.

While it might not have a firm grasp on the psychology of the target audience, AI uses evidence to make its decisions, which proves plenty effective for 99% of cases.

Example:

Unbounce’s Smart Traffic

16. Schema Markup

Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper can generate schema markup based on predefined templates, making it easier for search engines to understand a website’s content. This is a frequently overlooked task for amateur web developers who are trying to make a DIY website for their passion project or side hustle.

Mixed together with all the other SEO-related tasks AI can accomplish, and a high performing website that draws a ton of organic traffic is within reach of just about anybody and any budget. Of course in time, that will make search engines that much more competitive.

Example:

Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper

17. Proofreading and Editing

Like virtual assistants, this is another category of AI tools that already has widespread adoption. Plugins like Grammarly can identify grammar and spelling errors, and even suggest style improvements. And like most writing tasks, popular tools like ChatGPT can do a serviceable job if you want to use AI for proofreading and editing.

AI can identify grammar and spelling errors, and even suggest style improvements. But for in-depth editing requiring understanding of tone, context, and intended message, human editors and proofreaders are still essential.

Examples:

Final Thoughts

While AI is undoubtedly revolutionizing many categories on Fiverr, it’s important to remember its role as a powerful tool, not a replacement for human ingenuity and creativity.

But the truth is, most people go to Fiverr when they need simpler tasks completed. For the millions of freelancers trying to make money on the side by doing this kind of work, AI is going to replace them.

For freelancers on Fiverr, that means adapting to this new reality — the sooner the better. Learning to leverage AI tools, and focusing more on tasks that require human intuition and expertise, are key. For those purchasing services on Fiverr, it’s important to know your options, what elements could be better delivered by human talent versus AI, and how that should all come together in your production flow.

As we look ahead, the intersection of AI and freelancing promises exciting possibilities, transforming the way we work and providing opportunities for growth and innovation. Embrace the change, and you’ll find that the future of freelancing in the age of AI has plenty of potential for everybody.