Fiverr CEO Micha Kaufman’s blunt warning was real, but it was not a data-backed prediction that most people will be unemployed within months. A May 2025 internal memo reportedly told employees that “AI is coming for your jobs”—and for his own job too. The clearer evidence since then points to a more uneven shift: routine digital tasks and low-complexity freelance services are under price pressure, while people who apply, supervise and integrate AI in complex work may become more valuable.
What Kaufman actually said
Cybernews reported in May 2025 that Kaufman sent Fiverr employees an internal memo warning that “AI is coming for your jobs,” adding that it was coming for his job as well. He reportedly named programmers, designers, product managers, data scientists, lawyers and salespeople as roles exposed to disruption. He urged professionals to study, research and master the AI tools relevant to their fields, warning that people who ignored the change might need to switch careers quickly.
The memo was primarily a broad warning about work, not an announcement that Fiverr employees were about to be dismissed. It was circulated through secondary reporting and social media, rather than published as a quantified Fiverr labor-market forecast. The report did not provide a job-loss estimate, a time horizon supported by data, or a model distinguishing automated tasks from eliminated occupations. Cybernews’ report is therefore the appropriate source for what Kaufman reportedly wrote—not proof of a universal employment prediction.
Those distinctions matter:
- Task automation: AI drafts, classifies, summarizes, translates, generates or checks part of a job.
- Role redesign: A worker handles more output, uses different tools or spends more time on judgment and client communication.
- Occupation elimination: An employer or customer no longer needs the role at all.
Kaufman’s language was a forceful exhortation to adapt. It did not establish that every named profession will disappear.
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Why Fiverr is a revealing case
Fiverr sits where freelance labor, small-business outsourcing, digital production and platform economics meet. Its marketplace is especially exposed to services that can be delivered as standardized files or short digital tasks. At the same time, clients still need someone to define a problem, handle exceptions, verify quality and take responsibility for the result.
Fiverr’s 2025 Form 20-F describes AI as both an opportunity and a headwind. The company says AI is expanding demand for high-skilled, complex and AI-related services while putting pressure on some simple and low-skilled offerings. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, Fiverr reported:
| Measure | 2025 result | What it represents |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace gross merchandise volume | $1.073 billion | Value of transactions on the marketplace |
| Annual active buyers | 3.1 million | Buyers active during the year |
| Total revenue | $430.9 million | Company revenue for the fiscal year |
| Marketplace revenue | $297.5 million | Revenue from marketplace activity |
| Services revenue | $133.4 million | Revenue from services outside the core marketplace |
Active buyers fell from 3.6 million at the end of 2024 to 3.1 million at the end of 2025, a 13.6% year-over-year decline. Fiverr’s filing attributes marketplace pressure to several factors, including AI adoption, weak small-business sentiment and hiring demand. It does not establish that AI alone caused the decline. The SEC-filed 2025 Form 20-F is company evidence, not a measurement of the entire freelance economy.
What the evidence supports—and what it does not
Routine deliverables are the clearest pressure point
The strongest near-term evidence concerns the market value of repeatable outputs, not the disappearance of whole professions. Examples include basic copy variations, simple logos and images, template-based web pages, routine translation and transcription, data cleaning, summaries, boilerplate code, simple customer support and administrative work. AI can make these outputs faster and cheaper, allowing clients to do more themselves or bargain harder with suppliers.
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A 2025 academic benchmark tested AI systems on standardized freelance development tasks, comparing task success and implied earnings. It is useful evidence about structured tasks, but it does not show that an AI system can independently manage an ambiguous client project from briefing through delivery. The benchmark paper should be read as task-level evidence, not a forecast of economy-wide unemployment.
Real projects contain work that models do not own
Commercial assignments require communication, context, revision, domain knowledge, testing and accountability. A model may produce a polished draft that is factually, technically or legally wrong. Someone still has to decide what the client actually needs, protect confidential information, validate the result, connect systems and handle exceptions.
Lower production costs can also increase demand. A business that could not afford ten pieces of content may buy one hundred when production is cheaper. New work can appear around implementation, integration, evaluation, compliance, security and oversight. Companies may also cite AI when layoffs reflect weak demand, cost cutting or restructuring. None of these effects proves that AI is harmless; they show why “AI replaces a profession” is too broad a description.
Which work faces the most immediate risk?
Risk is highest where a service is standardized, easy to compare and purchased mainly for speed or low price.
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- Workers selling highly repeatable outputs with little customization.
- Freelancers competing almost entirely on turnaround time and price.
- Entry-level roles centered on drafting, formatting, research aggregation or routine implementation.
- Portfolios made up of samples that a buyer can reproduce with a general-purpose tool.
- Businesses whose revenue depends on volume rather than expertise, relationships or measurable outcomes.
The likely first symptoms are fewer inquiries, lower average order values, more unpaid proposal work and heavier revision demands—not necessarily an immediate termination.
Which work is changing rather than disappearing?
Workers are comparatively better positioned when they combine technical execution with judgment and responsibility. That can include:
- Specialists who apply AI inside a particular industry or workflow.
- Consultants who define the business problem and measure whether a solution worked.
- Editors, reviewers and evaluators who detect subtle factual, cultural or technical errors.
- Professionals handling regulated work, sensitive data or high-stakes decisions.
- People with trusted client relationships, clear communication and accountability for outcomes.
These are analytical categories, not guarantees. Learning a tool does not future-proof a career, and no occupation is permanently insulated from redesign.
What Fiverr’s strategy says about the warning
Fiverr’s later filings describe a transformation focused on matching infrastructure, product experience, go-to-market execution and operational excellence. The stated aim is to scale trust, quality and AI-native capabilities while moving toward higher-skilled, more complex services. A September 2025 company update described a leaner, faster, AI-first operating model; that development should not be treated as proof that the May memo predicted specific layoffs.
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In its full-year 2025 results, Kaufman said humans were becoming “more essential, not less” as Fiverr moved toward an “agentic economy.” That is a later corporate positioning statement, not an independently verified universal trend. It also reflects Fiverr’s commercial interests: the company benefits from encouraging AI-enabled services, platform tools and higher-value transactions while sellers may experience weaker pricing power at the commodity end. Fiverr’s results release provides that context.
What Fiverr’s AI policy means for sellers
Fiverr permits AI use across service categories, but its policy says freelancers remain responsible for their skill, effort, transparency, legality and compliance with platform standards. AI may assist a service; it is not a substitute for the freelancer’s own skill and effort. See Fiverr’s AI guidelines for the current rules.
That makes the practical distinction straightforward: the valuable seller is unlikely to be the person who refuses all AI or the person who passes through the most unedited model output. It is more likely to be the person who delivers a reliable client outcome using AI appropriately.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How freelancers can respond now
- Map your service into tasks. Mark what is easily generated, what requires specialist judgment and what carries client or regulatory risk.
- Use AI for speed, not sign-off. Keep human review, testing, fact-checking and revision in the workflow.
- Sell an outcome. Position the service around a business result—such as qualified leads, a working workflow or a compliant document—rather than an isolated file.
- Choose a domain. Industry knowledge and familiarity with a client’s systems make generic output less substitutable.
- Show evidence. Preserve original work, explain your process and document measurable client outcomes.
- Set an AI-use policy. Tell clients when AI is used, what review you perform and what information you will not upload.
- Price responsibility. Account for judgment, communication, revisions, testing and accountability, not just generation time.
- Build repeat relationships. Direct referrals, retainers and multiple acquisition channels reduce dependence on marketplace discovery and price competition.
Do not upload client secrets, private code, personal data or unreleased plans without checking the contract and the AI vendor’s terms. Copyright, likeness, trademark, licensing and commercial-use rules can vary by tool and jurisdiction; verify the current terms instead of assuming generated material is automatically safe.
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What job seekers should watch
- Break target roles into automatable tasks and tasks requiring judgment, coordination or trust.
- Learn the tools actually used in the industry, while demonstrating verification rather than merely prompt-writing.
- Build portfolio examples with measurable outcomes and clear quality checks.
- Strengthen communication, research, domain knowledge and stakeholder skills.
- Look for supervised opportunities that build higher-value experience as entry-level pathways narrow.
Bottom line
Kaufman’s warning works as a wake-up call, not as a precise forecast. AI is already compressing the price and volume of repetitive digital work, especially on freelance marketplaces. The more defensible near-term picture is uneven: fewer routine assignments and tougher entry-level competition, alongside growing demand for people who can make AI useful, accurate, secure and accountable in real business settings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Fiverr announce that its employees would lose their jobs?
No. The May 2025 memo was reported as a general warning about work. It did not announce a specific Fiverr employee layoff plan or provide a quantified forecast.
Has AI already replaced most freelance jobs?
No. Available evidence shows pressure on standardized, low-complexity services and changing demand, not proof that most freelance occupations have disappeared.
Should freelancers disclose AI use to clients?
They should follow the client contract and Fiverr’s current rules, be transparent where required, protect confidential information and remain responsible for the accuracy and legality of the delivered work.
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