How To Use AI In Freelancing: Step-By-Step Guide

Last Updated on August 25, 2023 by John Cirelly

If you’re a freelancer wanting to learn how to use AI in freelancing, this one’s for you!

I’ve personally leveraged AI in my freelancing business to save hundreds of hours per year, and increase my income significantly.

How Does AI Help Freelancers?

AI platforms undoubtedly change how freelancers fulfill requests, engage with prospects, and market their services. Here’s how AI tools are helping freelancers work more effectively:

Faster Prospecting

In the past, freelancers leveraging platforms like Upwork and Toptal would have to find opportunities and pitch their services manually. This costs a ton of time, and often leads to some freelancers copying and pasting ineffective boilerplate proposals.

With tools like ChatGPT, freelancers can quickly and intelligently respond to job postings with specialized prompts paired with the job description. This helps speed up prospecting without sacrificing quality.

Increased Output and Efficiency

AI is like a dream assistant that can fulfill up to 80% of requests for writers, graphics designers, and video editors.

Tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney, and Descript can save freelancers dozens of hours, allowing them to take on more work, and ultimately increase their hourly rate when working on project-based billing gigs.

Quick Contract Analysis

Large contracts can have complex contracts, leaving amateur freelancers vulnerable to misunderstandings and tense business relationships.

Using a large language model like ChatGPT, freelancers can quickly summarize terms, detect ambiguities, and identify potential pitfalls in the contract.

Streamlined Research

AI, particularly large language models, has greatly streamlined freelancer research. These models can rapidly parse vast amounts of data to provide concise answers, summarize extensive content, and detect emerging industry trends, shaving hours off the research process.

While language models can hallucinate answers and require fact-checking, experienced freelancers can still determine fact from fiction, saving themselves countless hours.

How To Use AI In Freelancing in 2024

1. Set Your Freelance Goals

To harness the potential of AI in freelancing, start by clearly identifying the tasks and processes you aim to automate or enhance.

Reflect on the recurring, time-consuming aspects of your workflow that could benefit from automation. Once pinpointed, research and invest in AI tools specifically designed for these functions.

For example, writers can use Jasper to speed up draft creations while using ChatGPT to respond to new proposals quickly.

2. Use AI For Freelance Fulfillment

If possible, leverage AI in some aspect of your fulfillment process. For writers, this means using AI to create drafts. This also might mean using AI tools to detect and remove bad takes for video editors automatically.

At this point, AI tools won’t replace freelancers entirely. I’ve tested dozens of AI tools, and at some point, a human touch is still needed to deliver a quality product.

3. Respond To Gig Listings With AI

To increase your chances of securing gigs, actively utilize AI tools to customize your responses to job listings.

Feeding the AI the specific language and requirements of a gig post can generate tailored replies and pinpoint the most pertinent pieces from your portfolio. This proactive approach ensures you position yourself as the ideal candidate.

I personally use a series of prompts in ChatGPT combined with my experience and the current job description.

4. Use AI To Market Your Freelance Services

Beyond job boards, freelancers should consider creating content to generate inbound leads. The good news is that AI looks can help generate content quickly.

For example, tools like ContentAtScale and generate dozens of SEO-optimized blog posts that will bring in prospects through Google Search.

Alternatively, ChatGPT and Jasper can craft customized cold emails, increasing the likelihood of a positive response.

Popular AI Tools For Freelancing

This list of tools will give you an idea of what’s available for your industry and some ideas of how it can simplify work.

I’ve personally tested all of these AI freelancing tools below:

AI Writing Tools For Freelancing

Jasper – The most versatile AI writing tool I’ve found.
Price: $39/mo

Copy.ai – Excellent for freelancers looking to improve and speed up their copywriting.
Price: $0-$49/mo

ContentAtScale – Great for busy freelancers creating bulk SEO-optimized articles.
Price: $15-$25/article

Rezi – One of the best resume writers I’ve tested.
Price: $39/mo

Quillbot – Similar to Grammarly with better custom writing rulesets.
Price: $39/mo

Originality.ai – The most accurate AI text detector. Suitable for freelance writers who want to avoid appearing too much like AI.
Price: $15/mo

Sudowrite – Ideal for ghostwritten stories, novels, and long-form content
Price: $19/mo

ChatGPT – Great all-purpose AI writer. Requires some prompting for best results.
Price: $0-$20/mo

AI Tools For Video/Podcast Editing

Descript – Simple video and podcasting editor with voice cloning and background removal.
Price: $0-$20/mo

Premiere Pro– My video editor of choice now offers AI edits by simply telling it what you want to do.
Price: $21/mo

AI Tools For Freelance Graphic Design

Photoshop – A classic image editing software
Price: $21/mo

Midjourney – A leader in text-to-image AI generation. Great for inspiration and design.
Price: $5/mo

Overcoming AI Challenges In Freelancing

Part of knowing how to use AI in freelancing, is knowing how to use it responsibly. Below are some of the biggest pitfalls I’ve discovered in my freelancing journey.

AI Plagiarism

AI plagiarism is a growing concern as AI-generated content becomes more prevalent. While AI tools can produce original-like content, there’s a risk that the generated material inadvertently mirrors existing sources.

Employing plagiarism detection software and instilling ethical guidelines when using AI to create content, ensuring authenticity and integrity is essential.

Fact-Checking AI Hallucinations

AI “hallucinations” refer to instances where AI models produce information that isn’t accurate or based on reality.

While these models can generate vast amounts of data, it’s crucial to fact-check their outputs. Using secondary verification tools or cross-referencing with trusted sources can help ensure the accuracy of AI-generated content and avoid the propagation of misinformation.

Use AI In Freelancing With No Experience

For the past two years, I’ve used AI to earn more and work less as a freelancer.

Inside AI Freelancer Freedom, I’ve compiled a step-by-step guide on how to do the same.

With a little knowledge, anyone can use the tools and strategies I’ve outlined to earn extra in the freelance market.

• One-time low payment
• Update monthly
• 11+ easy-to-follow lessons