AI can produce a first draft. Someone still has to make the finished work worth paying for.
The September 2026 edition of The Wage to Wallet Index is a collaboration between PYMNTS Intelligence and WorkWhile.
Digital freelancers are navigating a change in what clients want. Some buyers use AI to complete work themselves. Others bring AI-produced work to a freelancer who can fix it, finish it or make it useful. At the same time, workers are weighing what each assignment pays against the time and costs to complete it.
The report draws on a survey of 2,098 U.S. consumers, including 1,604 working adults. Nearly 37% of working adults earned money through platforms during the past year. The findings offer a closer look at digital freelancers, workers who provide in-person services and the consumers who might hire them.
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In “The Wage to Wallet™ Index: Platform Workers Adopt AI as Demand Changes,” learn how:
- Consumers decide which work to do themselves. Among people who needed digital or creative work, 57.5% used AI to do it themselves, while 19.1% paid or hired someone. Their choices help show where freelancers may need to prove the value of their work.
- Platforms bring AI into the workplace. Nearly 32% of digital freelancers say a platform introduced AI tools that can do their kind of work. The report examines how workers are responding as those tools become part of the services they use to find jobs.
- Workers weigh the value of staying. About 30% of service platform workers stopped that work within the year. Their reasons included insufficient pay or work, the time and costs involved and personal or family needs. The findings don’t assign those departures to AI.
For banks, FinTechs and platform operators, the stakes extend beyond the number of available jobs. Workers may earn across several platforms or combine assignments with traditional employment. A fuller view of their pay can help them plan for expenses and see what they take home after costs.
Download the report to see how AI is changing platform work, where workers are finding opportunities and what they need to manage their income.
About the Index
The Wage to Wallet Index is a monthly study produced by PYMNTS Intelligence in collaboration with WorkWhile. This report draws on a survey of 2,098 U.S. consumers, fielded Sept. 1–3, 2026. Percentages are weighted. The sample includes 380 respondents who worked independently through platforms, including sellers of physical goods; the service-specific analysis excludes goods-selling activity and covers 246 workers—144 digital freelancers and 139 physical-service workers. Digital work includes writing, design and programming; physical work includes delivery, rideshare and shift-based tasks.
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