Upwork App Connects ChatGPT Users to Expert Freelancers

Work marketplace Upwork has launched an app within OpenAI’s ChatGPT that allows businesses to describe their project needs, discover relevant talent and draft job posts.

ChatGPT users can get started by connecting the Upwork app in ChatGPT and using prompts such as “@Upwork I need to find an expert to lead an AI integration for my business,” the company said in a Thursday (April 9) press release.

After completing these tasks within ChatGPT, businesses are guided to the Upwork Marketplace, where Upwork’s AI agent Uma will help them scope projects, generate contracts and begin work, according to the release.

This integration brings the Upwork Marketplace into a tool that millions of people use to get work started, Upwork Chief Business Officer Peter Sanborn said in the release.

“You can now quickly progress from an idea in ChatGPT to hiring the right expert on Upwork in just a few steps, turning conversations into real work outcomes,” Sanborn said.

OpenAI announced in October that it launched a feature that lets ChatGPT users chat with third-party apps while in conversation with the chatbot. The company also launched a software development kit that enables developers to build these kinds of apps.

Two months later, in December, OpenAI launched its ChatGPT App Directory, a marketplace of third-party apps that run directly within the ChatGPT interface. The marketplace allows developers to submit apps for review and publication, and users to discover and use those apps without leaving ChatGPT.

In the Thursday press release announcing the Upwork app, Chaya Nayak, head of jobs and certification product at OpenAI, said: “For many people, ChatGPT is where you can explore ideas, solve problems and move work forward. We’re excited to partner with Upwork and make it easier for anyone to build a business — connecting them with the talent they need, on the platforms they use every day.”

Upwork announced in December that it partnered with OpenAI to offer AI training, certifications and upskilling to the global independent professionals who participate in the Upwork Marketplace. Upwork said at the time that the amount of AI-related work on its platform had grown more than 50% over the previous year.