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Upwork recently announced its Fall 2024 product release, unveiling a collection of new tools, features, and partnerships designed to transform the way businesses and freelancers collaborate, hire, and manage work.
Central to this release is the expansion of Uma, Upwork’s AI-powered assistant, which will now offer new AI-enabled experiences to streamline hiring and improve work outcomes.
Empowering Businesses and Freelancers with Uma’s AI Capabilities
Upwork’s Fall 2024 release introduces new enhancements powered by Uma, Upwork’s Mindful AI, which will help both businesses and freelancers navigate the hiring and project management process more efficiently. Uma’s new capabilities include:
- For Freelancers: Uma can now generate tailored proposal drafts using AI models trained on successful proposals, enabling freelancers to submit stronger bids and win more projects.
- For Businesses: Uma will assist businesses by identifying top freelancers based on project requirements and evaluating proposals through side-by-side comparisons of professionals’ skills and experience.
Hayden Brown, Upwork’s president and CEO, emphasized the impact of AI on the work marketplace: “Our goal is to make Upwork the premier destination for on-demand work outcomes. Upwork has always connected businesses to the world’s best expert talent, but Uma is a pivotal tool in delivering faster and better work results for our customers.”
Expanding Managed Services with AI
Uma will also power Managed Services, Upwork’s fully managed project solution. Using Uma’s proprietary AI, Upwork can now scope projects, evaluate necessary skills, and assemble expert teams faster than ever before. This enhancement will benefit businesses looking for guaranteed project outcomes, such as building websites or generating sales leads.
Upwork’s Managed Services, available through Upwork Enterprise, now offer AI-powered services to meet clients’ growing AI needs, such as creating custom AI agents. The Managed Services team will handle projects from start to finish, ensuring faster completion times and higher-quality outcomes for clients.
Additionally, Upwork has partnered with third-party technology providers like Lettuce and Ocoya to integrate fully-managed services directly into their platforms, allowing customers to access Upwork’s expert talent combined with AI-driven support.
New Tools for Finding and Hiring Talent
Upwork is introducing several new tools to make finding and hiring high-quality freelancers easier for businesses:
- Upwork Business Plus: This new plan gives clients instant access to Upwork’s Expert-Vetted talent—the top 1% of pre-screened freelancers—along with personalized support and simplified billing options.
- Partner Experts Program: Upwork has added new partners, including Webflow, General Assembly, Bubble, and Smartsheet, allowing clients to connect with trusted experts experienced in these technologies.
- Featured Jobs: To help clients attract more candidates, Upwork has launched Featured Jobs, which offer prominent placement of job posts to increase visibility.
- Boosted Profiles: Freelancers can now use this paid feature to improve their profile’s visibility in search results and job recommendations, increasing their chances of being hired. Video introductions have also been added, allowing freelancers to create guided videos to showcase their skills and profile.
Enhancements to Work Management and Payments
Upwork’s Fall 2024 release also includes updates to help freelancers manage their work and payments more efficiently:
- Job Success Insights: This new feature gives freelancers detailed insights into their Job Success Score (JSS), including tips to improve their reputation on the platform.
- Venmo Partnership: Upwork has partnered with Venmo to provide U.S. clients with more payment options, making it faster and easier to pay freelancers for their work.
These updates, powered by Uma’s AI capabilities and enhanced platform features, are designed to help businesses and freelancers achieve better, faster outcomes in a rapidly evolving work environment.
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