Most In-Demand AI Skills: Insights from Upwork Report

Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the tech industry, and employers are looking for people who can use AI tools to boost creativity and productivity. Upwork, a leading online talent marketplace, recently released a report on the most in-demand AI skills. The report found that the top AI skills are:
The Rise of Generative AI: How ChatGPT, BERT, and Stable Diffusion are Changing the World
From January to June 2023, Upwork analyzed the most popular search terms related to generative AI. The results were revealing. ChatGPT, a well-known generative AI chatbot created by OpenAI, topped the list. BERT, an open-source language model, and Stable Diffusion, a technology that brings images to life based on textual input, followed closely behind.
The significance of this trend is clear. Businesses are realizing that the true value of generative AI does not lie in a single tool, but in understanding the versatile applications of this transformative technology. Kelly Monahan, the managing director of the Upwork Research Institute, emphasizes the evolution of search terms used by businesses. She predicts that this understanding will only deepen over time as AI continues to impact industries across the board.
The Rise of Artificial Intelligence: An Unprecedented Growth
In the first half of 2023, there was an unprecedented surge in AI-related activities on Upwork. The number of job postings in the field of generative AI skyrocketed, increasing by a staggering 1,000% in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the previous year. At the same time, AI-related searches surged by an astonishing 1,500%, indicating the growing demand for AI expertise.
What’s equally impressive is the responsiveness of the talent pool on Upwork. The platform has seen a surge in AI specialists who are ready to meet the evolving demands of the job market. This rapid adaptation highlights the agility of the Upwork community in responding to emerging trends.
Spotlight on ChatGPT: The Generative AI Chatbot That’s Changing the Way We Communicate
Upwork recently released data on the fastest-growing generative AI searches in the second quarter of 2023. The results showed that “AI content creation” was the fastest-growing search term, indicating the growing interest in using AI to generate content. “Gradio,” a platform that helps users build and showcase their machine learning models, was the second fastest-growing search term. Microsoft’s “Azure OpenAI,” a suite of customizable coding and language AI tools, came in third.
Here is the table:
Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
---|---|---|---|---|
UPWK | UPWORK INC. | 14.75 | -0.80 | -5.14% |
These results show that businesses and individuals are increasingly interested in using AI to create content, build machine learning models, and automate tasks. This trend is likely to continue in the years to come as AI becomes more sophisticated and accessible.

OpenAI and Upwork Partner to Bring AI to the Masses
To get a better understanding of where businesses are starting their generative AI projects, Upwork shared data on the types of projects that freelancers were hired for. ChatGPT was the most popular project type, followed by natural language processing (NLP), which allows AI programs to understand user-written or spoken prompts.
Other popular project types included open-source machine learning platforms like TensorFlow, image processing, and PyTorch, a robust framework for building deep learning models. These findings show the wide range of applications for generative AI across industries.
Overall, the Upwork report paints a promising picture of the AI landscape in 2023. Employers are actively seeking AI expertise, with generative AI taking center stage. As AI continues to evolve and transform industries, it is essential for professionals and businesses to stay ahead of the curve by acquiring the right AI skills. By embracing these transformative technologies, we can unlock endless possibilities in the digital age.