Upwork (Nasdaq: UPWK), the world’s work marketplace that connects businesses with independent talent, today unveiled a collection of products, features and partnerships to transform how businesses and professionals hire and work, as part of Upwork Updates: Spring 2024, Upwork’s new semi-annual product showcase.
Introducing Uma, Upwork’s Mindful AI
The Spring 2024 Update is headlined by Uma, Upwork’s Mindful AI. Developed on top of industry-leading large language models (LLMs) and customized with Upwork platform data, Uma underpins key experiences in the hiring and matching process that are critical to businesses and freelancers discovering each other, getting started, and completing more high-quality work.
Uma powers new features like Best Match insights, now available in beta. Best Match insights help businesses quickly find the best potential person for their job by identifying relevant insights like top proposals, client reviews, and skill alignment with the job post.
Uma also improves existing innovations and experiences including Job Post Generator, Proposal Tips, and Upwork Chat Pro—all AI-powered product features designed to help clients find and hire freelancers more seamlessly and help freelancers win projects, complete more work, and increase efficiency.
Increasingly, Uma serves as a conversational companion to clients and freelancers on Upwork. Today, Uma is starting to roll out on the Upwork homepage so that customers can begin interacting with the technology. Eventually, Uma will serve as a constant, intelligent companion that supports customers throughout their entire Upwork experience.
“Uma is the mindful, human-centered AI that empowers our customers to work smarter and get work done on Upwork,” said Andrew Rabinovich, head of AI & machine learning at Upwork. “Part of the magic of Upwork is our more than two decades of data and insights from a full range of hiring and work behaviors. That’s millions of data points that can help Uma power all the connections happening across the Upwork marketplace, enabling an intuitive, streamlined, and high-quality work experience for businesses and professionals alike.”
New Resources for Freelancers
Upwork also premiered access to new tools for freelancers to stand out, get hired, and produce their best work.
“Highly skilled freelance professionals armed with the latest innovative technology provides a tremendous accelerant in efficiently delivering successful work outcomes,” said Dave Bottoms, general manager and VP of product for the Upwork Marketplace. “Building atop the recent introduction of apps and offers, these new tools and resources that we’re showcasing via Upwork Updates will enable skilled freelancers around the world to better differentiate themselves, get connected to the right businesses and projects, and deliver high-quality and high-value work.”
New features, updates and resources for freelance professionals include:
- Freelancer Plus, Upwork’s subscription offering for freelancers, now includes exclusive access to Upwork Chat Pro, powered by Uma, so that professionals can improve efficiency and grow their businesses.
- Boosted Profiles provide more visibility for freelancers, leading to more opportunities to do the work they love.
- Portfolio, now available in beta, is an upgraded experience for uploading and organizing content to display on profile pages, empowering freelancers to show their work in the way that represents them best.
- Upwork Coaching Services, now available to all freelancers through Upwork Academy, enable the millions of skilled professionals on Upwork to put their best foot forward, appeal to and ultimately get hired by more clients.
- New industry-leading third-party apps and offers like GoDaddy, Dropbox, Notion and iStock by Getty Images equip freelancers with the latest cutting-edge tools and services they need to deliver their highest-quality work.
Access to Expert Global Talent
Upwork introduced two new avenues for businesses to access the expertise they need to serve their most pressing needs:
- Instant consultations allow clients to meet with skilled freelancers within minutes and receive immediate, expert advice, ultimately getting projects started and completed faster.
- Upwork’s Partner Experts program welcomed GoDaddy, BigCommerce and Constant Contact as new partners providing their customers direct access to a curated set of trusted freelancers deeply experienced in working with their specific technologies.
Refreshed Solutions for Enterprises
Upwork Enterprise introduced new vendor management system (VMS) and managed service provider (MSP) partnerships, alongside enhancements to the Enterprise client experience.
Following the launch of its inaugural VMS partnerships in December 2023, Upwork Enterprise is rapidly expanding the ways in which businesses can tap into and leverage the global pool of skilled freelance professionals found on Upwork, adding Workday VNDLY and KellyOCG as partners, with KellyOCG becoming Upwork’s first MSP partner. These strategic partnerships enable Upwork Enterprise customers to scale and optimize their contingent workforces and make faster, better decisions in workforce planning and management.
Upwork also continues to improve the customer experience within Enterprise Suite with new enhancements:
- Contract audit reporting provides prebuilt, customizable reports with the information Enterprise clients need on hiring history and spend, and makes that information easily viewable across the organization.
- Classification compliance improvements include real-time status updates on classification determinations that help clients quickly, easily, and accurately classify worker relationships.
For more information and to experience the innovations highlighted as part of Upwork Updates: Spring 2024, please visit: www.upwork.com/updates/spring-2024.
