Fiverr's CEO tells BI he'll only hire candidates who use AI. Here's why.

Simply being open to AI isn't enough for Fiverr's CEO — if you're not already using it, you're out of the running.

• Micha Kaufman told BI that AI use is now a baseline expectation at Fiverr.
• People using AI will displace those who are not, the CEO of the freelance marketplace said.
• Freelancers are ahead of the curve, often adopting AI tools faster than full-time employees, he added.

For many employers, AI skills are a nice-to-have. At Fiverr, they're non-negotiable.

Micha Kaufman, the CEO of one of the world's largest freelance marketplaces, told Business Insider he wouldn't hire anyone who isn't already using AI. Even candidates who say they're open to trying AI, but haven't actually used it, would be a red flag, he said.

"You can't wait to be taught something," he said, adding, "If you don't ensure that you sharpen your knives, you're going to be left behind. It's that simple."

In his view, people who use AI to amplify their work, not just automate it, will set themselves apart in today's job market. The real competition isn't with the technology itself, he added, but with the people who embrace it.

"There's less of a risk of technology displacing people," he told BI. "But I think there's more risk of people who are very versed in technology displacing people who are not."

A 'wake-up call' for everyone

Kaufman put forward this stance in a memo to Fiverr's 775 employees last month, warning that AI could threaten jobs at every level. "AI is coming for your jobs. Heck, it's coming for my job too. This is a wake-up call," he wrote, later posting the message publicly on X.

"It does not matter if you are a programmer, designer, product manager, data scientist, lawyer, customer support rep, salesperson, or a finance person - AI is coming for you," he added.

He told BI the memo wasn't about creating fear but about facing reality. "If you don't make that move, you're going to be out of work," he explained. "Not only in our company but also across the industry. There's not going to be a demand for people who are working like it was five years ago."

The Fiverr CEO isn't alone in this philosophy.

Klarna's CEO, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, said in January that AI could do "all our jobs, my own included," a prospect he called "gloomy," but one he said the fintech had fully embraced. Earlier this month, the company reversed its AI hiring freeze to hire humans again.

At Shopify, teams are now required to demonstrate that AI can't do a job before asking for more staff. CEO Tobi Lütke told employees last month in a widely shared internal memo to imagine what their teams would look like "if autonomous AI agents were already part of the team."

Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn recently told staff the company was replacing contract workers with AI, while Salesforce is using internal AI career coaches to help employees pivot into new roles as automation changes job requirements, instead of laying them off.

Humans still matter

So, which employees are safe from replacement in the age of AI?

For Kaufman, it's those who find ways to replace themselves.

"The people who are never going to be displaced or replaced are the people who are going to find ways to replace 100% of what they do now with technology," he told BI.

Kaufman said he would never replace an employee or freelancer with that mindset — "because that just frees up their time to focus on things that technology cannot provide right now."

Workers using AI is less about technical prowess or "checking boxes on specific tools," Kaufman explained, and more about having a mindset of "curiosity, adaptability, and a willingness to experiment."

Even as AI changes work, Kaufman believes there's a growing premium on human judgment and nuance.

"These new tools, these new models, agents, are able to provide us with a lot of work that was just taking time," he said. However, the "special human touch" remains essential.

"I want my people to focus on these more complex, nuanced human tasks rather than continuing to work like it's 2024," he added. "If you're still doing that, you're doing something wrong."

Freelancers as AI frontrunners

Kaufman said that freelancers are often better prepared for AI upending of the world of work because they are constantly upskilling.

Freelancers, he explained, often spend "days and days" experimenting with new tools — something many full-time employees might not have the time or incentive to do.

New roles like vibe coders, agent trainers, and ComfyUI consultants have quickly become top earners on freelance platforms like Fiverr, he added.

That shift is reflected in Fiverr's May Business Trends Index, which tracks millions of searches on the platform worldwide. Over the past six months, demand for "AI Agent" services surged by 18,347%, while "AI Video Creator" searches jumped 1,739%.

Kaufman's advice for anyone looking to future-proof their career is straightforward: master the latest AI tools, experiment widely, and stop waiting for formal training.

"If you don't realize the pace, the velocity, of change right now, you're at risk of being left behind," he said. "And being OK at something is not enough. It doesn't cut it anymore."