I've started getting into Upwork. First step - setting up my profile for AI development and automation
For the title and description I dug into what clients there are looking for and what words they use to describe their tasks. Upwork itself says in its tips that in search a client only sees the first ~250 characters of your description, and words from client searches help the algorithm match you with projects
For the portfolio I picked my own projects: a content factory, a voice assistant and an AI receptionist
There's demand for this niche on the platform. According to the Upwork In-Demand Skills 2026 report, applied AI skills grew 109% in a year, AI integration into existing systems - 178%, chatbot development - 71%
I decided right away: no proposals until the profile is properly filled out
Right now I'm still polishing the profile and putting together case studies, so the story about first orders and earnings will come later