MBO Partners has a fresh reminder that the independent-work economy is not waiting around for businesses to catch up.
In its new brief on Gen AI and the future of work, MBO says it surveyed 1,132 independent workers and 3,832 workers with traditional jobs. The headline finding is pretty simple: independents are using AI, and they are not especially scared of it. MBO brief
According to the report, just 8% of independents said their work is at risk of replacement in the next five years, versus 13% of traditional workers. Looking further out, the numbers were 16% for independents and 21% for traditional workers. MBO brief
That gap matters.
It suggests independent workers are not treating AI like a threat first. They are treating it like leverage.
MBO says 74% of independents were familiar with Gen AI, and 37% were already using it in their work. Among those users, most were using it for more than one application. The biggest uses were research and writing, creative content, marketing, and coding support. MBO brief
That is the part owners should not miss.
The contractor you hire this quarter may not work the same way the contractor you hired two years ago did. They may draft faster, prototype faster, and hand you work that has already passed through an AI first pass before it ever lands in your inbox.
That can be good news. It can also create false confidence.
Why This Matters For Owners
If you buy freelance work, the question is no longer just "Can this person do the job?"
It is also:
- What parts of the work are AI-assisted?
- What parts are still human judgment?
- How do they verify the output?
- What happens when the model gets something wrong?
Those questions are not academic. They are how you keep speed from turning into sloppy work.
The report's strongest signal is that independents are already building AI into how they operate. That means your hiring standards need to catch up. If you are still writing freelancer briefs as if every draft, outline, or design file is manual from scratch, you are probably underestimating both speed and risk.
The Practical Play
Owners do not need a grand AI strategy for this.
They need a clearer intake process.
Before you hand work to a contractor, ask for three things:
- a sample output
- the workflow they use to get there
- the quality check they run before delivery
That is enough to separate someone who is using AI as a shortcut from someone who is using it as a professional tool.
The report also shows something encouraging: independents are using AI to remove repetitive work so they can spend more time on higher-value tasks. That is the version of AI owners should want from their vendors too.
Owner Takeaway
Independent workers are not waiting for permission to modernize their workflow.
If you rely on contractors, assume AI is already part of their process and manage accordingly. Ask better questions, check the output, and pay for judgment, not just speed.
That is where the real value is now.