Upwork opens public beta of on-demand freelancer hiring tool

Upwork said Monday it has opened a public beta of Upwork Now, a feature meant to help clients hire freelancers who are online and ready to start right away.

When posting a job on Upwork.com, clients can turn on "Hire Now" to reach professionals who are available. Responses appear in a live feed, and a real-time shortlist helps clients review candidates. Upwork said Upwork Now is coming soon to freelancer search.

Freelancers can turn on "Work Now" from their homepage or profile to signal they are ready to start. They can then see which clients are actively online and hiring while they search for jobs. Upwork's help page, however, says Work Now is currently being tested with a limited group of freelancers, and that anyone who does not see the feature on their account does not have it yet. The company's press release describes the beta as available to all clients and freelancers.

Upwork also said clients can use Upwork Now from inside AI tools connected to Upwork, through its Model Context Protocol server. It said freelancers will be able to manage their Work Now availability from those tools in the coming weeks.

Upwork cited a company survey of 150 U.S. clients, conducted in April, in which 57% said they would prefer to hire in a day or less.

Upwork said the beta comes at no additional cost.

(The photo is a generic stock image of a person typing on a laptop. It is not from Upwork.)