Fiverr bets on AI assistants as Google-style search fades

Fiverr, the online marketplace where businesses hire freelancers, says the way people find things on the internet is changing fast. On its third-quarter earnings call on Thursday, Oct. 29, CEO Micha Kaufman said the internet of the past 20-plus years "is going away." His point: more people now start and end their search inside AI assistants, not on a search page.

What changed

Fiverr is shifting from traditional web discovery toward direct links with AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Claude. It launched Mira, an AI-powered headhunting tool. It also opened public APIs, which are connections that let other software talk to Fiverr. With them, AI agents can match a buyer with a freelancer, scope the job and place the order directly.

Kaufman said search traffic faces years of decline. He also said "agents don't have brand loyalty." In his view, autonomous AI tools pick platforms based on who delivers the best output, not on who buys the most search ads.

The numbers

• Third-quarter revenue was $90.9 million, above the company's own guidance.
• Core marketplace revenue fell 24.7% from a year earlier to $55.4 million.
• Active buyers fell 25.8% to 2.4 million.
• Average spend per buyer rose 12.9% to $373.
• First-time buyers arriving through AI channels rose 64% from the prior quarter.

Fewer buyers are spending more each. Management said customers are moving away from cheap, one-off gigs toward bigger projects. Jobs worth $1,000 or more now make up 16% of completed order value.

Who it affects

Any business that depends on being found online should pay attention. A PYMNTS Intelligence report from October says nearly 61 million U.S. consumers now begin online retail research with AI assistants. The report says AI is changing research habits faster than buying habits. Shoppers may still check out on their own, return to a trusted marketplace or hand the purchase to an AI.

What to do

The practical question is simple. If a customer asks an AI tool for a provider like yours, does your business come up? Search rankings and ads may matter less over time. Being clearly described, easy to verify and easy for software to connect with may matter more. The material does not say how to do that, so treat it as something to test.

What happens next

It is not yet clear whether AI-driven buyers will make up for the ones Fiverr is losing. The company did not say, in the material available, how large the AI channel is in total. Kaufman expects the pressure on search traffic to last for years.