PALO ALTO, Calif., June 17, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ: UPWK), the world's human and AI-powered work marketplace, today announced the Upwork Claude Connector, a new app inside Anthropic's Claude that connects businesses with the experts they need the moment a project takes shape.
According to recent Upwork research, 74% of SMBs plan to increase freelancer hiring in the near term, much of it tied to AI-driven growth initiatives. Now the same tools that support the project planning can also help with the hiring, without starting from scratch or losing the context that’s already been built.
“AI is changing how businesses plan and kick off work. But quality outcomes still depend on human expertise,” said Peter Sanborn, chief business officer at Upwork Inc. “Putting Upwork inside Claude closes the gap between where work gets started and the talent that can bring it to life.”
With the Upwork Claude Connector, a user can describe a project and immediately receive a shortlist of recommended talent drawn from the Upwork Marketplace’s more than 18 million professionals, including a global pool of AI-skilled talent, across 130 categories of work. They can also create a job post through the conversation, then continue to Upwork to make the hire — where Uma™, Upwork's AI work agent, helps manage the project to completion.
Claude users can get started with prompts like:
- “Start an Upwork job post for a data analyst who can build an AI system that turns our raw customer support transcripts into weekly trend reports.”
- “Our finance team spends hours on manual reporting every month. Can you help me find an AI automation expert on Upwork who can build a solution to fix that?”
- “I've drafted this product spec in Claude. Find me a senior engineer who's shipped similar features and can build it.”
When Shane Pope, CEO of Reflect Technology, set out to build Remi, an AI-powered mental wellness app, he turned to Upwork to find the AI expertise he needed. The app went from idea to the App Store in four months. “Sometimes you're working through a business problem and you realize you need an expert — and a real person would be 10 times more helpful than AI alone,” said Shane. “Being able to find that person on Upwork right there in the same conversation, without the back-and-forth, just removes the friction that makes you put it off.”
The Claude integration follows the launch of an Upwork app for ChatGPT in April, and is part of Upwork’s growing effort to expand access to expert talent inside the tools where ideas take shape.
All Claude users can get started now by connecting the Upwork app within Claude. Learn more at: upwork.com/claudeapp-support.
About Upwork
Upwork Inc.’s (Nasdaq: UPWK) family of companies connects businesses with global, AI-enabled talent across every contingent worker classification. This portfolio includes the Upwork Marketplace, which connects businesses with on-demand access to highly skilled talent across the globe, and Lifted, which provides a purpose-built solution for enterprise organizations to source, contract, manage, and pay talent across the full spectrum of contingent work. From Fortune 100 enterprises to entrepreneurs, businesses rely on Upwork Inc. to find and hire expert talent, leverage AI-powered work solutions, and drive business transformation. With access to professionals spanning more than 10,000 skills across AI & machine learning, software development, sales & marketing, customer support, finance & accounting, and more, the Upwork family of companies enables businesses of all sizes to scale, innovate, and transform their workforces for the age of AI and beyond.
Since its founding, Upwork Inc. has facilitated more than $30 billion in total transactions and services as it fulfills its purpose to create opportunity in every era of work. Learn more about the Upwork Marketplace at upwork.com and follow on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X; learn more about Lifted at go-lifted.com and follow on LinkedIn.
Contact:
Elisabeth Hutchinson
[email protected]