Retrenchment reversal as companies hire expensive AI cleanup specialists after cost-cutting backfires

Companies that rushed to replace human workers with AI are now paying premium rates to hire specialists who can fix the technology’s mistakes. This unexpected reversal is creating a lucrative niche market for writers and coders who specialize in cleaning up AI-generated work, often costing businesses more than if they had used human expertise from the start.

What you should know: The AI cost-cutting strategy is backfiring as companies discover that fixing AI mistakes requires expensive human intervention.

• Sarah Skidd, an American product marketing manager, spent 20 hours completely rewriting AI-generated copy at $100 per hour, costing the client $2,000 for work that would have been cheaper if done by a human initially.
• The original AI copy was described as “very basic” and “very vanilla” instead of the engaging, sales-focused content that was needed.

The big picture: A cottage industry has emerged around fixing AI’s shortcomings, with specialists commanding high rates for cleanup work.

• Sophie Warner, co-owner of UK digital marketing agency Create Designs, reports fielding increasing requests from clients to repair AI mistakes.
• “Before clients would message us if they were having issues with their site or wanted to introduce new functionality,” Warner told the BBC. “Now they are going to ChatGPT first.”

Key details: The cleanup process often takes longer and costs more than professional work would have originally.

• One client went without a website for three days and paid Create Designs nearly $500 to fix a small line of code that ChatGPT had written incorrectly.
• The original update would have taken about 15 minutes to implement manually.
• “We often have to charge an investigation fee to find out what has gone wrong, as they don’t want to admit it,” Warner said.

What they’re saying: Industry professionals emphasize that AI cannot replace human expertise and context.

• “While it seems like a quick and inexpensive option, AI rarely takes into account unique brand identity, target demographics, or conversion-focused design,” Warner explained. “It simply cannot replace the value of human expertise and context in our industry.”
• Skidd remains confident about job security: “Maybe I’m being naive, but I think if you are very good, you won’t have trouble.”

Why this matters: The trend reveals that companies’ rush to cut costs with AI may be creating more expensive problems than solutions, highlighting the continued importance of human expertise in professional work.