AI Is Taking Over at Duolingo: Content, Reviews, and Even Jobs
Duolingo, the world’s most popular language learning app, is making a big shift in how it runs. The company has announced that it’s now becoming an AI-first organisation, meaning artificial intelligence will be at the core of how it operates — from creating lessons to reviewing employee performance.
As part of this move, Duolingo will start replacing many of its human contractors with AI tools. CEO Luis von Ahn shared the news in an internal email, saying the goal is to use AI for repetitive or time-consuming tasks, so human employees can focus on more creative and complex work.
“We’ll gradually stop using (human) contractors to do work that AI can handle,” von Ahn wrote.
AI Will Now Handle Lessons, Reviews, and More
One of the biggest changes is in content creation. Usually, Duolingo’s lessons take months (even years) to develop. Now, with generative AI, they’re planning to build and launch new lessons way faster.
Instead of relying on manual work, the company will now use AI systems to speed up lesson development. This is expected to allow the platform to roll out new content much faster than before. Duolingo will also begin using AI in internal areas like employee performance reviews and hiring decisions. According to the CEO, new hiring will only happen if a team can’t automate more of its tasks using AI.
The company has told employees to automate whatever parts of their jobs they can and will provide training and mentorship to help them learn how to use AI effectively.
They’re also putting AI into things like product development, and basically anything that can be streamlined. Many seemed to agree, “If AI can do it, let it.”
It’s Not Just About Cutting Jobs
To be fair, the company says this move isn’t just about reducing headcount. It’s more about getting past creative slowdowns and building things quicker. They’re also offering training so employees can learn how to use AI tools in their daily work.
Still, it sounds like contractor roles — especially ones that involve repetitive tasks — are definitely on the way out.
Duolingo Isn’t Alone
This isn’t just a Duolingo thing. Shopify did something similar earlier this year, telling teams they need to explain why AI can’t do a task before asking to hire someone. It’s kind of becoming the new normal in tech.