Duolingo will replace contract workers with AI

Duolingo plans to "gradually stop using contractors for tasks AI can handle," according to an all-hands email from co-founder and CEO Luis von Ahn, announcing the company’s shift to becoming “AI-first.” The email was also shared on Duolingo’s LinkedIn page.

Von Ahn explained that being "AI-first" will require the company to "rethink much of how we work" and that simply tweaking systems built for humans won’t be enough. As part of this transition, Duolingo will introduce “constructive constraints,” including reducing contractor use, integrating AI use into hiring and performance reviews, and only approving new hires if teams cannot automate the work.

Despite these changes, von Ahn emphasized that "Duolingo will remain a company that cares deeply about its employees," clarifying that the goal isn’t to replace workers with AI but to "remove bottlenecks" and let employees "focus on creative work and real problems instead of repetitive tasks."

Related: Shopify CEO says no new hires without proving AI can't do the job

“AI isn’t just about boosting productivity,” von Ahn said. “It brings us closer to our mission. To teach effectively, we need to produce massive amounts of content — and doing it manually doesn’t scale. One of our best recent decisions was replacing a slow manual content creation process with one powered by AI. Without it, scaling our content to reach more learners would take decades. We owe it to our learners to get this content to them as soon as possible.”

Von Ahn’s announcement mirrors a recent message from Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke, who told staff that any requests for more headcount or resources must first prove that AI cannot handle the work.

Below is von Ahn’s full memo posted on LinkedIn:

I’ve said this in Q&As and meetings, but I want to make it official: Duolingo is going AI-first.

AI is already transforming how work gets done. It’s not a matter of if or when — it’s happening right now. In times of major shifts, the worst thing a company can do is wait. Back in 2012, we bet on mobile while others stuck with companion apps for websites. We decided to go mobile-first because we saw it as the future. That decision helped us win iPhone App of the Year in 2013 and drove major organic growth.

Betting on mobile changed everything. We’re making a similar move now with AI.

AI isn’t just a productivity tool — it helps us deliver on our mission. Teaching at scale requires an enormous amount of content, and manual methods don’t cut it. Replacing a slow, manual content pipeline with AI-powered processes was one of our smartest moves. Without AI, it would take decades to expand our reach. Learners deserve access to this content now.

AI also enables new features, like Video Call, that were previously out of reach. For the first time, matching the quality of the best human tutors feels possible.

Becoming AI-first will require rethinking how we operate. Minor tweaks won’t be enough — in many areas, we’ll need to start from scratch. We know it won’t happen overnight. Teaching AI to navigate our codebase, for example, will take time. But we can’t wait for perfection. We’d rather move fast, accepting minor setbacks, than move slowly and miss the opportunity.

To help with this shift, we’re setting a few new guidelines:

Gradually phase out contractors for work that AI can manage

Make AI use a key factor in hiring decisions

Include AI use in performance evaluations

Approve new headcount only if the work can’t be automated

Require most teams to rethink their workflows with AI in mind

Even with these changes, Duolingo will continue to care deeply about our employees. This isn’t about replacing Duos with AI. It’s about eliminating bottlenecks so our outstanding team can focus on what really matters. We’ll support everyone with additional training, mentorship, and AI tools to help them thrive.

Change can be daunting, but I’m confident this is the right path for Duolingo. It will help us better fulfill our mission — and for employees, it means staying ahead by mastering how to leverage AI.

-Luis