Are you wondering how to break into the AI training field and what AI training sites are legit?
Keep reading; we have the details you’re searching for!
It seems like every day, tech companies are developing new real-world applications for machine learning, creating everything from chatbots to educational programs that create an individualized learning experience. If you’ve been looking for a work from home job that offers the flexibility to make your own schedule and has very few prerequisites, AI training work that helps develop and refine artificial intelligence is worth looking into.
Testing and refining all those up-and-coming AI technologies requires a lot of labor, and many jobs don’t require a nuanced understanding of complex concepts like neural networks or generative AI to get started. To help you sort through it all, I took a deep dive into Reddit to learn which AI work platforms Redditors say offer the best work from home opportunities.
Getting Started in AI Training Work
AI trainers work on a wide range of AI projects, focusing on tasks like application-specific writing projects, developing prompts, or image classification. Many platforms hire a fairly broad cross-section of workers with various skills and subject familiarity. Sure, some projects might require professionals with STEM knowledge — a background in coding or experience with complex statistics or linear algebra. But there are also plenty of projects that simply need strong writers with a keen eye for detail to chat with deep learning models or to Google information to determine which chatbot responses are more accurate.
If you’re new to AI training work or you don’t have a solid understanding of AI fundamentals, don’t let that stop you from getting involved in what could prove to be a lucrative field, particularly if you’re a strong self-starter or you work well with self-paced learning opportunities. There are even a handful of instructors out in the webosphere offering free online courses to help beginners learn the core concepts of using AI tools.
Reddit’s Favorite AI Training Sites
I first started in data training just over a year ago after I learned of the opportunity while poking around in subreddits like r/overemployed and r/beermoney. As a full-time freelance writer, I’m always looking for writing-related opportunities that allow me the scheduling flexibility, personal bandwidth, and professional wiggle room to continue working in a creative field.
It was on those subreddits that I first learned about Redditors sharing their experiences working for $20 to $30 an hour without any special credentials or professional certificates. This encouraged me to sign up on DataAnnotation.tech, where I would earn around $14,000 within the first year.
While there are plenty of other AI training sites catching buzz on Reddit, a few seem to be offering more consistent work, pay, and tech support. Here’s a breakdown of Reddit’s top AI training sites and what Redditors are saying about them.
1. DataAnnotation Tech
The onboarding process for DataAnnotation can be a bit intense — you’ll want to set aside a fair chunk of time for the qualifications and be sure to put your full effort into completing them. But, for those who perform well, the site can consistently offer work ranging from $20 to $35 per hour or even higher, depending on an individual’s AI skills.
The site offers many jobs focusing on natural language processing and rating chatbot responses. They also often provide higher-paying projects for AI trainers with coding experience, particularly in Python and HTML. “DataAnnotation is great, but you really need to be on top of your writing and editing game,” advised Reddit user u/s3rndpt. “With that said, I’m making $20-22 an hour on there, and I’ve heard of some people who make $25+. So far, there’s been no shortage of tasks, so I spend 2-3 hours a day working on the projects.”
Although some users complained that they never received work after completing their qualifications, DataAnnotation Tech still has plenty of fans on Reddit. “This website has been a godsend to this substitute teacher,” wrote u/ThadeusOfNazereth. “I’ve essentially doubled my income since joining, and it helps that I find a lot of the tasks pretty fun.”
For workers performing consistent work on the platform, the company pays out on PayPal one week after completing hourly projects.
- DataAnnotation Tech gets a 3.9-star rating out of 5 on Glassdoor.com.
2. TaskVerse
Unlike other data training sites that target more complex projects, TaskVerse offers a larger pool of low-barrier-to-entry data training projects. Although the site does offer some writing and LLM (large language model) projects, it also offers a lot of computer vision data projects, like iPhone image and video uploads. While most projects require a quality assurance audit before paying out, many Redditors reported getting paid within about three weeks.
Redditor u/One-Hospital-5561 wrote, “They’re really picky with their requirements so I had to resubmit a few times, but that was just cause I wasn’t very careful the first time […] From signing up to getting paid took about 3 weeks including my rejected submissions.”
- TaskVerse gets a 2.4-star rating out of 5 on Trustpilot.
3. TELUS Digital
TELUS Digital has a fairly large community on Reddit. This site seems to work a little differently from most AI training sites. Instead of signing up and then testing or training in various AI projects, TELUS candidates need to apply individually for the jobs they are interested in. In addition to data training, the company offers a wide range of work from home employment opportunities, such as call center representatives, internet safety evaluators, mystery shoppers, and content moderators.
TELUS also seems to offer more stability than some AI sites, with some users reporting year-long contracts for their projects. Redditor u/plathified wrote, “I’ve been working for them for nearly a year and I’ve had zero issues; paid regularly. I’m very grateful.”
- TELUS Digital gets a 3.5-star rating out of 5 on Glassdoor.com.
4. CrowdGen by Appen
Unlike some other AI training platforms, CrowdGen has a fairly painless signup process that doesn’t put users through a rigorous testing process before allowing access to projects. There’s typically a wide range of projects available at many different skill levels, and each task generally comes with an easy-to-follow instruction set. Tasks might include, for example, image collection, text identification, or confirming information via web browser search.
The platform requires a fairly thorough identification process, but with good reason. As the disclaimer pop-up warns new users at signup, CrowdGen has been heavily targeted by scammers posing as valid users. The site also warns that quite a few scammers are using a fake CrowdGen site to phish information, so be sure you’re using the official CrowdGen by Appen site before sharing any personal information. Users also suggest filling out as much demographic information as possible to yield more tasks, since some AI companies are looking for certain types of users to diversify their models’ inputs.
Like most AI platforms, CrowdGen takes contracts from AI companies, and some users say the experience can vary from one task to the next. While this can be a bit frustrating, there are plenty of users who report consistent work and pay with the site. As Redditor u/Pluto102538 reported, “I’ve worked on a few projects on Appen (CrowdGen) for about 2 yr. For all its flaws, the platform has paid me correctly.”
CrowdGen has also recently updated the entire platform and payout system for a better user interface and pay flexibility. For the best user experience, check the platform regularly and watch your email for new projects.
- CrowdGen gets a 3.0-star rating out of 5 on Glassdoor.com.
5. Datavio.ai
Datavio.ai is set up a bit differently than most other AI training platforms. Formerly Teamwork.ai, this platform looks more like a job search platform than a typical AI training site, offering users various projects to test into. And although past Teamwork employees say the number of available projects seemed to drop after the initial change, the platform is currently loaded with job listings. It’s even searchable by job, location, and language.
One of the best things about Datavio is the availability of projects for global users. A common complaint among AI trainers living outside the United States is how few quality projects they are offered on most platforms. Datavio has a long list of available opportunities for users both in and outside the United States. They also have several opportunities for users with prior experience and knowledge on more advanced topics — for example, yoga instructors, dental industry workers, or finance experts.
Users on Reddit appreciate the platform’s clear communication and fair compensation, with the site popping up frequently on Reddit queries asking for the best work from home sites. Adding Datavio to their list of favorite AI training platforms, one Redditor emphasized the site has “pretty good projects and a very low barrier to entry” before concluding, “This is kind of a golden age for AI training and once you make it in, skill-adjacent doors will open for you.”
- Datavio gets a 3.5-star rating out of 5 on Glassdoor.com.
6. LXT
Recently absorbed into the Clickworker platform, ostensibly greatly improving the Clickworker experience, LXT is an AI training platform with a long history of positive worker experience.
One of the more frustrating aspects of AI training with most platforms is the wait for payouts. While DataAnotation.tech allows users to cash out just a week after finishing most projects and receive payouts every three days, there are plenty of fairly popular AI job sites that force users to wait a month between payouts and even longer to have some projects confirmed. Users who have experienced this pain point will appreciate LXT’s weekly payouts — not to mention the decent pay. Some users also report longer work longevity than other platforms, which see frequent reports of worker cullings.
Writing on r/WFHJobs, u/TraditionalFlower389 reported, “I work on my own schedule most of the time and get good money…LXT also pays better than other similar companies in a lot of projects. That’s my experience for almost 4 years now.”
- LXT gets a 3.1-star rating out of 5 on Glassdoor.com.
7. RWS
RWS offers mostly standard AI training jobs, like data labeling, image processing, rating, and search engine work, with some niche opportunities. Notably, the RWS site features a downloadable “candidate commitment” that includes a focus on timely communication with job applicants, something that is sorely lacking in the world of AI training, where it’s not uncommon to sign up, take hours worth of tests, and never hear from anyone about how you performed or whether you’re actually still being considered for work.
Rather than sign up and receive opportunities to test for various AI training projects, RWS allows users to browse the platform’s job postings and apply for jobs that seem like a good fit. There’s also an option to apply for the global TrainAI talent pool. And if you’ve got the necessary cookies enabled, it’s super easy to sign up using the built-in Simplify autofill feature.
RWS users on Reddit appreciate the regular work and the fact that the amount of available work under some projects can increase over time, even if the work isn’t always thrilling. As u/acarine- put it, “Been provided plenty of work in an AI-based project since I joined a few weeks back. Great pay for what it is, just mind-numbingly boring.”
- RWS gets a 3.5-star rating out of 5 on Glassdoor.com.
8. Pareto.ai
If you’re tired of losing hours of your life applying to AI gigs with long entry qualifications that don’t pay you a dime, you might appreciate Pareto.ai’s onboarding process, since they actually pay users who are chosen for projects in a fully paid trial for each project. The platform invites users to sign up for the general AI training pool, which potentially leads to additional, more niche projects down the road for users with more specific skillsets. They pay twice monthly, and the platform boasts competitive pay and a simple, seven-minute signup process as two of their big draws for workers.
Users who get regular work for the site say it’s pretty standard industry fare with regular pay. “I’ve been getting a lot of tasks to do, and they are pretty much straightforward with the payments. I can’t really complain about them,” reported u/Allandoblell on r/beermoney. Take your time with the qualifications on this platform; users say it can really pay off.
- Pareto.ai gets a 3.5-star rating out of 5 on PaidFromSurveys.com.
9. Welo Data (Welocalize)
Welo Data is the AI training arm of language translation company Welocalize, which connects workers to highly specialized language opportunities (think French or Japanese Music Content Specialist). Most of Welo’s listed AI training gigs are for linguists, but there is a specific entry on the job board for AI generalists (AI trainers with a solid foundation on generative AI tools and their practical applications), especially for those with translation experience.
While some Reddit users expressed frustration with recent efforts on Welo’s part to step up the quality control without an adequate pay adjustment, users typically say it’s par for the course in the industry. Most Reddit reviews tend to read a lot like this one from u/No-Jackfruit-9189: “I’ve been with WeLo for almost a year and have had a steady paycheck for the whole time.” Or as u/No_Marionberry_2504 put it, “I think it’s worth it. Work is patchy right now but I’ve still been able to make a nice chunk of money every few weeks. If you have the time, I think it is very much worth it for a WFH job.”
- Welocalize gets a 3.5-star rating out of 5 on Glassdoor.com.
AI Training Sites for AI Innovators
With new AI training sites cropping up all the time and plenty of resources out there to help you get started, now is a great time to get started in the world of data training. Even if you’re just in it for a little extra cash to supplement your primary work at home income, getting an intro into the intersection of machine learning and human insight can be a solid addition to your resume skill set.
As participants in the Reddit AI training and online work communities demonstrate, moving into AI training is easier than you might think. Do you have a favorite AI training site or know of any free courses to get started in AI training? We’d love to hear about the best AI courses and websites you’ve encountered — drop us a comment!
