This might be a hot take but this is how I feel.

I run a number of socials and have some websites. I have been fairly successful in that I was able to earn a living from the comfort of my home, working around 4 hours a day. Since around 2022, I saw everything going down. Revenue, traffic, views, followers, interactions, sales, etc. etc.

I am somewhat of a jack of all trades when it comes to earning online so I was able to shift things around to make up for losses but I still took a sizable hit.

The only thing I can see changing everything this drastically and all at once is AI. I know this is around the time when everyone started using it. Companies started putting it in browsers, on phones, in online stores like Amazon. It was all over social media (and still is) and I saw massive amounts of it all over YouTube. I will be transparent in saying that I hate most of it so maybe my blame is factored by this, I don't know.

I just feel like AI is ruining the internet. Especially for freelancers and those of us that multitask online for a living. Am I the only one that feels this way?

Nah, you’re not crazy. A lot of stuff really did get weird around 2022/2023.

Blogs stopped getting clicks because Google just started giving people the answer. Every niche got flooded with the same recycled AI crap. Amazon reviews, YouTube thumbnails, bios, captions — it all started sounding/looking the same.

And that hurts freelancers because so much of the work used to come from people randomly finding you. That’s way harder now.

I don’t think you did anything wrong. You kept adjusting, but the ground moved under everyone.

The only thing I’d say is people are already tired of the fake polished stuff. A lot of AI content has this dead, corporate vibe to it. So maybe there’s still room for people who sound like actual people.

Still sucks though.

A lot of this is down to Google shifting around. Most people use Google as a default browser. I personally don't. I use Brave's now and find it to be better for most things. I will use Google only for finding local businesses and locations.

Anyways, AI has taken a lot of work from freelancers and has also caused companies to downsize and fired in-person workers. I have seen a lot of people come out of college unable to find work too since the AI boom. It is best to find something you are passionate about and can earn from and rely on yourself.

AI videos and AI pictures for sure are. I think there is a time and place for it but everyone is spamming it on social media, YouTube, etc. and it has just become too much.

I don't even bother looking for new content anymore before of it. They need filters to block this low-quality, sloppy content.