A new Samsung study found that nearly 70% of Gen Z side hustlers now consider artificial intelligence critical to their success, a sign of how quickly young workers are integrating AI tools into their independent work. The finding lands as side hustles shift from spare-change projects into serious backup careers.
For anyone already self-employed, this trend is reshaping the competitive field. A wave of AI-equipped newcomers is entering the same freelance and creator markets that established solo workers rely on for income.
What The Data Actually Shows
Gen Z now accounts for 34% of US workers with a side hustle, the highest share of any generation, ahead of millennials at 31%, Gen X at 23%, and boomers at 22%. More than half of Gen Z, about 57%, report at least one side hustle, compared with 52% of millennials.
Roughly 39% of Gen Z workers use AI to earn side income, tapping tools that write, design, and code tasks that once took years to master. The broader gig and side hustle market is now worth more than $674 billion in 2026, giving these efforts real economic weight.
Why This Matters For Self-Employed Workers
About 21% of Gen Z hustlers say they want to turn their side project into a full-time career, which means today’s part-time competitor could be tomorrow’s full-time rival. Reuters reported earlier this year that Gen Z is the most anxious generation about AI’s effect on work, and many are building backup careers as a hedge.
That anxiety is showing up in the job market, where postings seeking AI agent skills have surged. For solo veterans, the lesson is that AI fluency is quickly becoming table stakes rather than a differentiator.
What Self-Employed Readers Should Do Next
Audit your own workflow for tasks that AI can speed up, from drafting proposals to editing images, so you keep pace with lower-cost newcomers. The goal is to spend the hours you save on the judgment and client relationships that software cannot replicate.
It also pays to sharpen your positioning. As AI floods the market with generalist output, clients increasingly pay a premium for narrow expertise, a track record, and dependable delivery.
What To Watch Next
Watch whether the flood of AI-assisted freelancers pushes entry-level rates down even as demand for specialized work climbs. Pricing pressure at the bottom of the market often pushes experienced solo workers to move upmarket or productize their services.
Readers weighing the same move can review how peers are handling the shift in coverage of side hustles going mainstream. The trend rewards those who treat their independent work like a real business from day one.
Photo by Garrhet Sampson: Unsplash
