Amazon to shut down Mechanical Turk crowdsourcing platform by Sept 30, 2026

Published Aug 26, 12:41 AM UTC

Amazon announced it will shut down Mechanical Turk (MTurk), its 21-year-old crowdsourced work platform, effective September 30, 2026. Launched in 2005, MTurk matched workers with simple digital tasks like data labeling and transcription, which founder Jeff Bezos called 'artificial artificial intelligence.' The platform once served over 500,000 workers but has been in decline due to rapid advances in AI models and the rise of competing data startups such as Scale AI, Mercor, and Prolific. A 2023 study found up to 46% of MTurk workers used AI to complete tasks. Amazon stopped accepting new customers last month, signaling the closure. Some insurance and travel companies still depend on MTurk and are now seeking alternatives. Worker advocacy group Turkopticon noted the platform provided meaningful income and flexible remote work for many.