In late April and early May 2025, claims (archived) circulated online that Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn said the language-learning app would become "AI-first" and replace contractors with artificial intelligence.
One post, which was viewed more than five million times on X at the time of this writing, said: "Duolingo confirms they're going to start replacing contractors with AI. Their CEO says they will become an 'AI-first' company/"
The claim also appeared on Facebook (archived), Threads (archived) and TikTok (archived), with many users pledging (archived) (archived) (archived) to cancel paid memberships due to the reported change.
The claim was, broadly, true. On April 28, 2025, Duolingo posted (archived) a companywide email from von Ahn on its LinkedIn profile, a genuine account linked from its Careers website. In the email, von Ahn said that "Duolingo is going to be AI-first." The email outlined a number of ways the language-learning app would be changing the way it worked to accommodate this, including that it would "gradually stop using contractors to do work that AI can handle."
We reached out to Duolingo to ask the company to clarify whether it had already stopped working with contractors due to the shift toward AI. We also asked how many roles it expected the move would affect and await a reply.
Von Ahn's message to staff began: "I've said this in Q&As and many meetings, but I want to make it official: Duolingo is going to be Al-first."
Following a section on the ways in which technological innovation had helped Duolingo in the past, von Ahn outlined how his "AI-first" strategy would affect existing workers:
We'll be rolling out a few constructive constraints to help guide this shift:
- We'll gradually stop using contractors to do work that Al can handle
- Al use will be part of what we look for in hiring
- Al use will be part of what we evaluate in performance reviews
- Headcount will only be given if a team cannot automate more of their work
- Most functions will have specific initiatives to fundamentally change how they work
It was unclear whether Duolingo had already ended partnerships with contractors in favor of AI or when the gradual stop would begin.
However, despite the announcement on contractors and headcount, von Ahn said the move toward AI was not about moving away from human workers. He wrote:
All of this said, Duolingo will remain a company that cares deeply about its employees. This isn't about replacing Duos with Al. It's about removing bottlenecks so we can do more with the outstanding Duos we already have. We want you to focus on creative work and real problems, not repetitive tasks. We're going to support you with more training, mentorship, and tooling for Al in your function.
It was unclear at the time of this writing how the move toward AI would affect Duolingo financially. The company reported 38% year-over-year profits in the first quarter of 2025, with growth driven by "strong user momentum and increased adoption of our premium subscription tiers," according to von Ahn.