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Outlier, run by Scale AI, finds people to train and test AI models. You keep one account and apply through a listing. Then come general onboarding and, for each project, its own onboarding. Outlier describes general onboarding as creating an account, choosing your areas of expertise, skill screenings and identity verification, and says it typically takes 30 to 90 minutes.
- Build your profile on app.outlier.ai: your CV, your LinkedIn and your areas of expertise.
- Confirm your identity with a government ID and, where asked, your location.
- Validate your skills in the skill screenings.
- Pass project onboarding: read the project’s guidelines and complete its assessment tasks.
- Start work on the projects you’re invited to, paid weekly.
Pay starts once you’ve finished onboarding and started a project. Project lengths vary, projects may not always match your field, and you can join others after one ends.
Sources: Outlier FAQ · General Inbound listing · Outlier home page
Before you start
- Where you live. You must work from a country on Outlier’s Working Location Policy. Countries not on its list are not supported: Nigeria, Kenya, Pakistan, Ghana, China and Russia are among those not listed. Outlier’s community guidelines also name Ukraine, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria as restricted.
- The listing’s countries. A project can add its own limits, and listings are often narrower than the policy. On 2 November 2026 the two General Inbound listings accepted only Argentina, Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, the UK and the US.
- Age and right to work. You must be 18, or the age of majority where you live, and allowed to work in your country of residence. Outlier doesn’t sponsor visas. International students on a visa may be able to sign up, and Outlier suggests asking a tax or immigration adviser first. Students of legal working age can work part-time, and you can work alongside a job.
- Education. At least an associate degree; some projects need a bachelor’s, master’s or PhD. One listing asks for someone studying for or holding a bachelor’s degree, so check each listing.
- A valid ID and a mobile phone from your country of residence.
- A current CV that shows your expertise, and a LinkedIn profile with your education and work history.
- Reliable internet. Projects with live conversations also need a computer, headphones and a quiet place.
- No VPN. Outlier doesn’t allow a VPN or similar tool to mislead about your location or identity unless an administrator asks. Outlier may not be available where you travel, and the same rule applies there.
The Working Location Policy is the wider list. Each listing shows the countries it accepts: check that list before you apply.
Sources: Working Location Policy · Community guidelines · Opportunities · Outlier FAQ · Terms of use · Image and Video Judge listing
Creating your account
- Go to app.outlier.ai/opportunities (“View Opportunities” on outlier.ai) and choose a listing. There is no separate careers page.
- Choose Continue with Google, or sign up with your email. Signing up means you accept Outlier’s terms, including its Independent Contractor Agreement and Arbitration Agreement.
- Create your profile, then import and review your skills.
- Give the details the terms ask for: your name, address, country of residence, mobile number and payment details, and in some cases a Social Security number.
The “General Inbound” listings are a way to register your interest: Outlier says it will reach out as projects that fit your skills become available.
Keep to one account. Outlier’s terms allow only one per person, and you may not open a new one after a suspension without Outlier’s permission. Questions before you sign up go to [email protected].
Creative work
Outlier has a separate route for creative work. You create a free account, verify your identity, then submit a piece of your own work with a write-up of the brief, your role, the tools and your process. The team reviews it, and each approved submission is paid between $50 and $1,500. You must own the work or hold clear rights to it.
Sources: Outlier home page · Sign-up page · General Inbound listing · Terms of use · Outlier FAQ · Creators
Your CV and profile
Outlier reviews your CV against the minimum requirements for each area of expertise, which are listed with each opportunity, and describes its screening as competitive. Scale AI says a model matches people to projects using their background, skills, profile and past work on Outlier.
- Be specific. List the fields you have real expertise in, with the experience behind each one.
- Keep your CV and LinkedIn consistent with the expertise you claim. Misrepresenting your identity, location or experience is against Outlier’s rules.
What the listings ask for
- Strong written communication and attention to detail.
- Expertise or professional experience in any field.
- Reliable internet and the ability to work on your own.
- For the image and video judge role: fluent English, the patience to zoom in and replay, experience writing short explanations based on evidence, and being comfortable making a call when both options have flaws.
Sources: Outlier FAQ · Scale AI: data quality · Community guidelines · General Inbound listing · Image and Video Judge listing
Identity and location checks
On current listings, confirming your identity comes before the skill screenings.
- Outlier uses service providers such as Persona. The check can collect a government ID, selfies, and images, video or audio, and can create face measurements. In some cases another option may be offered. The data is kept for up to two years after your last interaction.
- You may need to verify your location with a government ID. The verified location becomes your Primary Location, which decides which tax forms you get.
- If you move to another country or US state, update your Primary Location. You may need an ID for the new place.
- Background checks are optional, through a screening company Outlier doesn’t name.
Finish the check in one go, with an ID from the country you live in. Outlier’s terms say that not giving proof of identity when asked can lead to denied access.
Sources: General Inbound listing · Privacy policy · Working Location Policy · Flexible working guidelines · Terms of use
Skill screenings
Skill screenings let Outlier match you with suitable projects. Since April 2025 you can also start skill screenings yourself, to open up new projects.
Outlier doesn’t publish the format, length or pass mark of its skill screenings, whether there are practice versions, whether you can retake them, or whether they’re paid.
What to have ready
- Time. Outlier gives 30 to 90 minutes for the whole of general onboarding.
- Headphones and a quiet place for audio and video listings. Some listings include a short spoken English check.
- Other apps and tabs closed. On projects with screen monitoring, screenshots are taken while an interview or course session is open, and they can capture anything on your screen.
Interviews
Outlier’s screen-monitoring notice covers interview sessions, but its pages give no format, length or retake rules for an interview. Applicants on Trustpilot report a skills or AI interview in some applications: three reviews from October 2026, one of them describing the interview videos cutting off part-way.
Sources: Outlier FAQ · Scale AI: updates for contributors · Image and Video Judge listing · Screen monitoring · Trustpilot reviews
Project onboarding
After general onboarding, each project has its own onboarding, which varies by project. You review the project’s guidelines and complete assessment tasks, which decide whether you qualify.
- Complete every test the project asks for. Outlier’s rules require all of a project’s certification and qualification tests.
- Read the guidelines and materials before you take a task. The rules say to take only tasks you have prepared for.
- Point to the evidence. The image and video listing asks you to rate each output on adherence, quality and realism, then write a specific explanation of what you saw or heard.
- Expect a lower rate during onboarding. Listings say lower rates apply to non-core work, such as initial project onboarding and overtime phases.
Scale AI says its Archie system checks each piece of work against the project’s quality rules, with human experts reviewing the unclear cases.
Sources: Outlier FAQ · Community guidelines · Image and Video Judge listing · Scale AI: data quality
AI tools and conduct
Outlier’s listings say AI tools can’t be used to write your ratings and explanations: they must be your own work. Its community guidelines ask you to do tasks yourself, without help from other people, bots, scripts, or third-party materials or tools, unless an administrator requires them. Scale AI says its checks look at whether a response was likely written by another AI model, at behaviour that suggests low-effort or inauthentic work, and at spam.
Screen monitoring
On projects with monitoring, Outlier takes a screenshot about once a minute while a paid task timer runs, and while an interview or course session is open. Some projects, and work flagged for an integrity concern, also record screen video, up to 30 minutes a day. Monitoring is required on those projects: if you decline, the session doesn’t start and no paid time builds up. Your webcam, microphone and keystrokes are not recorded. The capture covers your whole screen or window, so close anything unrelated first.
What can lose you your account
- a second account, or a new account after a suspension without Outlier’s permission;
- letting someone else use your account, sharing your sign-in, or buying or selling accounts;
- false account details, or misrepresenting your identity, location or experience;
- a VPN used to mislead about where you are;
- gaming tools or instructions to raise your pay, or using or sharing bugs;
- sharing instructions, screenshots, images or audio, discussing projects outside approved channels, or copying material to personal email, devices or cloud storage.
Outlier can remove you from tasks, disable your account or set other limits. Its terms let it end the agreement at once, without notice, for any reason. It can hold back pay for inaccurate or inadequate work, delay pay during an investigation, and refuse pay already earned after a breach. It publishes no appeal process.
Sources: Image and Video Judge listing · Community guidelines · Scale AI: data quality · Screen monitoring · Terms of use
Invitations and first work
- Matching uses your skill screenings and the review of your CV. Scale AI says a model also uses your background, skills, profile and past work, and that you can move on to harder work as you show ability.
- Invitations are yours to accept or decline. Declining doesn’t reduce the number you’re offered.
- Marketplace, a tab on the dashboard rolling out since April 2025, lets you choose which work to take on, with a back-up project set for you.
- Expert Match lets Outlier’s customers search for contributors, screen them and invite them to projects. You can accept or decline.
- Support is through the support link on your dashboard. An AI chatbot answers first and can pass you to a person. Outlier also has a community forum at community.outlier.ai, for signed-in contributors, and its about page mentions weekly webinars and office hours.
Sources: Outlier FAQ · Scale AI: data quality · Scale AI: updates for contributors · Scale AI: Expert Match · About Outlier
Pay, tax and hours
- When: weekly, on Tuesdays, for work from the previous Tuesday to Monday (midnight UTC). You’re paid once tasks are completed and verified.
- How: Outlier’s FAQ lists PayPal, Airtm or ACH bank transfer, but current listings say “Paid via PayPal and AirTM” only. Set up PayPal or Airtm to be safe. Payments from abroad go through a locally authorised institution, changes in exchange rates are yours to bear, and expenses aren’t refunded.
- Rates: hourly or per task, shown before each project. They depend on your expertise, your skills assessment, your location and the project’s needs. Lower rates apply during onboarding and overtime phases. Missions, Outlier’s incentive scheme, add on average 7.5% to core rates, its listings say.
- Contract: you’re an independent contractor (listings call it “a 1099 contract opportunity”), with no employment benefits. Outlier doesn’t set when you work, and you may work for others.
- Tax: Outlier doesn’t take off tax except where the law requires it. Register as self-employed, or the local equivalent, with your tax authority, and file and pay your own tax. Your Primary Location decides which tax forms you get.
- Hours: no minimum. You choose when and how much you work, and earnings depend on your hours each week. Paid sessions run on a timer; on monitored projects, paid time stops if you stop sharing your screen. Outlier publishes no maximum.
Sources: Outlier FAQ · General Inbound listing · Image and Video Judge listing · Terms of use · Working Location Policy · Screen monitoring
Why applications stall
Outlier publishes no time from onboarding to a first task, and its pages don’t mention an “empty queue”. The reasons its own pages give for applications going nowhere:
- a CV that doesn’t meet the minimum requirements for the area you chose;
- living in a country that isn’t on the Working Location Policy, or on the listing’s list;
- not giving proof of identity when asked;
- answers written by AI, which Scale AI checks for;
- skipping a project’s qualification tests, or taking tasks without reading the materials.
Outlier also says that projects may not always match your field, and that declining an invitation doesn’t reduce how many you get.
What applicants report
Applicants on Trustpilot report periods with no tasks after onboarding: at least four reviews between September and November 2026, from contributors both happy and unhappy with Outlier, describe work that comes and goes. Many recent one-star reviews describe an account closed with only a general mention of “violations”, and some describe failing an assessment or interview without feedback, trouble with the ID check before an account was closed, or pay held during a review. Outlier replied to one of these that a human review had found breaches of its terms. Five-star reviews often mention weekly pay arriving on time, and advise reading each project’s guidelines carefully. These are a handful of reports, not a measure of how often each thing happens.
Sources: Outlier FAQ · Working Location Policy · Terms of use · Scale AI: data quality · Community guidelines · Trustpilot reviews
Official addresses and scams
- Outlier’s sites are outlier.ai and app.outlier.ai (listings, sign-in and dashboard), with a forum at community.outlier.ai for signed-in contributors.
- The addresses Outlier publishes are [email protected] (questions before sign-up), [email protected], [email protected] (security incidents) and [email protected] (opting out of arbitration).
- The companies behind it are Scale AI, Inc. and Smart Ecosystem Inc., doing business as Outlier AI. Remotasks and HFC are sister platforms.
- Outlier’s pages ask for no fee at any step. It has published no scam warning or list of sending addresses of its own.
- Pretending to be an Outlier administrator is against its rules.
Sources: Outlier home page · Outlier FAQ · Community guidelines · Terms of use · Our official-sites checker
From Outlier's own help pages, read on 2 November 2026, and, where marked, what applicants report. Platforms change their process; their own pages are the final word. See also how to spot a fake job.