Introducing Fiverr NEO, an AI matching tool

[donnovan86]

1 hour ago, vickieito said:

Briefs and Neo are more catered to those who are used to posting jobs rather than searching.

I know. But think about it, you might send a brief and receive the wrong person, same with Neo. You save way more time by searching yourself and picking manually. Anyway, some people might use it, but it's never going to replace manual search for a lot of buyers, I am sure of that. 

[vickieito]

1 minute ago, donnovan86 said:

it's never going to replace manual search for a lot of buyers, I am sure of that.

I agree - I think briefs were created just to tell people that there was a replacement for buyer requests (but not much effort/expectation was put into it) and Neo is just a shiny new toy that's there to show that Fiverr is using cutting-edge technology. I see briefs disappearing and Neo slowly evolving as AI technology improves. However, it's nowhere near where it should be in recommending a good freelancer to work with.

I think Neo would be better off as a Help Center assistant that can help users place the right support ticket, learn how to navigate the platform, its tools, and resources, and keep all of Fiverr's ToS and Community Standards.

[vickieito]

On 1/12/2024 at 12:53 PM, moikchap said:

I'm in Fiverr Select as buyer-only. I can't find it. Where in the UI should I be seeing it? (I'm using Microsoft Edge version 120 on PC)

It should be above your inbox conversations:

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[donnovan86]

30 minutes ago, vickieito said:

I think Neo would be better off as a Help Center assistant that can help users place the right support ticket, learn how to navigate the platform, its tools, and resources, and keep all of Fiverr's ToS and Community Standards.

Which it might become in the long run 🙂

[katakatica]

I tried to do what (maybe) other people would do and 'Google' myself with Neo, and it never got me as a result (which..might make sense, to be honest.) However, when I actually tried to look for people for a project that I actually have (I need social media set up for personal stuff), I noticed that it's not quite... there yet.

What I was looking for shouldn't be that hard to find (someone who works with social media with a flexible project and who's worked with the game industry), but Neo didn't send me a SINGLE relevant profile. I got all kinds of social media marketers (from level one and up, I think), but no one in my actual field. Now, I know it's a niche, but there HAS to be at least one person who has both game and marketing gigs (or something similar), right? 

I think NEO looks fancy and cool, but it'd been so much easier for me to find a freelancer myself. However, for new users, I can see NEO being VERY helpful. Still, I feel like it just feels kind of unpolished.

(also, something that I personally find interesting is that NEO remarks if a freelancer has a high rating as a 'pro' for them, but we are told that lower ratings should be normal and not everyone should be perfect...) I'm a bit concerned that this can become an issue later, but maybe I'm overthinking things.

 

[donnovan86]

10 minutes ago, katakatica said:

However, for new users, I can see NEO being VERY helpful.

True, but mostly freelancers. I doubt a business owner that's very busy will stay here and explain the AI what they need instead of browsing and finding on their own.

[katakatica]

On 1/18/2024 at 2:13 AM, vickieito said:

Neo also forgets me if I move to a different thread (it forgot my name and that I already told it that I was a TRS - sorry for the bad grammar!):

I'm OK with a clean slate in new conversations, but if Fiverr is selling NEO the way that one ad was showing (as a 'personal assistant' almost who helps with several things in a row/etc.) that might become an issue for some people.

I'm a bit concerned that you mention being a TRS, and it still directs you to 'start selling'. A quick 'Hey XY, I'm not the right channel for you to look for answers, hit up the TOS (not just 'start selling') or CS could feel different.

The biggest thing is, however, that when I was trying to PURCHASE a service (I went in again, curious if I could feed it more info) it seemed to forget/ignore criteria a well.

I'm hoping to launch something local in Sweden and don't want to rely on friends/etc. For ad translations and just other business stuff, I tried to look for someone who speaks Swedish - I got someone who speaks German, English and something else irrelevant.) My point is that if the service can't even filter someone out by a filter that EXISTS already.. I'm a bit worried. 

On 1/18/2024 at 5:27 AM, donnovan86 said:

True, but mostly freelancers. I doubt a business owner that's very busy will stay here and explain the AI what they need instead of browsing and finding on their own.

Hm, I guess it depends a lot. I think if someone wants a hands-off method (like briefs as well), it - could  - work, but otherwise, I'm not sure. Not as NEO is at the moment at least. 

[donnovan86]

1 hour ago, katakatica said:

Hm, I guess it depends a lot. I think if someone wants a hands-off method (like briefs as well), it - could  - work, but otherwise, I'm not sure. Not as NEO is at the moment at least. 

True, but even briefs are still hands-on because you might end up with multiple people turning down your brief. I will say this, I had only 1 brief job that I accepted and now that client is recurring. But as always, most people either wanted $100 worth of work for $30 or they didn't have any sense of direction or ideas about what they want. Even after they added the option to contact them, people were either not replying when asked for more info, or they asked extra work on top of what was in the brief. So in general, at least for me, Briefs were a waste of time. And I didn't have it at a super low price either, $30 briefs and above I think are fair, yet I was still getting pretty bad stuff.

[emmaki]

I feel like it takes me a lot longer to find a worse choice than if I just did the search myself, tbh. 

Also, Neo's a bit thick and apparently doesn't know the difference between first and second person pronouns. He also doesn't seem to realize who I am, or who he is, even. Bit of a rubbish conversationalist. Awful recommendation. (I asked for a cheap SEO writer before getting bored). Not interested in a helping a peasant uprising so he could like, be the new overlord or something (so he says). 

Does not know who Alf "Flamin' Galah" Stewart is. I rate this tool an F on that basis alone. If I may, I'd like to compare Neo with ChatGPT on this particular point (my conversation). ChatGPT even corrected my catastrophic mistake in mixing up two terrible long-running Australian soap operas before writing an exquisite bit of text. 

EDIT : Well, you be the judge. BTW, here's Fiverr's IG promo of Neo from August 2023. Has Neo had a lobotomy since then, or was that version of Neo a carefully-scripted fake conversation to dazzle and wow? 

Come on Fiverr - a significant portion of your marketplace has an issue with overpromising and underdelivering. I'll be nice and say Fiverr's leading by example here 🙂

Edited January 18 by emmaki
Promo vid chocka with MARKETING LIES added

[Kesha]

On 1/12/2024 at 5:53 PM, moikchap said:

I'm in Fiverr Select as buyer-only. I can't find it. Where in the UI should I be seeing it? (I'm using Microsoft Edge version 120 on PC)

Hi! If you go to your inbox, you should see a tab that says "Talk to Fiverr NEO". Let me know if you are still having trouble with this.

[Kesha]

On 1/14/2024 at 9:46 AM, hedayetsaadi556 said:

There should be some guidance for the sellers as well so they can do what is needed to gain success as buyers got a new tool.

Hi @hedayetsaadi556! Thanks for your suggestion. 

 

If you would like more seller resources, please check out our course on How to be a Successful Seller on Fiverr, if you have not already. Not only is the course for free, but you will also receive a badge on your Fiverr profile to help gain confidence from your potential buyers. Our Support and Education Center is another great resource for every seller on Fiverr, especially new sellers.

 

If you would like more resources to help maximize your experience, please consider checking out our Seller's Plus program, where you'll have a personal Customer Success Manager who will offer expert guidance to boost your business as a seller on Fiverr. You can learn more about the program here.

Wishing you success!

[katakatica]

40 minutes ago, emmaki said:

Has Neo had a lobotomy since then, or was that version of Neo a carefully-scripted fake conversation to dazzle and wow? 

See, this is where I'm a bit concerned (also, have I told you you're hilarious and make me crack up? 😛 ). ANYWAY, my point is a bit more serious (I swear.) When you shoot a promo video like that - sure, it's a new tool, it needs time, etc. - you need to know the limits of the tool. Neo does NOT seem to be even semi-close to that ad. I'm sure it'll take time to get started with it properly (since I'm guessing we are training it as we go?) but it's just a bit too 'dull' for my taste. 

I think if I could go to it and say, 'Hey Neo, I'm a writer who wants to publish an X-type book in x weeks but need everything but the writing,' it could actually arrange everything for me (cover, ads, etc. etc.) I'd be impressed and happy. But... until it struggles to find me someone who hits all targets for ONE thing... I'm cautious. 

(also, just based on the people I work with.. many people will speak English in a funky way. How will Neo adjust to that? Does it speak different languages/etc.?) (I'm honestly curious.)

 

[Kesha]

Loving all the feedback everyone! NEO is still in the early stages of development and we are constantly working to improve its design, functionality, and intelligence. Please be patient with us as we continue to make those changes overtime.

[emmaki]

I was quite rude to Neo in Greek, so it definitely speaks understands rude Greek (it moans if you try to speak in other languages about how it can only speak English. Perhaps Fiverr just made sure to throw a global/multilingual database of Bad Words and Phrases in? Like, what happens if I invoke the Virgin Mary and donkeys in vulgar, but non-scatalogical ways?). I'm now very excited to see if I get an automated warning from Fiverr for insulting a bot in a foreign language (not really)! Anyway, if Neo speaks multiple languages fairly well, I'd say that's worth advertising. And also noting that "your seller may not speak Welsh" or some other obscure, far-flung language with too many letters. And before any Welsh people reading this complain about my blatant anti-Welshism, let me remind you about the existence of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. 

The promo gave me more of an impression that it would work as some kind of project manager, so if you wanted to make a movie, you would start with the scriptwriter (or whatever) and then move on through everything through post production and marketing. So you'd go off and do the script, come back, and maybe Neo can see your review for the person you chose ✨through Neo✨ and also recollect whatever was said before and say right, time for idk, the storyboarding! Rinse and repeat until the buyer has has improbably finished their epic 3-hour Hollywood movie for their tiny muffin store's TikTok promo. On a budget of $100. 

But I think it definitely needs to be sped up. Or, at least like ChatGPT, painfully slowly type out each letter so at least there's a vague impression of something happening. People are impatient these days! Nobody wants to spend 1- minutes conversing with Slow-o when they can just go to the search, type in whatever, set filters, and find a whole bunch of sellers to (painfully) go though. But if Neo provides the wrong sellers, you're (from my very limited test) just going to v e r y  s l o w l y go through a whole bunch of sellers you don't like. 

And to be perfectly honest, I think we all know that there are certain unspoken criteria that make many buyers dismiss sellers without even going through the seller's profile/gigs whatever. It's perhaps unfortunate to tar entire groups of sellers like this, but then again, a casual look at the forum says it all with those same groups. 

So if Neo is at all "politically correct" or showing a bias beyond sheer numerical (dis)advantage, that might also work against Neo. On the other hand, is Fiverr being #cancelled (again) worse? I would ask Neo, but I don't think he would have anything interesting to say on this. I suppose it all depends on the buyer using Neo. Anyway, Fiverr, big corporations pander to modern-day sensibilities all the time without really meaning it in the quest for profits. In fact, I'm pretty sure that Micha would approve of my idea - if not already implemented - to somehow make Neo go over a buyer's history and detect certain -isms in their behavior and invisibly pander to them. Everyone wins!
 

Edited January 18 by emmaki
Learning that Neo tragically doesn't speak other languages after the exciting discovery that he'll tell you off if you do a swear at him

[victel]

On 1/14/2024 at 7:35 PM, anniejenkinson said:

This Neo is highly irritating, being in an overwhelming black box, dominating the messages when all I wish to do is interface with my buyers; why the heck do I need a huge Neo sign to assist me to do what I have successfully done alone for my whole professional life? Can we turn this wretched thing off?

It assumes we need hand-holding and spoon-feeding from AI at every opportunity. It's like some kind of buzzword each site feels it cannot survive without. Why? Are we advocating for the increasingly brain-dead user? Fiverr is throwing in regular pointless changes for its most experienced sellers who really only want to be aleft alone to get on with the generation and turnaround of business without all these 'helpful' diversions at every turn these days.

Honestly, it feels as if people with no business acumen are making many of the decisions.

I totally agree. It's taking up too much room on the message screen and is 100% useless to me as a seller. Is it removeable?

[webcut]

Hi @Kesha. I think Fiverr Neo should stop from Seller Account. It should be available from Buyer Account (Buyer Mood). As a Seller if that option comes to me, then that is not effective sure. But When I transfer my account to Buyer Account, then it must be effective for me.

[beendi]

I think its more irritating as i try to find a seller just for the testing purpose but it does not help me at all. Also a lot of things need to improved.

[emmaki]

A quick thought about Neo based on the past few critical comments: 

I think Fiverr should charge users $50 a month if they want to get rid of Neo in their inbox, but then make Neo awkwardly pop up all the time elsewhere, a bit like MS Clippy. If they just want to get rid of Neo-Clippy forever, I think a $100 monthly "Luddite tax" is also a fair solution. Users will be happy to have an AI-free Fiverr back, and Fiverr can wow and amaze investors with Neo's amazing AI money-making abilities.

This is a win-win situation. For Fiverr, either people will use Neo, thereby ticking a bunch of KPIs (probably), or they will pour cash into Fiverr's coffers not to use it, thereby monetizing Neo's non-use. For sellers and buyers, this presents a brilliant new opportunity to write 100-page long threads about what an evil globocorp Fiverr is and how it must be razed to the ground, a victim of its own delirious greed. 

I didn't bother running this idea by Neo, since he probably would have found an inferior mind to ruin this fantastic idea. And that's really a big problem with Neo right now, don't you think?

[donnovan86]

On 1/19/2024 at 10:21 PM, webcut said:

I think Fiverr Neo should stop from Seller Account. It should be available from Buyer Account (Buyer Mood). As a Seller if that option comes to me, then that is not effective sure. But When I transfer my account to Buyer Account, then it must be effective for me.

You realize that even if you are a seller, you can also buy stuff on Fiverr, right? 

[webcut]

20 minutes ago, donnovan86 said:

You realize that even if you are a seller, you can also buy stuff on Fiverr, right? 

Yes but I need this option when I change Seller mood to Buyer mood. As a seller option, it's not necessary at all. But When I change my mood seller to buyer, then they can attach this option for me. As a seller Inbox, this is unnecessary I think !

[donnovan86]

2 hours ago, webcut said:

Yes but I need this option when I change Seller mood to Buyer mood. As a seller option, it's not necessary at all. But When I change my mood seller to buyer, then they can attach this option for me. As a seller Inbox, this is unnecessary I think !

Why would they spend extra time on this? If you are in the seller MODE, ignore it. I have it there and it doesn't bother me one bit. There are much more important things to do.

[fastcopywriter]

I tried it, Neo asked me a bunch of questions but didn't deliver any results, told me to broaden the search. I did, still no results. 

[webcut]

On 1/24/2024 at 8:21 AM, fastcopywriter said:

I tried it, Neo asked me a bunch of questions but didn't deliver any results, told me to broaden the search. I did, still no results. 

That the same issue I faced! For Lead Generation and Email Marketing when anyone say I need to find email for my business- they are saying it is not allowed in Fiverr. But finding email is allowed in fiverr always in the Data Entry and Lead Generation Sector.

[fastcopywriter]

10 minutes ago, webcut said:

That the same issue I faced! For Lead Generation and Email Marketing when anyone say I need to find email for my business- they are saying it is not allowed in Fiverr. But finding email is allowed in fiverr always in the Data Entry and Lead Generation Sector.

Looks like you're going to have to do a regular search without neo. You're absolutely right, there are many data services on Fiverr. One time I shared a popular FB post, and had all the likes extracted. 

[priyank_mod]

I received my first brief through NEO today. I wouldn't have figured it, if Fiverr hadn't sent a separate email informing me that this enquiry was through Neo. 

There is a basic template in which enquiries via Neo come.

PS Brief was a mismatch for my gig but AI systems are forever in the trainee mode. So, let's see.. 

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