Duolingo has announced a major strategic shift toward becoming an “AI-first” company, marking a pivotal moment in the language learning platform’s evolution. In an internal memo shared publicly via LinkedIn, co-founder and CEO Luis von Ahn outlined the company’s plan to integrate artificial intelligence more deeply across its operations, significantly transforming workflows and resourcing models.
Central to this transformation is a gradual phase-out of contractor roles associated with repetitive or automatable tasks. Going forward, Duolingo will prioritize automation when evaluating new hires, with AI usage factored into hiring decisions and performance evaluations. Teams will only be approved for additional headcount if they can demonstrate that their work cannot be further automated.
“This is not about replacing employees with AI,” von Ahn emphasized, “but rather about eliminating bottlenecks and allowing our teams to focus on high-impact, creative problem-solving.” He added that scaling high-quality educational content through traditional, manual processes is no longer feasible. “Without AI, it would take us decades to scale our content to more learners. We owe it to them to accelerate this process.”
Von Ahn likened the move to the company’s early pivot to mobile-first development in 2012—a decision that proved instrumental in Duolingo being named iPhone App of the Year in 2013. “We’re making a similar call now, and this time the platform shift is AI,” he stated.
Acknowledging that a full-scale adoption of AI across all functions will take time, von Ahn underscored the importance of acting with urgency rather than waiting for flawless implementation. “We’d rather move quickly and accept occasional small quality trade-offs than fall behind,” he noted.
To support this transition, Duolingo will offer enhanced training, mentorship, and AI tools for its teams, underscoring the company’s continued commitment to employee growth and innovation.
This bold move aligns Duolingo with a broader trend in the tech industry, where leaders such as Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke are also redefining workforce planning in light of AI capabilities. As Duolingo doubles down on its mission to provide scalable, accessible education, its AI-first approach positions it to reach more learners faster than ever before.
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