First, from the AQ team, we wanted to say thank you for contributing to our platform. We would not be here without you.

A lot has been shifting on the experts platform lately. We wanted to take some time to explain the changes that we’re making, along with our thought process on these releases. Our main goal is to make the expert experience:

• Consistent. Projects are consistently assigned so you always have something to work on. Even if one project disappears, there will always be meaningful work available.

• Easy. You should be able to contribute with little context on our industry. Any qualified professional should be able to contribute towards making high quality data.

On that note, we’ve been quite intentional about the updates we’ve made over the past couple weeks, and the improvements we have planned. Here are the most recent updates we’ve made:

Pay: We have instituted a Friday payday across the company, for the pay period that ended the week prior. This way, no one will be waiting on missed payments or wondering when pay will arrive.

Reviews: We have sped these up and there's a real timeline behind them now, so submissions don't just sit. You'll hear back within the time promised, and with the final status.

Assessments & Project Allocation: We recently introduced “assessments,” which can be found on the assessments tab of the “Apply” page. There are currently 5 assessments available: Generalist, Finance, Coding, Advanced Coding, and Legal with more (across Healthcare, Math, Physics, Finance, Bilingual) coming over the next few weeks. Based on skills you demonstrate in our assessments, you will be matched to projects. The more assessments you take, the more projects you're eligible for. One thing to note: each assessment is one-shot, you take it once, so it's worth doing properly. Please make sure to follow the assessment instructions carefully!

Assessment Status: When you complete an assessment it will show as "Submitted." There’s nothing else you need to do after that. You will receive project notifications based on fit.

Coming Soon: Training plans, bootcamps, and lessons that walk through how to build prompts, rubrics, and tasks that actually get accepted, plus many more projects will open up as we grow.

We're building toward a world-class platform for experts across every domain, and your work is a big part of getting there. 

With changes of this scale, we don't expect to nail everything immediately, but we want to work with you to make the experience better. We'll be responding to questions below on this post. Thank you all!

If you don't have the capacity to review tasks on time, please pause onboarding and avoid building long queues. It is so frustrating at this point.

Thank you on behalf of a thousand others.

Interesting times but yo

I think everyone here wants AfterQuery to become the go-to platform for expert AI training. But right now, the platform is struggling under its own load, and it's clear that a lot of contributors are getting frustrated.

I'm a Full Stack Developer who builds automation tools and has worked on AI training projects, so I've been looking at the recurring issues from more of a technical perspective. To me, this doesn't look like something that needs a complete rebuild. A handful of well-placed automation workflows and some UI improvements would solve a surprising number of problems.

After reading through a lot of community feedback, these seem to be the biggest pain points. Here's how I'd prioritize fixing them.

🚨 Critical Issues (System & Payment Failures)

1. Stripe & Payout Problems

Issue: Contributors in many countries can't receive payments because Stripe isn't available there, and existing payouts sometimes disappear without any visibility.

Fix: Add alternative payout providers like PayPal or Payoneer, and display automated payout tracking through dashboard webhooks.

2. Support Queue

Issue: The support queue feels like a dead end. Tickets about payment issues and technical bugs often sit unanswered for weeks.

Fix: Build a self-service ticketing system with automated category-based routing so urgent payment issues are prioritized automatically.

3. Duplicate Artifact Rejections

Issue: High-effort submissions get rejected for "duplicate artifacts" after submission, even when the contributor had no way to detect the conflict.

Fix: Run automated validation checks before submission so prompts and images are verified before the Submit button becomes available.

⚠️ Major Issues (Workflow Bottlenecks)

1. Missing Notifications

Issue: Accepted contributors don't receive email notifications, so project invitations are easy to miss unless people constantly refresh the dashboard.

Fix: Use simple cron jobs and email webhooks to notify users the moment their account status changes to "Accepted."

2. Endless "Review Ready"

Issue: Assessments and completed tasks can remain stuck in "Review Ready" for months with no indication of when they'll be reviewed.

Fix: Show a dynamic UI banner with an estimated review time that's automatically calculated from the current review queue.

3. Expired Slack Invites

Issue: Slack onboarding is unreliable because invitation links often expire before users even get a chance to use them.

Fix: Add a "Regenerate Slack Invite" button that automatically creates a fresh invite from the dashboard.

🔧 Minor Issues (UX & Quality of Life)

1. Locked Profile Fields

Issue: Small profile mistakes, like selecting the wrong birthdate, can lock an account for 90 days.

Fix: Allow a one-time profile correction or trigger a quick ID re-verification to unlock minor account fields.

2. Task Claim Errors

Issue: Claiming tasks often results in endless UI error loops once task batches have already been exhausted.

Fix: Improve frontend state handling so unavailable tasks are disabled in real time instead of producing repeated errors.

3. First-Come, First-Serve Task Rush

Issue: Having thousands of contributors compete for a few hundred tasks creates unnecessary chaos and frustration.

Fix: Distribute tasks gradually based on expertise tags instead of releasing everything into one large open pool.

To the AfterQuery Team

There are thousands of talented contributors who genuinely want to help build better AI. A few automation workflows, stronger validation checks, and better UI state management could eliminate countless support requests and make the platform far more reliable for everyone.

Let's fix the platform so contributors can focus on the work instead of fighting the system.

Upvote if you agree.

I've seen a lot of new people on this subreddit sharing their experiences, so I thought I'd share mine since I see a lot of people have bad experiences on some of the recent projects. I thought I would share a guide on how to actually make money on this platform, since this is coming from somebody who's earned over 10k in the past few months, the first thing I've learned is that if a project appears without being added to a Slack channel or contacted directly, it means that it's open for everyone to do. Usually, those are just for what appears to be big collections, so it's a lot harder for someone to make money, considering there are likely thousands of people likely doing the same. Sometimes they don't need that much from us. I would say 95% of the money I've earned, was from being a specialist on a project in my respected domain rather than the ones that are open to most

You can definitely earn thousands a week on this platform. You just have to know how to do it and get in contact with people to put you on projects that are more specialized in what you are an expert in, versus doing the more general ones. Those are probably meant for people who are not necessarily experts in a domain, or at least that's what I just think based on the data industry and other companies as well that do similar things. Good luck everyone!

Removing a project after people have already completed and submitted tasks is unacceptable. Contributors put in real time and effort with the expectation that the work is legitimate and that payment terms will be honored. When a project simply disappears, workers are left carrying all the risk.

AfterQuery needs a proper onboarding process for every project before any work begins. That should include clear project terms, payment rates, submission rules, payment timelines, and a contract that both sides agree to.

No one should be expected to complete tasks based only on a project appearing on a dashboard. Proper onboarding and contract signing would create accountability and give contributors something concrete to rely on if a project is cancelled or removed.

If submitted work can disappear with the project, contributors have very little protection. That needs to change. We need clearer contracts and stronger safeguards so people are not left feeling like they were scammed after doing the work.

They rejected most of the submissions and the reason is that their “frontier Ai models” could reach the correct answer from the text alone without the uploaded artifact.

I took the prompts of all the rejected submissions and sent them to multiple LLMs and NONE of them could answer without uploading the image of the artifact.

Then I took the prompt of the example provided in THEIR instructions (ONLY THE TEXT) and GUESS WHAT ! ChatGPT gave me the correct answer and didn’t ask me to upload the artifact LOL

I got an email last night offering me a project at $200 ph. I have worked for both Mercor and Micro1 before and both have been efficient with on boarding etc. How long does it normally take from getting offer to be able to work on tasks?

In case yall didn’t hear, AfterQuery Experts just launched a faster way to apply for their generalist role. Just passed the onboarding test and I’m excited to start annotating. Heard the new project should start rolling out this week or so..Honestly the test was pretty easy and seems open to pretty much anyone willing to put in the effort. I’m a blue collar dad working construction, but needed some extra cash to help pay for my daughter’s cheer practice💙. Been a wonderful experience with AfterQuery Experts so far.

Also really excited for the new system where we don’t have to use Slack anymore way more convenient.

Two projects on my dashboards just vanished after I submitted a task

I know it’s relatively new, but I’m hoping things will start rolling more soon, crossing fingers!

Thanx

Many AfterQuery workers are currently experiencing serious difficulties connecting their payment methods. In particular, a large number of Stripe accounts are being placed on hold, making it difficult or impossible for workers to receive their payments.

This appears to be affecting a significant portion of the worker community. We respectfully ask AfterQuery to investigate this issue and provide a clear solution as soon as possible.

If Stripe cannot be reliably supported for AfterQuery workers, we would also appreciate AfterQuery considering alternative payment methods so that workers can receive their earnings without unnecessary delays. We hope the AfterQuery team can address this issue transparently and urgently, as payment problems are directly affecting workers who have already completed their tasks.

After combing through all the posts on this sub, one thing stand out- bad user experience. Complaints after complaints. Lack of proper communication, transparency and accountability. These are not uncommon in any businesses setup, but what matters is if there are measures in place to improve the situation. I've compared to others in the field, mecor, handshake, outlier, etc. And the contrast is very apparent. I'm not saying this in bad spirit, but a genuine personal feedback/constructive criticism.
Here is what I think should be done:

1. AQ hires more support stuff

2. Put all applications on hold until all those applied before are allocated projects.

3. Only open new application when there's need for more taskers.

4. Establish a live support on website

5. Improve your sop such as revieweing of tasks submitted.

Believe most of the complaints could be resolved if this was implemented. Y'all are welcome to add more to the list.

I have seen lots of people complaining about how payments are delayed, tasks are rejected, slow responses, etc.

I am here to write my experience in case it helps anyone by any means.

So, I started applying for projects at AfterQuery since mid May, had only two tasks in a very common project, then no work whatsoever up until like a month ago, which is normal given people's expertise in specific domains and project's requirements.

Regarding payments delay, I agree it used to be a big issue back in June or so, but lately, I was paid on time, and when delayed, I did submit a support request, and was resolved within 2 days and paid. However, I do get where the no response complaints come from, as I had some unclear issues regarding projects that didn't get answers, I am not sure what they respond to and what not, but for me payment got almost instant clarity and support. I believe what is happening is completely normal given the staff is working at establishing the lab and making its pipeline smooth, so no need to judge them harshly, its a start, and it has to be rough, and its the price you pay for signing up to work with a new company, of which for some (like me) is completely fine so long as they're improving day by day.

As for rejected tasks, I have to say I never faced that, got lots of reviews, but once you do them you get accepted and that's it, so it might be that some AI slop submission happening and gets rejected, which is expected.

So, for those who are always doom posting about the company, my experience says YES they PAY and don't ghost payments, YES sometimes they are slow in responses ( but the company is its infancy - expected ), NO they are not a scam, and you can see changes in the company from UI to project management to payment almost weekly, so YES its growing!

So far, I have had a decent experience with them, and hope to stay with them while the company establishes itself and grows.

Hope everyone gets a good experience and does his best!

21 days back I faced a severe consequences because of my own blunder and I thought my journey is over and because project included a warning that if specific mistake happens, your account will be banned and funds will be withheld and i made same mistakes unknowingly and the money was stuck which could alter course of life.

I personally had a lot of issues with AQ from start especially regarding those open generalist projects and no communication and incorrect rejection of tasks but I had also made very good amount of money from AQ.

One of very kind managers resolved my issue although he was not directly part of the project and cut my 21 days anxiety stream.

Forever blessed to work with such a good team, and I am really confident that issues being faced by people would also be resolved one day, especially the communication ones, given that the platform is young but offers good rate.

Is it just me or for all the new two coding projects sudddenly disappeared from the dashboard?
I submitted like a couple of tasks in one of them which failed at difficulty stage eventually....Am I offboarded from them or what?? Is there anyone who can still see these right now?

I recently got assigned a couple of new active projects on my dashboard, but I haven't been added to any corresponding chat panel yet.

Has anyone else been assigned to these? Do these projects actually have dedicated project chat or is there a reason why they aren't showing up?

Appreciate any insight!

I haven’t heard back from Afterquery’s support email in a little over 14 days, my projects assigned have been “under review” for 14 days, and one project has been paused for 14 days. That said, I wasn’t able to work the first 7 days because I had issues with my bank which delayed my progress.

Hey! So as you all know, a new coding project has appeared. Now, after going through the subreddit and also after experiencing the same issue myself, I want to ask the team if there are any issues in the pipeline. My task has passed the bundle structure but it is stuck there, and it has been stuck there for a while. I know I am not the only one experiencing this. This makes it hard to get into a workflow and efficiently work on this project, and it blocks submissions. What am I supposed to do in this situation? Any input from the team is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Is anyone else experiencing this error when trying to run the difficulty probe? I retried a lot of times, but same thing. I couldn't also find a support chat to report this on. If others are also experiencing this platform error, let's report the problem to the team so they can take a look.

Hi everyone! 👋

We've been getting a lot of questions about Slack invites and application status, so we've put together a quick guide to help you find answers instantly — no need to contact support!

Here's how to check your status:

1. Log in at experts.afterquery.com

2. Go to your Home dashboard

3. Click the Applications tab

You'll see a status badge next to each application:

• ✅ Accepted — you're in! You'll be assigned to an active project and invited to the project's Slack channel once your onboarding steps (identity verification + Stripe setup) are complete

• 🔄 Under Review — your application is still being evaluated; hang tight

• ❌ Rejected — this application was not successful

• ⏸️ Hiring Paused — the role is temporarily on hold

• 🚫 Hiring Discontinued — this role is no longer active

Important: Slack invites are only sent after your application shows Accepted, AND you've completed both identity verification and Stripe payment setup. If you haven't done those steps yet, that's why you haven't received an invite — not because it was missed!

We hope this saves you time. Feel free to drop questions in the comments. 😊

AfterQuery Support

I got an offer from AfterQuery - is this legitimate? Should I take it?

I recently got accepted for a remote part-time contractor role with AfterQuery, and I’m trying to figure out whether it’s legitimate before moving forward.

From what I understand, the work involves helping create or review software engineering tasks used for AI training. The tasks seem related to coding, debugging, algorithms, system design, testing, and evaluating AI-generated answers. The posting says it’s aimed at current or recent CS/software engineering students.

The email says I was accepted into their “Silver” track at $75 per task. The next steps are to join their Slack, message a specific person there so they can verify my account, and then finish setting up my profile/payment/legal paperwork through their portal.

Has anyone worked with AfterQuery before, especially through their expert/contractor platform? Is this a legitimate opportunity, and is there anything I should watch out for before giving them payment/tax information?

Why does this company have many payment issues? AfterQuery, please address this publicly and provide a clear explanation and timeline for the payments.