Amazon announced it will shut down its Mechanical Turk (MTurk) platform on September 30, 2026, ending a service that has matched workers with small digital tasks since its launch in 2005 [1]. The decision follows an internal assessment, with Amazon stating, 'We regularly evaluate our programs, tools and services and make adjustments based on those assessments. Following an assessment, we've made the decision to close AWS Mechanical Turk, effective September 30, 2026' [1].
Mechanical Turk, once described by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as 'artificial artificial intelligence,' enabled workers—known as 'turkers'—to complete simple digital jobs such as labeling data, transcribing audio or video, and answering surveys, typically for a few cents per task [1]. At its peak, the platform served more than 500,000 workers, but has been 'in decline' in recent years, according to Krista Pawloski of Turkopticon, an advocacy group for data workers [1].
The decline of MTurk has coincided with rapid advances in AI models and the emergence of competing data startups like Scale AI, Mercor, and Prolific, which have attracted workers away from Amazon's platform [1]. Amazon had attempted to reposition MTurk as a data annotation source for its SageMaker service, but reportedly invested fewer resources into improving the platform as competition increased [1].
Concerns about data quality have also surfaced, with a 2023 Swiss academic study finding that up to 46% of MTurk workers used AI models to complete tasks [1]. Last month, Amazon stopped accepting new MTurk customers, which many interpreted as a precursor to the shutdown [1]. Some insurance and travel companies that still rely on MTurk for data workers are now seeking alternatives [1].
CONCLUSION
Amazon's decision to close Mechanical Turk marks the end of a pioneering platform in digital labor, driven by declining usage and increased competition from AI-focused startups. The move signals a shift in the data annotation market and leaves existing MTurk-dependent companies searching for new solutions.