when I released my AI memo a few weeks ago, I didn't do that well.
Curated from customerexperiencedive.com · 27 May 2025 →
Duolingo's chief executive published an AI-first memo in April 2025 saying the company would gradually stop using contractors for work AI could handle. The backlash came from customers rather than staff: people said they would leave, the company's own social accounts went quiet for a month, and on the Q2 earnings call von Ahn said the memo had dampened customer growth. He clarified on LinkedIn that the point was a change in how work is approached rather than mass layoffs, and that Duolingo was still hiring. Filed here because the failure is not in the product: the technology worked, the memo was about internal process, and the cost landed entirely on the brand.
