Amazon to shut down Mechanical Turk platform in September 2026

Amazon has announced that its microtask platform, Mechanical Turk, will shut down on September 30, 2026. The company stated the decision followed an assessment of its programs, tools, and services, though it did not provide a specific reason for the closure.

The shutdown marks a significant shift for AI development teams that have long relied on the platform to source and validate human-generated data through Human Intelligence Tasks (HITs). As AI technology advances, many tasks previously requiring human labor—such as transcription, classification, and summarization—are increasingly being automated or assisted by machines.

For workers, the platform will stop accepting new submissions on the September 30 deadline. Requesters will have until October 30, 2026, to approve or reject pending work and issue bonuses. Transaction histories will remain accessible until January 28, 2027. Users are encouraged to review their payment methods and download transaction records before the cutoff dates.