Ask Is it worth learning AI tools to stay relevant or does using them devalue your own skill?

[Brendan]

This is something many freelancers are quietly debating. Learning AI tools can help you work faster and take on more projects, but some clients use the fact that you work with AI as a reason to offer lower rates. They see AI as doing the heavy lifting, even when the real skill is knowing how to guide it, check its output, and shape it into something useful. There is also the question of whether relying on these tools slowly weakens your core ability over time. Do you think learning AI tools is genuinely worth it for a freelancer today?