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‘Went from ₹2 lakh a month to ₹40,000 salary’: Copywriter blames AI for career downfall
The man said that he had built his career from scratch despite being a college dropout and had worked his way up to become a lead copywriter.
A copywriter has claimed that the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) upended his career, causing his monthly income to drop from ₹2 lakh to ₹40,000.
In a post titled 'Went from 2l a month to 40k a month salary; the downfall of a lifetime', the user said that he lost all his jobs and projects within weeks before taking up a lower-paying role at an agency in Hyderabad.
He shared that he began freelancing 8 years ago and landed his first full-time remote contract at the age of 18. By the time he was 22, he said he was earning ₹2 lakh a month while working from home. However, he claimed everything changed in 2026.
"2026 was my curse. Lost all my jobs and projects, and my monthly income came down to literally nothing from the wuthering heights of a 6-figure salary, in a matter of two weeks," he wrote.
The man said that he had built his career from scratch despite being a college dropout and had worked his way up to become a lead copywriter. "Until the AI wave crashed in. Well, I was apparently laid off from my job because they decided to train AI and take native employees," he claimed.
The Redditor said that he then joined a Hyderabad-based agency that currently handles marketing for Telangana Tourism. He said that although he was relieved to have a job, the pay came as a shock. "I'm being paid 40k a month, for a role bigger than my previous one, which used to pay me 2 lakhs a month. It makes my heart ache every day," he said.
He added that he now helps lead the agency's Telangana Tourism marketing strategy but feels underpaid and demotivated. "I'm one of the leads spearheading their Telangana Tourism's marketing strategy. On top of the stinging money issue, people around me are poor on creativity. They work for the sake of working. No love. No passion. That kills my motivation. Even though I do the work of 5 people now. I consider this the biggest downfall in my entire bloodline," he wrote.
(Also Read: Chandigarh COO says employee quit because he found the city 'too boring': 'Delhi jaisa kuch nahi hai')
Social media reactions
The post prompted several responses from users, many of whom encouraged him to view the setback as temporary.
One user wrote, "There's a reason most of us study hard and get the safe route. Sacrificing the chance of more money though more riskier routes. You took the risk, got lucky and made money when the time is right. But it's not always gonna be there. Changes happen in every generation and AI was the big change for ours."
"My salary came down 1.2L post a year break due to personal reason. Was jobless for 10 months so took a lesser paying job. A thankless job with having to massage everyone's ego! Happens, the point is to not lose hope and keep upgrading to jump as soon as good offer appears," commented another.
"Chill out bro. Stop worrying so much. And don't worry. A lot of people lie about their income on the internet. A lot of them are also gonna lose their jobs later in life with the advent of AI. Many have gone from 4-5 lpm to 1-2 lpm due to AI. Just upskill, network and you are good to go. Also start freelancing on the side once again," wrote a third user.
"Na na, brother. You went from earning ₹0 a month to ₹40k a month. If you had the skills to get someone to pay you ₹2L a month once, those skills haven't disappeared. I'm sure you'll be back there before you know it," said another.
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)
