Private Detectives and Investigators

What you'll do

AI models are being asked to plan investigations and summarise background research, and the gap between a plausible report and a defensible one is something only a working investigator reliably sees. This project pays you to find it.

You review investigative artifacts the models produce: investigation plans, background research summaries, surveillance reports and similar case material. You also work through scenarios covering evidence gathering, source verification, records research and case reporting. Much of the work compares two AI responses head to head on three criteria the ad names: investigative rigour, legal and ethical compliance, and whether the conclusions actually follow from the evidence.

Expect the compliance axis to carry weight. An investigator knows where pretexting, recorded interviews, trespass or data-broker sourcing cross a legal line in a given state; a model often does not, and your feedback is how it learns where those lines sit.

Who fits

• 4+ years as a private investigator, private detective, licensed investigator, fraud investigator, insurance investigator or a close equivalent
• Real casework gathering, analysing and compiling information on legal, financial or personal matters (background checks, surveillance, interviews and records research) for clients, attorneys or businesses
• Strong written English
• 20+ hours a week available

Fraud and insurance investigators qualify alongside licensed PIs, which widens the pool beyond agency work. Strong report writers have an edge, since the output you grade is mostly written.

What it pays and how payment starts

$70–110 per hour, Mercor's published band. Your first task is paid on approval; complete it within the required timeline and you are paid hourly for the rest of the project. That timeline is not stated in the ad, nor is what decides your rate within the band.

Payments are weekly via Stripe or Wise. H-1B and STEM OPT candidates cannot be supported.

The same template, rate and payment rule run on Mercor's Administrative Services Managers and Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers listings, posted the same day.

Worth knowing

Good:

• Good pay against typical investigator hourly rates, with no travel or field time
• Corporate fraud and insurance investigators qualify, not only licensed PIs
• Immediate start; weekly payment terms are stated

Less good:

• US residents only
• 20+ hours a week for roughly 4 to 6 weeks competes with active caseloads
• Hourly pay depends on a first task approved within an unpublished deadline
• Short project, no extension promised; independent contractor terms
• Client files are off limits: Mercor states the work involves no confidential information from any employer or client

About this listing

Posted by Mercor as a remote hourly contract for US residents, read from the live listing on 12 October 2026 and marked as a new opportunity. Pay, duration, hours and the payment rule are the ad's own. See Mercor.