Why we built it
On most marketplaces, a small group of established profiles receives the majority of views, while new and highly skilled people never get their first project. That's bad for freelancers — and for clients, who miss out on great talent.
Step 1 — Eligibility
Deterministic rules only: required skills, availability and any location or language requirements the client sets. A person's country of origin is never used to judge whether they are skilled or trustworthy.
Step 2 — Relevance
We score how well a profile fits: skill overlap, budget fit, languages and relevant experience. Relevance is always the dominant factor in the ranking.
Step 3 — Fair exposure
People who have been shown less recently receive a small, bounded boost, with an extra nudge for qualified newcomers. The boost is capped, so it can never push an irrelevant profile above a strong match.
Step 4 — Quality monitoring
We watch outcomes — completed contracts, revisions and disputes — to make sure fairness never reduces match quality. If it does, we adjust the weights, not the principle.
What AI does (and doesn't do)
The ranking itself is a deterministic, testable function. AI is only used to write human-readable explanations and drafts.
- AI does not decide who is eligible
- AI does not rank people
- AI cannot be prompted to favour anyone
What clients stay in control of
Clients can search, filter, invite anyone and hire whoever they want. Fair Discovery affects suggestions — not your freedom to choose.
Frequently asked questions
Can I pay to rank higher?
No. There is no paid placement of any kind on Scoutr.
Does being new hurt my ranking?
No — qualified newcomers get a small exposure boost so a first contract is reachable.
Do reviews affect ranking?
Your track record on Scoutr is one relevance signal, but it's balanced so that people without reviews still get seen.
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