ai.joinhandshake.com

February 21, 2026

What ai.joinhandshake.com is, in plain terms

ai.joinhandshake.com is Handshake’s web app for its “Handshake AI” program and the Handshake AI Fellowship. It’s the place where people sign in, get matched to projects, complete onboarding steps, and do paid, project-based work that helps train or evaluate large language models (LLMs). If you land on the domain directly, you’ll typically see a Handshake-branded login experience, and from there you’re routed into the Handshake AI dashboard once you’re authenticated.

Handshake positions this program as a way for students, recent graduates, and professionals to contribute “human judgment” and subject-matter expertise to improve models built by “leading” or “frontier” AI labs. The important point is that this isn’t a general career-site landing page. It’s the operational portal for actually participating once you’re in the program (or applying and starting the pipeline).

How the Handshake AI Fellowship is supposed to work

The flow Handshake describes looks like this:

You sign up / apply. Handshake’s help documentation lays out a step-by-step process that starts on a Handshake-hosted fellowship page, then moves through account creation, terms acceptance, resume upload, and profile verification steps.
Identity verification happens. The application instructions explicitly mention an identity verification check that requires a government-issued ID. That’s a strong signal that Handshake is treating the work like a formal contractor relationship, not a casual “microtask” site.
You get matched to projects when there’s a fit. Handshake says project timing can vary because projects launch based on partner needs. If your profile matches an active project, you get an email with next steps.
You onboard per project. Even after you’re in, onboarding can differ by project. Handshake’s guidance is that required onboarding steps are shown inside the specific project in the Handshake AI dashboard.
You do tasks, then get paid through an approved payout provider. Handshake notes Stripe for payouts in the “journey” overview, and separately explains that payment setup can be through Stripe or Deel depending on project and onboarding timing.

That sequence is basically what ai.joinhandshake.com is for: identity-backed access, project invitations, onboarding checklists, task execution, and payments setup.

Who it’s for (and what “AI work” means here)

Handshake describes the program as open to current students, recent grads, and professionals, with work that’s “flexible and project-based.” The tasks themselves are framed as applying human judgment and expertise to strengthen model performance. In other words: you’re not necessarily training models in the machine-learning-engineering sense; you’re contributing evaluation, labeling, feedback, or domain-specific review work that improves outputs and reliability.

Handshake also markets a wide range of “opportunities” and domains, including both generalist and specialist roles, with some listings advertising high hourly rates. Those opportunity pages aren’t the core ai.joinhandshake.com app, but they’re part of the same ecosystem and give you a feel for the kinds of profiles the program is trying to attract.

Eligibility and work authorization: the non-negotiables

Handshake repeatedly states that fellowship participation requires being based in the U.S. and having valid work authorization that Handshake can support. Their eligibility documentation also calls out needing an SSN or ITIN. They specifically mention that some F-1 students may be eligible through CPT or OPT, and they say STEM OPT is not supported.

This matters because it sets expectations early: even though the work is remote and flexible, it’s not “open globally” in the way some gig platforms are. If someone is evaluating whether ai.joinhandshake.com is relevant to them, this eligibility gate is often the deciding factor.

Account linking with the main Handshake platform

Handshake also has a “core” product that many students know: the career network used by universities and employers. Handshake’s help center explains that, at least in the current phase described in their documentation, only student users can connect their Handshake AI accounts to their Handshake accounts. If emails match, the system may connect automatically; if they don’t, a banner prompts you to link accounts and walk through login/creation steps.

One detail that’s easy to miss: even after linking, Handshake notes you may continue logging in with your existing Handshake AI credentials until the broader transition is completed. That suggests ai.joinhandshake.com remains a distinct login surface for now, even if underlying identity systems are gradually being unified.

Payments, onboarding time, and what “getting paid” actually involves

Handshake’s “journey” article says you’ll be prompted to set up payout info after completing your first task, and that payout settings live in a Payments tab in the Handshake AI dashboard.

Separately, Handshake’s payments-processing documentation says you may be asked to set up payments in either Deel or Stripe, depending on when you onboarded and which project you’re assigned to. And their Stripe setup guide emphasizes that you start setup in Handshake AI and finish it within Stripe, then you’re redirected back once it’s complete.

In practice, this means ai.joinhandshake.com isn’t just a “task interface.” It’s also where compliance-ish steps live: onboarding checklists, payment configuration handoffs, and the operational status of your projects.

Legal framing: contractor relationship and program rules

Handshake publishes a Handshake AI Contractor Agreement on ai.joinhandshake.com, with an effective date of December 9, 2025 and a “last updated” date of November 20, 2025. It describes the agreement as governing participation in the “Handshake AI Contractor Program,” and it uses the term “Contractors” for participants.

I’m not going to summarize legal terms line-by-line here, but the existence and placement of that agreement on the same domain is meaningful. It reinforces that the portal is meant for real work relationships with defined terms, not informal volunteering or a simple training game.

How this relates to Handshake’s broader “AI” positioning

Handshake uses “Handshake AI” in two closely related ways:

As a program/fellowship connecting people to paid project work that supports frontier AI model improvement.
As “AI-powered features” inside its employer hiring product, where Handshake says it uses AI to make hiring workflows easier but claims it doesn’t make hiring decisions on behalf of employers and doesn’t share employer data with third parties for AI training.

Those are different offerings, but they share brand language and a “responsible AI” framing. If you’re researching ai.joinhandshake.com, it helps to keep that distinction straight: the subdomain is about participating in AI-related work, not about the employer-side product features.

Key takeaways

ai.joinhandshake.com is Handshake’s portal for signing in and participating in the Handshake AI program/fellowship, including projects, onboarding, and payments setup.
Handshake describes the work as flexible, project-based contributions that use human judgment and subject-matter expertise to improve LLMs.
Eligibility is U.S.-based with supported work authorization (and typically SSN/ITIN), with specific notes about CPT/OPT and not supporting STEM OPT.
Payments can run through Stripe or Deel depending on project/onboarding timing, and configuration happens through the Handshake AI dashboard.
The domain hosts a Contractor Agreement, signaling a formal contractor program structure.

FAQ

Is ai.joinhandshake.com the same as the regular Handshake student job platform?

Not exactly. It’s connected to Handshake, but it’s the login and working portal for Handshake AI program participation. Handshake also supports linking Handshake AI accounts to Handshake accounts for student users in the current phase they describe.

What kind of work would someone do after logging in?

Handshake frames it as project-based tasks that help train or improve large language models, using human judgment and (often) domain expertise. Specific task types can vary by project and invitation.

Do you get paid, and how?

Yes, it’s positioned as paid work. Handshake’s docs say payouts are handled through providers like Stripe or Deel depending on the project, and setup is done via the Handshake AI dashboard.

Can non-students link their Handshake AI account to a Handshake account?

Handshake’s help center says that, at the time of that article, only student users can connect accounts; employer and career services users will see an error and have to wait for a future phase.

Is it open to people outside the United States?

Handshake’s published eligibility language for the fellowship says you must be based in the U.S. with supported work authorization (and they mention SSN/ITIN requirements).