At least six programs now pay a business, not its individual workers, for first-person video of its crew at work: Amelia Robotics, micro1, Shift, Instawork's Instacore, Atlas Capture and Claru. Published or reported rates run from about $3 to $6 an hour per worker (Atlas, reported) and $8 per accepted hour (micro1, reported by a referral partner) to about $10 (Amelia's example) and up to $20 (Shift's claim). The catch: only approved hours are paid, most rates are "up to" figures or not published at all, and footage rights differ a lot, so get the rate, approval rules and usage rights in writing.
- Amelia publishes the clearest business terms: $500 to $2,000 a month per recording employee, about $10 per approved hour, paid monthly to the business.
- Shift claims up to $20 an hour for workplace footage. micro1's $8 per accepted hour comes from a referral partner's email with micro1 support, not from micro1's site.
- Atlas Capture's business program runs in Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, and a post promoting it put pay at $3 to $6 an hour per worker.
- Instawork's Instacore pays per captured hour but publishes no rate. Claru shows a directional estimator, not a quote.
- Compare approval rules, payment timing and who owns the footage, not just the headline rate.
Which programs pay businesses to record work?
Most "get paid to record" apps pay individuals to film chores at home. A smaller group pays the business itself: the company signs one agreement, its crew wears a head-mounted phone or camera during normal work, and the business is paid for the footage that passes review. The owner then decides how much to share with the crew.
We found six programs that publicly describe this model as of 6 Nov 2026: Amelia Robotics, micro1, Shift (run by microagi), Instawork's Instacore, Atlas Capture and Claru. This page compares what each one publishes, what has been reported and what is still unknown. If your business also keeps records such as job files, work orders or estimates, see what your data is worth as well.
Read this with our interest in mind. Origin Data Partners is independent, and one of these programs, Amelia Robotics, may pay Origin when a business it introduces is paid. We include every program we could verify, with the downsides, so you can compare fairly.
How do the business video programs compare?
"Reported" means a figure from press or a third party, not from the company's own site. "Not published" means we found no public figure.
| Program | Who gets paid | Published or reported rate | How it pays | Who owns the footage | Notable risks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amelia Robotics | The business; the owner sets crew shares | $500 to $2,000 a month per recording employee (about $10 per approved hour, Amelia's example) | Monthly, with a statement of approved hours | Set in a separate written agreement | Young company; no press, funding or named customers found |
| micro1 (business program) | The workplace; the manager decides worker pay | $8 per accepted hour (reported by AI Trainer Guide, a micro1 referral partner, Oct 2026) | Every two weeks for approved footage | Not published; submitted videos cannot be edited or deleted | Rate not on micro1's site; audio must stay on |
| Shift (microagi) | The business or individual recorders | Up to $20 per accepted hour for workplace footage (Shift's claim) | Accepted hours only; individuals are paid weekly by wire | Individual terms assign all rights to Shift; business terms not public | "Up to" rate; 2.6 iOS rating; privacy criticism of its free-cleaning offer |
| Instawork Instacore | The business; workers are paid per hour | Not published | Per hour of data captured | Not published | New program, launched in India in Aug 2026; five-camera rig worn all shift |
| Atlas Capture (capture partners) | The business | Not published; $3–$6 an hour per worker in a June 2026 LinkedIn post promoting it | Per approved hour; rate agreed before recording | Used to train AI; video may be kept indefinitely | Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam only; Trustpilot 1.9; payment complaints |
| Claru (partnerships) | The business | Directional estimator shows $50–$90 an hour for US trades and auto | Weekly for capture; Net-15 for archive licenses | Licensed to Claru; rates depend on exclusivity | Estimator is not a quote; exact rate set on a call |
How does Amelia Robotics pay a business?
Amelia's business program pays the business once a month for approved recordings of tasks agreed in advance. Its example of $500 to $2,000 a month per recording employee assumes 12.5 to 50 approved hours a week over four weeks, which works out to about $10 per approved hour. Amelia says the agreement and approved recordings decide actual pay.
Usage rights, fees and exclusivity are set in a separate written agreement, according to its terms, so read that before your crew records. Amelia is new and has little public track record; our Amelia review lists what can and cannot be verified.
Source: Amelia Robotics: business program (checked Nov 2026)
Does micro1 pay businesses for video data?
Yes. micro1 runs a program for business owners that pays for video of a team's everyday work, with a free head strap, an app for uploads and pay every two weeks based on approved footage. micro1 pays the workplace, and the manager decides how workers are paid. It also recruits businesses through posts such as its commercial video data collection partnership.
micro1 does not publish the rate on its site. AI Trainer Guide, which says it is a micro1 referral partner, reports that micro1 support confirmed by email on 20 October 2026 that companies are paid $8 per accepted hour, to the company, not to employees. Treat that as a reported figure and confirm it with micro1 in writing.
Two terms stand out on micro1's own page. Audio must stay on during recording, and submitted videos cannot be edited or deleted, although faces and documents can be anonymized in processing. Plan which areas and conversations are off limits before anyone records.
What does Shift pay a business?
Shift, the recording app run by the Munich startup microagi, tells hands-on business owners that it pays up to $20 per hour for footage of everyday work, across construction, repairs, cleaning, landscaping, agriculture, automotive, retail and food service. It adds that this is not a promise that a fixed number of recording hours will be available, and its homepage says advertised rates are maximums, not guaranteed.
Shift's US operator terms say workers recording for a partner company are paid by that company, not by Shift, and that recorders assign all rights in their footage to Shift. The business agreement itself is not public. Our Shift app review covers its funding, payment and privacy record.
What is Instawork Instacore, and does it pay businesses?
Instacore is a five-camera wearable rig from the Instawork Robotics Lab, the robotics arm of the staffing platform Instawork. Instawork launched it in India, starting in Bengaluru, in August 2026, for kitchens, warehouses, hotels and manufacturing.
According to the launch coverage, businesses taking part are compensated for every hour of data captured and pay no upfront hardware costs, and workers are paid per hour too. Instawork has not published the business rate, so ask for it, and for how footage is used, before agreeing.
What about Atlas Capture and Claru?
Atlas Capture's capture partner page says it pays businesses per approved hour, fits its own devices (which stay Atlas property) and agrees the hourly rate before recording starts. It lists Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam as the current countries. A LinkedIn post promoting the program in June 2026 put pay at $3 to $6 an hour per worker. Our Atlas Capture review covers its ownership and complaints.
Claru licenses footage businesses already have and pays for new capture. Its online estimator shows $50 to $90 an hour for trades and auto teams in the US, Western Europe and Australia, but Claru calls it directional and says actual rates depend on quality, spec match and exclusivity. The Globe and Mail reported that Claru's business partners are mostly in Asia, Africa and South America.
What would a crew bring in at each rate?
Take a crew of 5 people who each record 10 approved hours a week for four weeks: 200 approved hours a month. The table prices those hours at each program's published or reported figure. This is plain arithmetic, not a quote; approval rates, contracts and available hours decide real pay.
| Program and figure used | Rate per approved hour | Month for 200 approved hours |
|---|---|---|
| Atlas Capture (low end of reported range) | $3 | $600 |
| Atlas Capture (high end of reported range) | $6 | $1,200 |
| micro1 (reported) | $8 | $1,600 |
| Amelia Robotics (its example rate) | $10 | $2,000 |
| Shift ("up to" claim) | $20 | $4,000 |
| Instawork Instacore | Not published | Ask Instawork |
How should a business choose between these programs?
Ask every program the same questions and get the answers in the contract, not in a chat.
- Rate: a fixed rate per approved hour, or an "up to" figure? In which currency, and when is it paid?
- Approval: what gets rejected, how fast reviews happen, and can you see recorded versus approved hours?
- Footage rights: who owns the recordings, who they are licensed to, how long they are kept and whether you can ask for deletion.
- Scope and consent: which tasks, areas and people are included, whether audio is recorded, and how customers and documents stay out of frame.
- Equipment: who supplies the mounts or rigs, who pays if they break, and what happens when you stop.
- Track record: payment history, reviews and who stands behind the company. See every company that pays to record work and the pay rates tracker.
Next step
Compare your crew's numbers with the calculator on the physical AI hub. If your business also holds job records, plans or work orders, see what your data is worth.
Common questions
Which companies pay businesses to record their employees working?
Amelia Robotics, micro1, Shift, Instawork (Instacore), Atlas Capture and Claru all describe programs that pay a business for first-person video of its staff at work. Rates, countries and footage terms differ, and only approved hours are paid.
Which program pays a business the most to record work?
Claru's online estimator shows the most, $50 to $90 an hour for US trades, but Claru calls it directional, not a quote. Among firm "up to" claims, Shift's $20 an hour is the highest, followed by Amelia's example of about $10 per approved hour. Instawork does not publish a rate.
How much does micro1 pay businesses for video data?
micro1 does not publish a rate. AI Trainer Guide, a micro1 referral partner, reports that micro1 support confirmed $8 per accepted hour, paid to the company, in October 2026. micro1's own page says pay is every two weeks based on approved footage.
What is Instawork Instacore?
Instacore is a five-camera wearable rig from Instawork's robotics lab that records real work in kitchens, warehouses, hotels and factories. Launched in India in August 2026, it pays participating businesses for every hour of data captured, but the rate is not published.
Does Shift pay business owners?
Yes. Shift says it pays up to $20 per hour for footage of everyday work at hands-on businesses. That is a maximum, not a set rate, and workers recording for a partner business are paid by the business, not by Shift.
Can my business get paid to record videos for AI?
Yes, if your crew does hands-on work that can be filmed safely and with consent. Programs such as Amelia, micro1 and Shift pay the business for approved footage; the owner signs the agreement and decides the crew's share.
Who owns the footage when a business records for AI?
It depends on the contract. Shift's individual terms assign all rights to Shift, Amelia sets rights in a separate written agreement, and micro1 says submitted videos cannot be deleted. Get ownership, licensing and deletion terms in writing.
Is Atlas Capture a good option for a business?
Its business program lists only Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, and a post promoting it reported $3 to $6 an hour per worker, below the $8 reported for micro1 and the about $10 in Amelia's example. Ratings are split: 1.9 from 93 reviews on Trustpilot, many about payments, and 4.7 from about 1,300 ratings on the US App Store.
Sources and further reading
- Amelia Robotics: business program (checked Nov 2026)
- Amelia Robotics: for robotics labs
- Amelia Robotics: terms of service
- micro1: business owners program
- micro1 on LinkedIn: commercial video data collection partnership
- AI Trainer Guide (micro1 referral partner): micro1 video program for companies
- Shift: hands-on business owners
- Shift: US operator terms
- CXOToday: Instawork Instacore launches in India
- Instawork on LinkedIn: Instacore launch
- Atlas Capture: capture partners
- LinkedIn post promoting Atlas Capture business partnerships (June 2026)
- Claru: partnerships and earnings estimator
- The Globe and Mail: gig workers training robots (Oct 2026)
- Business Insider: inside the global race to train robots on human work (Oct 2026)
Origin Data Partners is independent. We may be paid by our partner when a business we introduce is paid; it never comes out of your earnings. How Origin is paid.