Will AI Replace Jobs?

With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace, people are concerned about losing their jobs to AI. Some wonder if it’s going to take over everything they’ve worked for. Worrying about the possibilities of what technology can do is certainly valid, but the future of work is evolving — not disappearing.

Digital labour is, indeed, quickly taking on certain tasks that mimic human decision-making, performing them at greater speeds and scales than human counterparts can. The force behind it is agentic AI, which uses AI automation, AI assistants and AI agents to handle things that help human workers skip steps, gather information and problem-solve. AI in the workplace, in many cases, is supporting and augmenting people’s jobs so they can focus on higher-value work.

AI tools need human design, involvement and oversight to perform optimally. People can take advantage of this by developing AI skills to effectively adapt in their jobs or use the opportunities to take their careers to the next level.

Let's dig into AI’s near-term impact on different kinds of jobs as well as what new roles AI is creating for people.

AI will transform jobs more than it will replace them. While AI will automate certain functions, it's also transforming existing jobs and making space for new ones. This shift marks a human-AI collaboration that amplifies human potential rather than eliminating it.

The key distinction to understand is job displacement vs. job transformation. AI excels at taking over routine, rule-based tasks through AI automation and processing vast amounts of data to find patterns with machine learning.

So, yes, AI is replacing those chores.

But when you don’t have to do mindless, time-consuming busy work, you have more space for creativity, emotional intelligence and complex decision-making. AI technology is creating a path for highly valuable employees who can effectively collaborate with a digital workforce.

The people and organisations that will thrive are those who embrace this collaborative future rather than resist it. In fact, the global artificial intelligence market, valued at $391 billion in 2025 , is projected to reach $1.81 trillion by 2030, driven by increasing enterprise adoption, according to the Founders Forum Group.

AI adoption has accelerated dramatically across industries. Among the sectors most exposed to AI, productivity growth has almost quadrupled from 7% during 2018-2022 to 27% during 2018-2024, according to a PwC jobs report. AI-friendly industries are seeing 3x higher growth in revenue per employee than industries that are the least exposed to AI opportunities.

Organisations that integrate AI can gain advantages like efficiency, cost savings, quality improvement, data analysis and around-the-clock reliability. Some of those may involve a dip in workforce numbers as AI is adopted. The World Economic Forum (WEF) projects that 40% of employers worldwide will have some workforce reductions in the next 5 years due to AI automation.

However, the same report forecasts that while 92 million jobs may be displaced by AI and automation, the technology is expected to create 170 million jobs. Plus, the WEF notes, wages are rising in jobs involving AI automation and augmentation and growing twice as fast in industries more exposed to AI than less exposed.

AI's impact on jobs varies significantly across different sectors and roles. Understanding which ones are likely to adopt AI in the near future can help people prepare. Workers in these areas may want to develop skills, with options like with free online AI courses, so they can learn to apply AI to do their jobs more efficiently.

Sales reps, according to our research, spend about 70% of their time on tasks not related to selling. Sales AI tools can fix that imbalance by automating data entry, scheduling and email communication. A greater percentage of teams that use AI (83%) report notching annual revenue growth than those that aren't tapping AI (66%). That's because AI can help reps identify higher-potential leads, forecast trends and do research, freeing up time for relationship building and closing deals.

AI chatbots now handle routine enquiries, order processing and basic troubleshooting through service AI. This can help free up workers' time to focus more attention on customers and give even better service. Agentforce is an example of an at-your-fingertips AI agent. It can quickly answer questions, connect you with a sales rep, resolve customer service enquiries and more. (You can interact with Agentforce yourself by opening the chatbox at the bottom of this page.)

Marketing AI can be transformative for content creation and analytics while letting people focus on strategic campaign development. Entry-level copywriting roles and manual data analysis could be affected by automation. However, AI can enhance other roles by supporting campaign personalisation, content ideation and optimisation plus quickly providing actionable insights from large datasets.

AI could replace millions of manufacturing jobs by 2030 as companies deploy robots and autonomous agents for assembly line work, quality control and supply chain optimisation. All of those technologies will need oversight, which is reason to skill up and learn how to work with these new tools.

AI agents are beginning to take over repetitive, rule-based functions like data collection, document verification and internal reporting, which will almost certainly lead to the elimination of many data entry jobs. But these agents also augment administrative roles by removing busy work and allowing people to take on higher-skilled tasks that require a human approach.

While AI is not expected to replace accountants, its implementation does allow for repetitive tasks like data entry, budgeting and expense reporting to be automated, freeing up accountants to focus on higher-skilled and customer-facing work. Advanced AI capabilities will help with fraud detection as well as analysing large datasets faster and more accurately than humans, allowing for better risk management and financial reporting.

AI is significantly integrating into legal practice, streamlining processes like document review, contract analysis and legal research. AI can also support background research, more quickly review judges' case histories and offer possible outcomes through predictive analysis. That frees up lawyers and paralegals to turn their attention to higher-value work with more face time with clients.

Certain roles rely on uniquely human capabilities. So while agentic systems undoubtedly can help with some tasks, jobs like these are likely to resist being replaced entirely with autonomous agents any time soon.

These roles require emotional understanding and empathy that conversational AI cannot yet replicate. There have been advances in AI accurately diagnosing illnesses, but a human healthcare worker can use that AI to inform their high-level decision-making and provide a bedside manner that no machine could offer.

Creative jobs can benefit from generative AI as a tool while still letting the person have ultimate control over their productions. Each of these areas might be helped by prompting AI for artistic, musical or written output, but humans build on them with individual creativity and strategy to craft unique and interesting work that AI can't quite mimic.

AI can quickly process and solve complex problems, but across all industries, successful managers still rely on their own in-the-moment strategic thinking and judgement. A good manager can work individually with team members, motivate whole groups of people and bring a level of emotion and inspiration only a human leader could. Plus, AI can be an asset to managers and leaders in the same way it helps other employees — freeing them from more mundane, repetitive work so they can spend their time focused on developing their teams and overall businesses.

Some sectors will always need people with manual dexterity and on-the-job problem-solving in unpredictable environments. Any job that demands a physical presence, like construction, repairs and maintenance, means the role will be less susceptible to total automation.

Teachers can take advantage of AI to speed up paperwork and help create personalised lesson plans. Caregivers might use AI for task management or engaging with the person they're caring for. But AI won't substitute for the human experience of mentorship and nurturing, especially with those with special needs.

The AI revolution is creating entirely new career categories. The demand for workers with AI know-how is growing across various educational levels and industries. Learning practical AI skills and getting AI certifications can help you to level up within your role or take on new ones, such as these:

These are roles that create, develop and implement AI tools and systems to solve complex problems. They use techniques like natural language processing and predictive analytics to help train AI for a variety of tasks like fraud detection, financial analysis, chatbot development, inventory management, supply chain optimisation and more.

Data is what powers AI. These roles are crucial in providing the data used to train and refine AI models. Big data analysts handle the massive datasets that AI models require for training and operation.

These technicians who maintain and optimise robotic systems, including installation, repair and maintenance of robots, are in high demand. They work with robots across various industries to ensure that they work smoothly and efficiently.

Prompt engineers excel at writing prompts for AI tools, like GPT products or chatbots, to get the most accurate or desired results. AI trainers work behind the scenes to make sure algorithms perform as intended. They prepare large datasets to teach chatbots how to interpret user inputs and respond with more natural-sounding human language.

Organisations need professionals to ensure responsible AI development. Many create ethical AI guidelines and policies that companies must adhere to for legal, moral and social impact. For example, AI ethicists help check for biases in HR and hiring practices.

AI augments human capabilities by eliminating routine tasks. Yet, some people in workplaces are hesitant to fully embrace AI — not necessarily because they fear replacement but because they feel guilt.

In fact, Slack research finds that even though 81% of desk workers who use AI tools say it improves their productivity, 48% of all desk workers say they’d be uncomfortable telling their manager they use AI for their tasks.

Fears should dispel as AI continues to fold into the future of work. Professionals who use AI can focus on higher-value work, relationship building and strategic thinking. Organisations will benefit from AI's help with forecasting, optimised decision-making and real-time performance data.

Here are some of the ways AI agents can complement core job areas to enhance the quality and value of human jobs:

• Sales: AI can help to qualify leads, make product recommendations and help generate a sales pitch.
• Service: AI chatbots can already handle routine enquiries in service by pulling from vast quantities of information in seconds and AI can quickly analyse customer service survey feedback, which can otherwise be very time-consuming.
• Marketing: Marketers can use AI to summarise data insights, personalise marketing content and build campaigns that match the brand voice.
• Commerce: AI agents can support retail and commerce by helping with inventory management, identifying trends and helping increase sales by analysing customer purchase data and creating dynamic pricing and promotions based on customer behaviours and competitor activity.

AI is fundamentally transforming the job market through human-AI collaboration that amplifies people's potential while creating new opportunities for those willing to develop AI skills.

80% of HR leaders think most workforces will have humans and AI assistants working together by 2030. The global study also projects that organisations that fully implement agentic AI will see a 30% increase in human productivity compared to less AI-ready sectors. AI adoption in the working world holds the power to drive business success and job creation.

This transformation is happening faster than previous technological shifts, making proactive engagement essential. Learning more about AI may take time, but it doesn’t necessarily take money — you can learn basic AI skills on free online platforms like Salesforce’s Trailhead.

Workplace AI adoption has the potential to create more and better employment opportunities for people willing to become AI collaborators. The future belongs to those who can harness AI's power while bringing distinctly human value to their roles.