Two-thirds of jobs will be impacted by AI

AI is either taking over routine tasks typically performed by younger employees or requiring them to learn how to use the tech to be more effective in their jobs.

Nearly four in 10 Americans, for instance, believe genAI could diminish the number of available jobs as it advances, according to a study released in October by the New York Federal Reserve Bank.

And the World Economic Forum’s Jobs Initiative study found that close to half (44%) of worker skills will be disrupted in the next five years — and 40% of tasks will be affected by the use of genAI tools and the large language models (LLMs) that underpin them.

According to data from Goldman Sachs, AI could impact up to 300 million full-time jobs worldwide with significant effects in advanced economies like the United States and Europe. The report projected that up to 18% of work worldwide could be automated.

For example, the share of software development job postings has been in a downward trend. As the number of postings decrease, employers may heighten their requirements as they have a larger pool of applicants to choose from, according to job site Indeed.

In April of 2022, 3.2% of software development postings advertised entry-level jobs, compared to 2.1% in 2023, 1.5% in 2024 and 1.2% in 2025, Indeed’s data showed.

Earlier this month, Indeed CEO Chris Hyams said in an interview with Fortune that two-thirds of jobs posted on the company’s site list skills that AI can already handle.

According to Indeed’s research, the share of US job postings mentioning genAI or related terms has skyrocketed over the past year, up 170% from January 2024 to January 2025. That said, those postings are only 2.6% of overall job postings globally, according to Indeed’s vice president of AI, Hannah Calhoon.

“Most jobs will change dramatically in the next three to four years, at least as much as the internet has changed jobs over the last 30,” Calhoon said. “Every job posted on Indeed today, from truck driver to physician to software engineer, will face some level of exposure to genAI-driven change.”

But AI won’t be fully replacing jobs anytime soon, she also noted.

Research from the Indeed Hiring Lab found that out of over 2,800 work skills, zero were found “very likely” to be fully replaced by genAI tools that exist today. And just one in five jobs (19.8%) listed on Indeed are considered “highly” exposed to genAI, showing that while the technology can learn to do tasks within a specific job, today’s genAI is unlikely to fully replace many jobs.

So, at its core, AI isn’t about replacing people but empowering them, Calhoon said.

“At Indeed, we believe AI and human judgment together are stronger than either alone,” she said. “Moving forward for any organization to be successful with AI, every single employee needs to have a basic understanding of AI and how their company is using it.”

That said, Calhoon emphasized it’s essential that professionals stay on top of the evolving needs of the market and the skills that are most in demand and adjust their focus areas accordingly.

Sarah Hoffman, director of AI research at AlphaSense, is an IT strategist and futurist. Formerly vice president of AI and Machine Learning Research at Fidelity Investments, Hoffman believes genAI tools in business will allow workers to move away from repetitive jobs and into more creative endeavors — as long as they learn how to use the new tools and even collaborate with them.

What will emerge is a “symbiotic” relationship with an increasingly “proactive” technology that will require employees to constantly learn new skills and adapt.

“AI can manage repetitive tasks, or even difficult tasks that are specific in nature, while humans can focus on innovative and strategic initiatives that drive revenue growth and improve overall business performance,” Hoffman said in an interview earlier this year. “AI is also much quicker than humans could possibly be, is available 24/7, and can be scaled to handle increasing workloads.”

As AI takes over repetitive tasks, workers will shift toward roles that involve overseeing AI, solving unique problems, and applying creativity and strategy. Teams will increasingly collaborate with AI—like marketers personalizing content or developers using AI copilots. Rather than replacing humans, AI will enhance human strengths such as decision-making and emotional intelligence. Adapting to this change will require ongoing learning and a fresh approach to how work is done.

Arthur O’Connor, academic director of data science at the CUNY’s School of Professional Studies, said the impact of AI on jobs is crucial but poorly studied. Behavioral scientists often swing between extremes — doom or utopia — chasing headlines instead of clarity.

O’Connor, who wrote a book on AI in the workplace titled Organizing for Generative AI and the Productivity Revolution, said one reason for the mixed messages is that the research comes from a mix of sources. For example, case studies often come with unverifiable claims of savings or productivity. Task exposure models, such as Indeed’s, take educated guesses about which tasks AI might automate, based mostly on descriptions and not real-world performance.

Controlled experiments offer the most reliable insights by comparing AI-assisted work to a control group, according to O’Connor. “But even the controlled experiments are flawed,” he said. “Most studies measure whether AI was used or not — not how well it was used. Not surprisingly, the results are all over the place.”

Researchers in the “doom and gloom” camp are accurate in noting that new AI jobs are narrow and exclusive, he said. But they miss Jevons’ paradox: as AI becomes cheaper and more widespread, demand grows, which sparks entirely new industries, as the internet once did.

“But I do share their concerns that our society’s track record at managing large-scale changes in the labor market is dismal. Just look at what happened to communities in areas that were once called ‘America’s industrial heartland’ that became the ‘Rust Belt’ starting in the 1980’s,” O’Connor said.