Nitat Termmee | Moment | Getty ImagesArtificial intelligence is poised to disrupt the job market — but some workers are in the crosshairs more than others, according to labor experts.Roughly 1 in 4 (or, 26%) of the jobs posted on career site Indeed over the past year are poised to "radically transform" due to generative artificial intelligence, also known as gen AI, according to a September report by Indeed.Gen AI — examples of which include OpenAI's Chat GPT and Google's Gemini — mimics human brainpower by creating original content text, images, , audio or software code from a user mpt.Industries in which gen AI can supplant a human's cognitive reasoning skills — certain jobs in nology and finance — are most at risk, said Laura Ullrich, director of economic re for North America at Indeed."The jobs that are more ly to have a high degree of transformation are white-collar jobs," Ullrich said.watch now3:3603:36New 'talent reality' to hit job market due to retirees, AI: Work guru Cali YostWorkforce WireBy contrast, certain roles nursing and blue-collar jobs in manufacturing or construction are more insulated, Ullrich said.That's because occupations that rely more heavily on physical labor or human interaction remain outside the current scope of generative AI, at least for now, according to the Indeed report.Jobs in "higher-paying fields where a college education and analytical skills can be a plus" are most exposed to artificial intelligence, according to a 2023 Pew Re Center study.
Budget analysts, data entry keyers, tax preparers, nical writers and web developers are examples of such jobs, it found.Overall, 19% of American workers in 2022 were in jobs that are the "most exposed to AI," whereby their most important activities may be replaced or assisted by AI, Pew found.Agentic AI may affect even more rolesOther types of AI also seem ly to ruffle the quo.Agentic AI, for example, is built on the same models as gen AI but also has the ability to perform tasks on users' behalf, said Olivier Toubia, a fessor at Columbia School who studies innovation and creative industries.More from Personal Finance:2026 will be the 'year of the used EV'What the government shutdown means for Social Security benefitsIt's time to reconsider the S&P 500 set-it-and-forget-it strategyFor example, while gen AI can create an itinerary for your vacation, agentic AI can potentially book a trip for you, he said.Agentic AI could vide services to customers or interact with consumers in call centers."Any job that has to do with information could be impacted," said Toubia.
AI job market effects remain 'largely speculative'Xavierarnau | E+ | Getty ImagesAlready, some companies have hinted at workforce cuts because of AI.For example, the CEO of Accenture, a global fessional services company, recently outlined plans to lay off staff who are unable to reskill on artificial intelligence.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said in late August that the firm had cut 4,000 customer support roles due to AI."I've reduced it from 9,000 heads to 5,000, because I need less heads," Benioff said at the time.However, economists note that the extent of change is minimal at this point.Despite widespread anxiety over the effects of AI on today's labor market, such worries remain "largely speculative," according to an Oct.
1 report by the Yale University Budget Lab."Overall, our metrics indicate that the broader labor market has not experienced a discernible disruption since ChatGPT's release 33 months ago, undercutting fears that AI automation is currently eroding the demand for cognitive labor across the economy," the reers wrote.The nology also has some flaws, experts said.
For example, AI can still hallucinate and duce inaccurate work, they said.
So far, gen AI has had limited impact in terms of fully displacing certain skills, Indeed found.The nology is "very ly" to fully replace just 19 job-related skills — or 0.7% of the roughly 2,900 skills Indeed analyzed.
These include basic math, mpt engineering and image classification, for example, it said.This analysis only measures the nology's "transformational potential" — in other words, if all es were to fully integrate the nology into their workflows, according to Indeed.But many es aren't there yet, it said.Augmentation, or automation?A big debate over the job market effect of AI comes down to augmentation versus automation, said Toubia: "Is AI going to automate your job and make you obsolete, or is it going to augment your job and make you more ductive?"That answer may vary by industry.
For instance, some companies may decide to completely automate their customer service or call centers with agentic AI.
On the other hand, a human grammer may use AI to write and duce lines of code, boosting their ductivity.
Most industries so far are using AI in such a "hybrid" capacity, in which humans and AI co-exist, said Indeed's Ullrich.Almost half — 46% — of skills in a typical U.S.
job posting are poised for this hybrid transformation by gen AI, according to Indeed. In this state, human oversight is essential and AI can perform a significant chunk of routine tasks, it said.
64% of small es are using or piloting AI tools to varying degrees, according to a survey by base, which polled 828 "decision-makers" between May and June.watch now2:3102:31Some limited AI evidence emerging in the workplace: Wharton expert Ethan MollickWorkforce WireGoing forward, most jobs — 54% — are ly to be "moderately" transformed by generative AI, depending on how quickly es adopt the nology, according to the Indeed report.While experts agree that it's difficult to predict what the future holds, it's possible that a potential long-term effect from AI is the creation of new jobs and industries that do not exist yet, said Toubia.Overall, it's important to start finding ways to interact with AI in ductive ways, he said.
If you completely ignore the nology, you may "end up being obsolete very quickly," Toubia said.