AI is Changing Jobs, But Maybe Not Ending Them

This week brought important news about how agentic AI is affecting people who work in offices and factories around the world. Agentic AI is smart technology that can watch what's happening, learn from it, and make decisions to help humans work faster. Unlike older computer programs that just follow orders, agentic AI can understand what's going on and react in real time.

Research from the United States revealed something that might make workers feel better. When companies started using AI to make work faster, only 17% of them said this made them fire people. Instead, most companies did something different: 47% spent their time gains on better AI tools, 42% built new AI abilities, 41% made their computer safety stronger, and 38% trained their workers for new jobs. This shows that companies are thinking bigger than just getting rid of workers.

Workers Are Feeling Smart But Getting Weaker

However, there's a concerning problem happening right now. Scientists studying workplaces found that AI is making workers feel smarter while their real skills are actually getting worse. Think of it like using a calculator so much that you forget how to do math in your head. When people use AI for everything, they start thinking they know more than they really do, and the skills they need to do hard thinking start to fade away.

The workers having the hardest time are young people just starting their jobs. Usually, new workers learn by doing the hard work slowly with help from older workers. But when AI does all that work instead, young workers never learn those important skills. This means they might not be ready when they need to make big decisions on their own later.

New Rules Might Be Coming

In the United States, lawmakers are worried about job losses from AI and want companies to be honest about it. A group of lawmakers asked companies to explain what jobs changed because of AI. According to their information, companies announced 54,694 layoffs because of AI in 2025. However, other research shows that weak demand and economic problems are actually bigger reasons why people are losing jobs than AI is.

A bipartisan group is working on a law called the AI-Related Job Impacts Clarity Act that would require big companies to tell the government when AI changes their workforce. The law is trying to make sure that when workers lose jobs to AI, they have chances to learn new skills and move to different jobs in the same company.

AI Is Helping With Daily Work

On a positive note, agentic AI is making certain parts of work much easier. AI agents are helping with small decisions and tasks that normally take lots of back-and-forth emails and chats. For example, an AI agent can handle schedule changes, shift swaps, or HR questions quickly and fairly. Workers are also using AI agents like practice partners for important conversations—they can rehearse difficult talks with an AI and get quick feedback on what they say and how they say it.

Companies are also using agentic AI to help employees feel more cared for at work. AI can learn what each worker likes and needs, then send personal messages about recognizing their hard work or reminding them to take care of their health. This helps workers feel seen and supported, not like just a number.

The Right Way to Use AI at Work

Leading companies are discovering that the best way to use agentic AI is hybrid by design. This means AI handles the routine, repetitive work while humans stay in charge of decisions that matter and things that could cause problems. For example, at an insurance company, AI agents handle boring paperwork about damage, but a person always talks to the customer.

Experts say companies need to be careful about how they measure success with AI. Some companies are rewarding workers for clicking AI tools a lot, but that's the wrong measure. Instead, companies should check if AI is actually making work better, making customers happier, or creating new ideas. The goal should be using AI as a partner, not just using it for the sake of using it.

Challenges Ahead

Workers are also pushing back when they feel AI is not being used fairly. People worry about privacy, want real job training, and are concerned about the environment. Workers are getting tired from all these changes happening fast.

Companies need to be clear and honest about how they collect worker information and how they use it. They should make sure AI systems don't accidentally treat some workers unfairly because of their race, age, or background. The future of work depends on keeping the human side strong while AI handles the repetitive parts.