Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming workplaces across sectors, intensifying concerns over its impact on employment by 2026. Experts, including AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, have cautioned that accelerating AI adoption could lead to significant job displacement. Reflecting these concerns, Microsoft has released a list of 40 professions that are most likely to be affected by AI-driven automation in the coming years.
According to Microsoft, the assessment is based on extensive research conducted using its Copilot AI chatbot, which analyzed more than 200,000 workplace tasks. The study ranked occupations using an “AI applicability score,” measuring how effectively AI can perform core job functions. Roles that rely heavily on language, data analysis, and information processing were found to be particularly vulnerable, as generative AI is already being deployed efficiently in these areas.
Supporting these findings, a report by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) estimates that nearly three million low-skilled jobs could disappear by 2035 due to automation, even as around 2.3 million new roles may emerge. Jobs involving repetitive and routine tasks—such as administrative support, machine operation, cash handling, and warehouse work—are expected to face the greatest risk, as organizations increasingly turn to cost-effective and continuously operating machines.
Jobs Likely to Be Impacted by AI:
- Interpreters and Translators
- Historians
- Passenger Attendants
- Service Sales Representatives
- Writers and Poets
- Customer Service Representatives
- CNC Tool Programmers
- Telephone Operators
- Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks
- Broadcast Announcers and Radio DJs
- Brokerage Clerks
- Agricultural and Home Economics Teachers
- Telemarketers
- Doorkeepers
- Political Scientists
- News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists
- Mathematicians
- Technical Writers
- Proofreaders and Copy Markers
- Hosts and Hostesses
- Editors
- Business Teachers (Postsecondary)
- Public Relations Specialists
- Demonstrators and Product Promoters
- Advertising Sales Agents
- New Accounts Clerks
- Statistical Assistants
- Counter and Rental Clerks
- Data Scientists
- Personal Financial Advisors
- Archivists
- Economics Teachers (Postsecondary)
- Web Developers
- Management Analysts
- Geographers
- Models
- Market Research Analysts
- Public Safety Telecommunicators
- Switchboard Operators
- Library Science Teachers (Postsecondary)