Microsoft Study Identifies Jobs Most Likely to Be Affected by AI Chatbots
Microsoft researchers have mapped how generative AI is reshaping work by analyzing 200,000 conversations with its Copilot chatbot. The findings show that jobs centered on providing and communicating information—such as translators, historians, and writers—are most likely to overlap with AI capabilities. At the other end of the spectrum, physically demanding roles like dredge operators, phlebotomists, and hazardous materials removal workers showed little overlap.
The study emphasizes that overlap doesn’t equate to replacement. “AI supports many tasks, particularly those involving research, writing, and communication, but does not indicate it can fully perform any single occupation,” said lead researcher Kiran Tomlinson. Still, the researchers noted that the accelerating use of AI warrants deeper study of its social and economic impacts.
The report stops short of predicting mass layoffs, diverging from dire warnings such as Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s projection that up to half of white-collar entry-level jobs could vanish within five years. Other leaders, including Mark Cuban, argue AI will ultimately create more opportunities than it destroys. Microsoft’s findings echo a growing consensus that AI chatbots will mainly transform office-based knowledge work, while physical labor roles remain less exposed—though advances in other forms of AI could change that equation.