Microsoft researchers reveal 40 jobs most exposed to AI, and teachers also make the list

As companies like Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft publicly announce layoffs on the back of heavy investments in AI, employees are scrambling to understand which careers may soon disappear and be outsourced to technology.

A report from Microsoft researchers studying the impact of generative AI on jobs provides some clarity.

According to a 2025 report ranking occupations, translators, historians, and writers are among the occupations with the highest AI applicability scores, meaning their job tasks most closely match AI’s current capabilities. Customer service and sales personnel, who account for about 5 million jobs in the United States, will also need to compete with AI.

Overall, the researchers wrote, the jobs most at risk are those that involve knowledge work, such as computer, math, and office administrative work. Salespeople also rank high because they often share and explain information.

Microsoft said that high applicability does not automatically mean those jobs will necessarily be replaced by AI, but the list of roles quickly spread and experts deemed them “most at risk.” It comes as companies freeze thousands of new roles expected to be taken over by AI over the next five years, with Indeed saying British graduates face the worst job market since 2018 as employers pause recruitment and leverage AI to cut costs.

Of course, there are some jobs that are unlikely to involve AI. Bridge and lock tenders. Additionally, water treatment plant and system operators are among the jobs with virtually no exposure to generative AI, as they are required to actually use the equipment.

Still, business leaders like NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang say it’s best to embrace AI because every job will be affected by it in some way.

“Every job is going to be affected immediately, there’s no doubt about it,” Huang said at the Milken Institute World Congress in 2025. “You won’t lose your job to AI, but you will lose your job to someone using AI.”

A degree won’t save you from the AI-driven employment revolution

Many of the jobs likely to be quickly upended by AI, such as political scientists, journalists, and business analysts, are jobs that typically require a four-year degree to get a job. And as researchers point out, a degree, once considered a surefire path to career advancement, is no longer a safeguard against changing times.

“In terms of educational requirements, we find that AI is more applicable to occupations that require a bachelor’s degree than occupations with lower requirements,” wrote the researchers, who examined 200,000 real-world conversations of CoPilot users and cross-compared AI performance with occupational data.

On the other hand, there are some career paths that have less exposure to AI and are increasingly in demand. The medical field is particularly vulnerable to this problem. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the home health and personal care assistance industry is expected to create the most new jobs over the next decade.

At the same time, the researchers recognized that even their findings did not capture the full scope of the AI revolution, and that more than just generative techniques could lead to further automation. “Our measurements are purely about LLM. Other applications of AI could certainly impact professions that involve operating or monitoring machinery, such as truck driving.”

Kiran Tomlinson, a senior researcher at Microsoft, said: luck This research focuses on identifying how AI has the potential to change the way work is done, rather than replacing or replacing jobs.

“While our research shows that AI can support many tasks, especially those involving research, writing, and communication, it does not show that it can perform any single occupation perfectly. As the adoption of AI accelerates, it is important to continue research and better understand its social and economic impact,” Tomlinson said.

The big bet on Gen Z’s education may not be all that appealing.

After seeing a rollercoaster of layoffs across the tech industry in recent years, many Gen Zers have turned to seemingly stable fields like education.

The sector was the fastest growing industry among UK graduates last year, and has similarly become a top career choice for US graduates. And while the profession can offer more work-life balance and decent benefits, the ability of AI to do the job could create even more headaches. The report highlights agriculture and home management educators, as well as post-secondary economics, business, and library science teachers, as roles where AI is more applicable.

While it is unlikely that schools will adopt AI teachers en masse, the report’s findings highlight how quickly technology could reshape many professions, including the teaching profession.