Buttress, not butt out? Survey finds 83% of business leaders see AI as employee support, not replacement

Only 11% of business executives expect AI adoption to trigger significant job cuts in their organizations, according to a new survey from Creatio, a customer relationship management platform. The findings contrast sharply with predictions from tech leaders like Dario Amodei, CEO of AI company Anthropic, who has suggested AI could eliminate half of all white-collar jobs within five years, highlighting a disconnect between current business sentiment and long-term AI impact forecasts.

What you should know: The vast majority of business leaders view AI as a tool for employee support rather than replacement.

• 83% of executives surveyed said AI systems and agents will provide extra support to current employees and potentially create new roles
• Only 11% anticipate “significant headcount reductions” from AI adoption
• The survey included over 550 business decision-makers

The big picture: Current business strategy focuses on human-AI collaboration rather than workforce displacement.

• Companies are positioning AI tools to automate routine tasks, freeing workers to focus on more meaningful work
• This approach echoes marketing messaging from AI developers selling enterprise solutions
• Asana recently launched AI Teammates, a suite of agents designed to act as virtual coworkers

Why experts are concerned: Prominent tech leaders have made stark predictions about AI’s impact on employment.

• Dario Amodei said in May that AI could eliminate half of all white-collar jobs within five years
• Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has warned that AI could cause “whole classes of jobs” to disappear
• These predictions have contributed to widespread anxiety about AI-driven layoffs

What workers are feeling: Public concern about AI’s job market impact remains high despite business optimism.

• Over 70% of U.S. adults worry about AI’s future impact on employment, according to a Reuters-Ipsos poll
• Many workers are lying about their AI skills on LinkedIn to remain competitive
• AI has already reduced engineering job opportunities for recent graduates

The upskilling imperative: Companies are focusing on training existing employees to work with AI tools.

• “Upskilling will move from a nice-to-have to a necessity, as workers adapt to higher levels of output and broader responsibilities,” Creatio noted in its report
• A recent study by Indeed, a job search platform, found AI will likely shift job requirements more often than eliminate roles entirely
• However, one study found a correlation between heavy AI usage at work and increased stress levels