Up to 30% of Jobs Could Be Affected by Automation Within the Next Five Years
New Delhi, August 6, 2025
As Artificial Intelligence (AI) advances and embeds itself within nearly every industry, new research warns that up to 30% of jobs today, whether through automation, augmentation, or elimination, are likely to be affected by AI by 2030. Findings based on global labor statistics and trends in AI interventions in workplace roles signify a narrowing window, calling for immediate action by workers and policymakers to prepare for employment market challenges that will be disruptive.
The most common positions at risk of job displacement are found in customer service roles, retail, clerical work, and low-skilled labor, all of which are predominantly repetitive and therefore cognitively satisfying for machine learning, robotics, and generative AI.
The top 10 at-risk jobs in AI disruption:
Data Entry Clerk – AI is now performing better than humans at extracting, cleaning, processing, and organizing data from the wild and databases with less than a 1% error rate.
Telemarketer – Consumer sales, promotional calls, and surveys are becoming fully automated via AI voice bots, customer engagement platforms, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems.
Cashier – The rise of contactless payments, UPI transactions, and automated retail stores is steadily shrinking the need for human cashiers.
Customer Support Executive – Routine customer queries are now being handled by AI chatbotsand virtual assistants for first contact resolution, reducing the need for an immediate human response.
Bank Teller – In branch banking is rapidly being replaced by online banking tools and financial advice from AI systems.
Travel Agents—Apps with AI integration allow users to book, plan, and edit travel plans without the need for a professional.
Proofreaders – Language models and grammar correction tools are now taking over the editing work that was once done manually.
Assembly Line Workers – Robotics and automation are also gradually replacing repetitive human labor in manufacturing.
Security Guards – AI and facial recognition technologies are giving way to basic monitoring that only needs to be monitored by the human security guards remotely.
Fast Food Workers—Self-service kiosks and robotic chefs are paving the way for automation at scale in the quick-service food industry.
Young Voices Respond to the AI Change
Suryansh Kumar Singh, a B.Tech student from Delhi, expressed apprehension towards automation: “I am excited by the possibilities of AI, but I’m constantly nervous about the speed it is happening. I’m studying engineering, and even in technical roles, we’re being told to focus on creativity and variability now. Even routine coding jobs have limited future prospects.”
A journalism student from Shimla, Prateeksha Thakur, articulated a similar perspective: “AI can now summarize, write stories, or even create sketches at times. It can help, but it also challenges human storytellers to reconsider what unique human value they create. We are going to need to adapt quickly, or be left behind.”
Even with this incredible challenge ahead, millions of new jobs are expected to be created in cybersecurity, renewable energy, health care, data analytics, and digital infrastructure. Reskilling, digital adaptability for the long haul, and digital literacy are what is needed to thrive in this transition, according to experts.
We must encourage educational institutions, private enterprises, and government organizations to innovate their curricula, reskill their employees, and invest in the innovation of new sectors.
The AI revolution is already underway and it is no longer something that belongs to the future. It is an active factor in changing the workforce globally as industries transition. As the workforce transitions, we must too. The employment of the future may not be competing with machines but learning how to work with them.
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