AI’s Employee Impact and Adoption/Ads Update

Q: Do we have a sense of how AI is impacting US employment?

A: Recently, Stanford partnered with ADP, which processes payroll for roughly one in six U.S. workers, to analyze employment trends across 4.6 million workers and more than 730 occupations from the launch of ChatGPT through April 2026. Using actual payroll data rather than surveys, they found that while overall employment has remained relatively stable, workers ages 22-25 in the occupations most exposed to AI have experienced a 16% decline in employment since late 2022.

The researchers suggest younger workers are being affected first because many entry-level roles are built around routine, task-based work. AI is increasingly capable of handling activities like drafting, formatting, summarizing information, and taking meeting notes. The study also introduces an important distinction between augmenting work, where AI helps people do their jobs, and automating work, where AI performs tasks that people previously did themselves.

For me, this raises a much bigger question about developing the next generation of talent. Traditionally, junior employees learned the ropes by doing many of the routine tasks that AI can now complete in seconds. If those opportunities continue to shrink, organizations will need to rethink how they develop the next generation of talent. Otherwise, we risk creating a future where there are fewer opportunities for people to gain the experience they’ll eventually need to become senior leaders and experts.

Q: Are there examples of companies meaningfully using AI to expand their business offerings without a bunch of layoffs?

A: I love this example from IKEA. They built a chatbot that could handle about 47% of all inbound inquiries as of 2023—but instead of reducing their call center employee headcount by 47%, they launched a re-skilling program that retrained employees in digital retail sales, room planning and relationship management. 

This also addressed the 53% of inquiries the chatbot could not handle, as they required contextual judgement and interior design taste.

This is a fantastic reminder that when at its best, most mission-aligned application, AI can automate the most thankless tasks while freeing up resources for the work that requires human creativity.

Q: How fast is AI adoption growing at this point?

A: Pew’s latest study confirms that AI adoption continues to accelerate. Nearly half of U.S. adults (49%) now report using AI chatbots, up from 33% last year. And this data was collected before Google’s broader rollout of AI-powered Search, which is likely to push adoption even higher, even if many people don’t realize they’re using AI.

What’s most interesting is the disconnect between usage and sentiment. People are significantly more negative about AI’s impact on society than they are about its impact on their own lives. Many people are finding AI personally useful while remaining concerned about its broader consequences.

This does mean that arts marketers should continue to keep an eye on this space for future marketing potential. With the introduction of Custom Audiences for ChatGPT ads, OpenAI’s advertising platform is moving closer to the baseline targeting capabilities marketers expect from other digital advertising channels. While still early, it’s another sign that ChatGPT’s ad platform is beginning to mature. 

Talk soon,
Jen

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