AI Forces a Skills Reset: 85% of U.S. Workers Could See Roles Reshaped

Artificial intelligence is transforming not only the jobs people hold, but also the skills they rely on to do them. New data from LinkedIn shows that 85 percent of U.S. professionals could see at least a quarter of their skills affected by AI. In other words, a significant portion of workers’ expertise may need to evolve to keep pace. As a reflection of this shift, the most in-demand skill over the past year, unsurprisingly, has been AI literacy.

We’re already seeing fields such as marketing, human resources, engineering, arts and design, and media and communications disrupted because of AI. Still, when you dive deeper, these are the specific jobs that are poised to be reshaped by the technology:

• Writer and editor
• Software engineer
• Data analyst
• Videographer
• Librarian
• Web designer
• Marketing strategist
• Accountant
• Photographer
• Translator

However, it’s essential to know that AI won’t affect all roles the same. LinkedIn reports that job functions that require a physical presence or human-to-human interaction will be less impacted. This includes dentists, agriculture scientists, optometrists, oil field operators, real estate agents, veterinarians, geologists, chaplains, social workers, and physician assistants.

AI’s disruptive effect is keeping professionals uneasy. Not only are they concerned about job displacement, but LinkedIn shared that nearly half of professionals worldwide are stressed out by “how quickly they’re expected to ‘get’ AI.” According to the company, such angst is seeping onto the professional social network, with the number of people posting about feeling overwhelmed up 82 percent year-over-year.

“Information overload is real in the age of AI, and people are feeling the pressure,” LinkedIn’s Chief Economist, Karin Kimbrough, said in a statement.

And there’s a good reason for workers to be concerned, as their employment could be on the line if they’re unable to work with AI. For example, the multinational management consultancy firm Accenture disclosed it has laid off more than 11,000 employees over the past three months, citing that they couldn’t be retrained fast enough for the AI age. In addition to the 1.3 percent of staff it let go, more terminations could be expected. “Our No. 1 strategy is upskilling, given the skills we need, and we’ve had a lot of experience in upskilling, we’re trying to, in a very compressed timeline, where we don’t have a viable path for skilling, sort of exiting people so we can get more of the skills in we need,” Accenture’s Chief Executive Julie Sweet told investors on a call last week.

All of this feels somewhat similar to the Second Industrial Revolution, characterized by the rise of mass production and the introduction of assembly line automation. For example, marketing teams are turning to AI agents to offload repetitive tasks, such as doing SEO optimization, ad placement and bidding, audience segmentations, and copywriting and messaging. If those skills are no longer in demand, what should workers add in their place?

It’s not learning how to code, that’s for sure. Instead of gaining technical expertise, professionals are focusing on human skills, such as conflict mitigation, adaptability, process optimization, innovative thinking, public speaking, solution-based selling, customer engagement and support, stakeholder management, and large language model development and application.

But the skill in highest demand? AI literacy. LinkedIn reports it has doubled in demand over the past year (100 percent year-over-year growth). For anyone working with AI, understanding the technology, learning how to use it effectively, evaluating different AI systems, and applying it responsibly are essential to staying relevant in today’s work environment.

Welcome to the era of continuous learning, at least that’s what LinkedIn says. The company reports that in 2025, more than 20 million people added a certification to their LinkedIn profiles, representing a 17 percent increase from the previous year. Moreover, there has been a 140 percent rise in new skills added to profiles since 2018, with an emphasis on diversification.

However, LinkedIn isn’t the only platform providing a learning environment. Other companies also have similar offerings, including Salesforce, ServiceNow, Microsoft, Google, AWS, IBM, and Coursera. All of these have evolved into helping their users learn about AI and adapt to the new workplace.

That said, LinkedIn suggests another option for professionals struggling to keep up with AI in their current jobs: Consider entrepreneurship or pivoting. While the technology may be slowly and inadvertently inching them out the door, workers can also use it to help ideate and develop their ideas for a startup or other business venture. Going out on their own may restore a sense of control that professionals felt they lost in their previous role. Another survey by LinkedIn determined that 45 percent of Americans believed they had control over their careers. That number rose to 65 percent among the self-employed.

Alternatively, consider a different job entirely. For professionals who are too stressed or burned out, consider other company roles that offer better growth, balance, flexibility, and challenging work. According to LinkedIn’s data, some of the more common pivots in the U.S. last year include those going from:

• Legal ➡️ Research or Operations
• Engineering ➡️ Education or Community and Social Services
• Accounting ➡️ Education or Operations
• Marketing ➡️ Program and Project Management or Real Estate

Ultimately, as AI continues to transform not only the workforce but also the jobs we do, LinkedIn’s data offers a glimpse into how professionals can adapt to this career disruption. They can embrace it and try to reskill and stay ahead of the wave, or opt for a different path that is more challenging and less disruptive—for now.

Featured Image: LinkedIn's logo on the wall of its San Francisco office. Credit: Ken Yeung