A new Microsoft study dives into real-world AI use, mapping how it may reshape or even threaten dozens of white-collar jobs. Researchers analyzed over 200,000 Copilot chats, scoring professions on AI overlap using labor department task data. Interpreters, writers, and even journalists rank among the most exposed roles, but full replacement remains unlikely-yet.
Microsoft study reveals AI's growing overlap with job tasks, spotlighting the roles most susceptible to AI disruption. Photo/X.
A recent Microsoft study has taken a deep dive into how real-world usage of AI could transform, or potentially replace, various professions.
Microsoft researchers analyzed over 200,000 anonymized conversations between users and Microsoft Copilot over a nine-month period in 2024, according to reports. These conversations were mapped to Intermediate Work Activities (IWAs) from the US Department of Labor’s ONET database.
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The research team then developed an “AI applicability score,” which combined the mapped tasks with several indicators such as task completion rates, how frequently AI was used for those tasks, and feedback from users.
“Our study explores how AI may shape occupations by examining real-world usage,” said Kiran Tomlinson, senior researcher at Microsoft and lead author of the study. “It introduces an AI applicability score that measures the overlap between AI capabilities and job tasks, highlighting where AI might change how work is done, not necessarily replace it.”
Among the most at-risk professions are interpreters, translators, and historians, which topped the list of jobs with the highest AI applicability scores.
At the lower end of the scale, postsecondary library science teachers scored 34%. These professionals instruct university students on subjects such as archival methods and collection development, while also engaging in academic research and publishing.
Switchboard operators
Public safety telecommunicators
Market research analysts and marketing managers
Models
Geographers
Web developers
Postsecondary economics teachers
Activists
Personal finance advisors
Data scientists
Counter, rental, and new account clerks
Statistical assistants
Advertising sales agents
Demonstrators and product promoters
Public relations specialists
Postsecondary business teachers
Editors
Hostesses
Proofreaders
Copy markers
Technical writers
Mathematicians
Journalists
Political scientists
Farm and home management educators
Brokerage clerks
Broadcast announcers
Radio DJs
Ticket agents and travel clerks
Eight professions ranked highest on Microsoft’s AI applicability scale, between 42% and 49%:
Telephone operators (42%)
CNC tool programmers and customer service representatives (44%)
Writers and authors (45%)
Sales representatives of services (46%)
Passenger attendants (47%)
Historians (48%)
Interpreters and translators (49%)
Despite the growing overlap between AI capabilities and certain job tasks, the study stops short of claiming that AI can fully automate any specific profession.
“Our research shows that AI supports many tasks, particularly those involving research, writing, and communication, but does not indicate it can fully perform any single occupation,” Tomlinson clarified. “As AI adoption accelerates, it's important that we continue to study and better understand its societal and economic impact.”
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