As artificial intelligence firms grow in both market value and adoption, ongoing discussions center on how AI might displace human workers across various sectors. Research indicates that positions where automation can handle the majority of tasks will see significant changes, yet certain analysts argue that AI could also generate new employment opportunities, viewing any workforce disruption as temporary.

Shim drew a parallel between AI assistance and modern navigation tools. “I think there’s always going to be a human in the middle,” Shim said. “I think the job is going to get easier over time. But a good example would be like driving a car. When we first started, you used to have a map. And you’d pull out the map. And you’d go in and say okay I’m driving. I’m deciding what happens. Now everyone uses Waze or Google Maps, and the map is telling you where to go. And you’re just following that order. But you’re the human in the middle who can decide what happens.”

He recognized that AI will influence employment, pointing out that advertising agencies, for instance, might reduce human positions by adopting automated solutions. Still, he emphasized that technology platforms will require personnel to manage these automated processes.

Abdullah Asiri, founder of the AI-driven consumer support startup Lucidya, shared his view that AI is poised to replace specific tasks rather than entire roles. He observed that when clients implement Lucidya, customer support agents frequently transition into new duties. Some advance to supervisory positions, guiding both human colleagues and AI systems, while others reallocate saved time toward relationship-building or business development activities.

Shim of Read AI highlighted how automated meeting notetakers have relieved employees from manual documentation. “Nobody here wants to sit down and take meeting notes, but as you start to take away that job, you have a little bit more time to do other things that you can go and focus on. You can send that report a little bit faster, or you can respond back to a customer and actually have better context to make better decisions, versus spending a bunch of time gathering all the information and having little time to make a decision,” he said.

**AI’s Internal Use and Hiring**

With tech companies such as Read AI and Lucidya increasingly integrating AI tools, they aim to maintain lean teams. Presently, Read AI’s customer service department operates with only five staff members, supporting millions of monthly users. Shim explained that the company employs AI to enhance the productivity of its compact team, providing them with richer context to accelerate their work.

These firms report measurable gains in productivity. Read AI mentioned that its sales tool analyzes data from CRM platforms like HubSpot and Salesforce to forecast deal outcomes. The startup revealed that approximately $200 million in deals have been approved via this system. Shim added that Read AI captures 23% more contextual information with each update, which helps assess the effectiveness of lead calls.

Asiri noted that Lucidya also utilizes AI tools, including Read AI, for meeting management and marketing content creation. The objective, he stated, is to “scale outcomes without scaling headcounts.”

“The goal for any company is to hire people who are AI native, who are very strong with AI, but we need to be realistic,” Asiri said. “Today, this skill is being developed. You cannot find a lot of people who have very strong AI capabilities, not building AI, but using AI.”

Asiri remarked that candidates capable of creating AI agents to assist in their roles will be especially sought after in the hiring process.

**Handling Customer Perception of AI**

Shim recalled that just a few years ago, many individuals were uneasy about AI notetakers in meetings and questioned the presence of a bot on calls. Today, he noted, people are generally more accepting, provided they are given control over recording settings.

Asiri shared that Lucidya is transparent with users when a voice AI is engaged in communication. He stressed that for customers, resolving their issues takes precedence over whether an AI bot handles the interaction. “It’s all about resolving issues and finding customers’ problems and resolving them,” Asiri said. “As long as the AI agents are actually focusing on that part, customers are happy that their issues are being resolved. The customer really doesn’t care whether it’s fixed by AI or a human, as long as it’s fixed fast and accurately.”