OpenAI has published new research suggesting that AI is changing jobs by expanding the range of tasks people perform, rather than simply making them faster at their existing work. Analysing more than 800,000 messages from U.S. ChatGPT users, the researchers found that many users were applying AI to tasks traditionally associated with other professions.
The findings suggest that AI is beginning to blur the boundaries between job roles. Instead of handing work to another department, employees are increasingly using AI to complete tasks themselves, particularly in smaller organisations where specialist expertise may not be readily available. This provides an early indication of how AI could reshape workplaces before formal job descriptions begin to change.
Key facts
- OpenAI analysed more than 800,000 messages from U.S. ChatGPT users.
- 16.8% of work-related messages involved tasks associated with an occupation other than the user’s own.
- Of those occupation-specific messages, 43.5% involved tasks associated with another occupation.
- Customer experience, design, human resources, legal and marketing workers showed the highest levels of cross-functional AI use.
- Smaller organisations showed more task crossover than larger businesses.
- Marketing and engineering tasks were the most frequently adopted across other occupations.
Our take
This research highlights a shift that many organisations are already beginning to experience. AI is not simply making existing jobs more efficient—it is enabling employees to solve problems that previously required another specialist or department.
For organisations, this creates opportunities to improve responsiveness and reduce bottlenecks. It also reinforces the need for appropriate governance, training and review processes, as staff increasingly undertake work outside their traditional areas of expertise with AI providing assistance.
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