78% of companies say AI actually creates jobs

Whenever AI dominates the headlines, the conversation inevitably turns to job losses. But when you ask the executives actually writing the checks for these tools, the reality looks quite different.

According to a report from the Institute for the Future of Work at Imperial College London, over 1,000 firms were surveyed about how automation is reshaping their workforce. The headline takeaway is that 78% of companies reported that adopting AI directly contributed to creating new jobs.

Two realities inside the same office

Before celebrating a tech hiring boom, the rest of the numbers tell a more nuanced story. This shift is not a simple win for everyone.

About 47% of respondents acknowledged that AI has eliminated existing positions. Certain traditional tasks simply do not require human hands anymore.

At the same time, 67% of companies reported that entirely new roles opened up after integrating AI into their workflows. The hiring and the firing are happening under the same roof.

That reveals the real friction point: AI is not just changing the number of jobs available, it is completely rewiring what those jobs look like. The people losing roles are rarely the same people stepping into the new ones.

Why it matters

This study cuts through both the doomer narrative and the blind techno-optimism. AI is not wiping out work overnight, but it is aggressively redistributing it.

For workers, the takeaway is straightforward. You do not need to build large language models, but you do need to understand how automated workflows touch your daily tasks. The new positions being created demand people who can manage tools, interpret outputs, and solve problems faster than before.

For companies, the hidden catch is talent scarcity. Cutting roles is fast, but filling the 67% of new openings is hard when the talent pool is still learning how to work alongside these systems.

We think the debate over whether AI creates or destroys jobs misses the point. It clearly does both. The real challenge over the coming decade will be whether workforces can reskill fast enough to claim the new seats at the table.