Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the job market, but it’s not taking over completely. According to Chris Hyams, CEO of job-search platform Indeed, “roughly two-thirds” of jobs posted on the site include tasks that AI can do well. However, no current job listing can be done entirely by AI.

“We have 300 million plus job seekers coming to Indeed every month … and there’s a lot of anxiety [about whether] AI is going to help or hurt jobs,” Hyams told CNBC Make It.

That fear, Hyams says, is understandable but often misplaced. “AI can do math very well. It can’t draw an IV very well,” he explained. “You can’t have zero customer service reps [or] replace them with AI.”

AI Assists, But Doesn’t Replace

Hyams believes that while AI will continue to change how people work, it won’t replace humans completely. As of February 2025, Indeed has not seen a single job posting that AI can handle alone. 

Other business leaders agree. Siemens CEO Roland Busch gave an example involving nurses. His company developed AI tools to help with routine tasks, such as moving hospital beds or writing documents.

“So you take this bed-pushing work away and [create more] productive time for a nurse,” Busch said. “You would not replace a person with a robot, but a piece of the work a person does.”

Soft Skills Still Matter Most

AI may assist workers, but it won’t replace them. That’s why Hyams urges people to develop soft skills—the human abilities AI seems unlikely to copy. In a future shaped by tech, human qualities stand out more than ever.

“Empathy and compassion, decision making, teamwork and collaboration” are all valuable skills, he said. He also looks for “curiosity and adaptability” when hiring.

“It’s funny, the more I do this, the less I’m looking for specific knowledge or experience,” Hyams said. He prefers people who are eager to learn and excited to grow. “It’s just a question of, ‘What else can you fall in love with?’” he added.

AI Skills Appear in Few Job Listings

Indeed’s Hiring Lab found that terms related to generative AI, like ChatGPT, appear in only about three out of every 1,000 job listings. That suggests AI still plays a relatively limited role in the current job market.

Still, as technology continues to evolve, workers must focus on building emotional intelligence. This includes the ability to understand one’s feelings, communicate clearly, and handle typical workplace challenges.

Emotional Intelligence Will Lead the Way

Terry Petzold, a recruiter with over 25 years of experience, emphasized the same point in a 2024 interview with CNBC Make It. 

“I’ll tell you where the future is,” Petzold said. “It’s not even necessarily in [the] technology space. It’s in soft skills. It’s in emotional intelligence.”

He explained that skills like giving and receiving feedback, resolving conflict, and fostering clear communication are now in high demand: “The general EQ skills we’re noticing really have to do with communication [with] others and the ability to push through challenges and come out unscathed.”