Industries Most Affected by AI in 2026
26 industries ranked by AI displacement risk using the FAIR Framework
The industries most affected by AI in 2026, ranked by average displacement score from the FAIR Framework analysis of 291 jobs: Office & Administrative Support (90.2%), Finance & Accounting (84.2%), Retail, Sales & Customer Support (82.3%), Marketing & Public Relations (78.7%), and Technology & IT (74.8%). The least affected are Personal Care & Services (34.4%) and Science & Research (37.8%).
Source: FAIR Framework by What About AI?
JA26
Industries Ranked
291
Jobs Analyzed
90.2%
Highest Risk
34.4%
Lowest Risk
Complete Industry Rankings
All 26 industries ranked from highest to lowest AI displacement risk. Click any industry to see individual job breakdowns.
| # | Industry | Displacement | Replacement | Gap | Jobs | Risk Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Office & Administrative Support | 90.2% | 77.6% | 12.6pt | 9 | Critical |
| 2 | Finance & Accounting | 84.2% | 64.2% | 20.0pt | 12 | High |
| 3 | Retail, Sales & Customer Support | 82.3% | 66.5% | 15.8pt | 10 | High |
| 4 | Marketing & Public Relations | 78.7% | 45% | 33.7pt | 10 | High |
| 5 | Technology & IT | 74.8% | 43.2% | 31.6pt | 17 | High |
| 6 | Law & Legal Services | 73.8% | 53.1% | 20.7pt | 8 | High |
| 7 | Manufacturing & Production | 72.3% | 65.2% | 7.1pt | 10 | High |
| 8 | Transportation & Logistics | 72.2% | 61.2% | 11.0pt | 12 | High |
| 9 | Business & Management | 71.4% | 37.1% | 34.3pt | 12 | High |
| 10 | Gig & Freelance | 68.8% | 53.7% | 15.1pt | 10 | Elevated |
| 11 | Government & Public Administration | 63.1% | 40% | 23.1pt | 10 | Elevated |
| 12 | Seasonal & Temporary | 62.7% | 50.5% | 12.2pt | 10 | Elevated |
| 13 | Hospitality & Tourism | 61.6% | 49.4% | 12.2pt | 10 | Elevated |
| 14 | Agriculture, Environmental & Natural Resources | 57.4% | 42.5% | 14.9pt | 10 | Elevated |
| 15 | Public Safety & Law Enforcement | 56.6% | 35.8% | 20.8pt | 10 | Elevated |
| 16 | Military & Defense | 56.6% | 32% | 24.6pt | 10 | Elevated |
| 17 | Energy & Utilities | 56.3% | 45.6% | 10.7pt | 10 | Elevated |
| 18 | Education & Training | 56.2% | 30.5% | 25.7pt | 10 | Elevated |
| 19 | Food Service & Culinary | 54.3% | 44.3% | 10.0pt | 11 | Elevated |
| 20 | Healthcare & Medical | 53.6% | 30.6% | 23.0pt | 15 | Elevated |
| 21 | Social Services & Non-Profit | 52.8% | 27.7% | 25.1pt | 13 | Elevated |
| 22 | Arts, Media & Entertainment | 49.8% | 36% | 13.8pt | 14 | Moderate |
| 23 | Construction & Skilled Trades | 46.4% | 33.8% | 12.6pt | 14 | Moderate |
| 24 | Engineering & Architecture | 41.2% | 35.6% | 5.6pt | 12 | Moderate |
| 25 | Science & Research | 37.8% | 31.5% | 6.3pt | 10 | Moderate |
| 26 | Personal Care & Services | 34.4% | 23.1% | 11.3pt | 12 | Moderate |
Top 5 Most Affected Industries
These industries face the highest average AI displacement risk. Workers in these sectors should prioritize AI upskilling immediately.
Office & Administrative Support
Office & Administrative Support faces the highest AI risk of any industry. Most roles involve repetitive data processing and workflow management that AI systems already handle with greater speed and accuracy. Workers who don't learn to leverage AI tools will be outpaced by those who do.
Finance & Accounting
Finance & Accounting is being transformed by AI's ability to process financial data, detect fraud, and generate reports in seconds. From bookkeepers to financial analysts, the industry's reliance on structured data makes it highly susceptible to automation.
Retail, Sales & Customer Support
Retail, Sales & Customer Support is being disrupted by AI chatbots, automated checkout, personalized recommendation engines, and AI-powered CRM tools. Customer-facing roles that follow scripts are especially vulnerable.
Marketing & Public Relations
Marketing & Public Relations faces significant disruption as AI excels at content generation, data-driven campaign optimization, SEO analysis, and audience targeting. Creative strategy remains human-led, but execution is rapidly automating.
Technology & IT
Technology & IT is paradoxically building the AI that disrupts it. Code generation, automated testing, IT support chatbots, and AI-driven DevOps are reshaping the sector. Roles focused on implementation over architecture face the most pressure.
Top 5 Most Resilient Industries
These industries have the lowest average AI displacement risk, typically because their work requires physical presence, human empathy, or creative judgment that AI cannot replicate.
Personal Care & Services
Personal Care & Services ranks as the most AI-resilient industry. Roles like hairstylists, fitness trainers, and childcare workers require physical presence, personal touch, and adaptive human interaction that AI and robotics cannot replicate at scale.
Science & Research
Science & Research benefits from the deeply exploratory and hypothesis-driven nature of scientific work. While AI assists with data analysis, the creative formulation of research questions and experimental design remains fundamentally human.
Engineering & Architecture
Engineering & Architecture combines creative design with physical-world constraints that require human judgment. AI can assist with calculations and drafting, but the integration of aesthetic, structural, and environmental factors keeps these roles human-centered.
Construction & Skilled Trades
This industry's resilience comes from the physical and interpersonal nature of its work. Whether in construction, farming, or skilled trades, the unpredictable real-world environments make full automation challenging.
Arts, Media & Entertainment
This sector benefits from the need for hands-on physical work, creative problem-solving, and human interaction that current AI systems cannot fully replicate. While some analytical tasks may be augmented, the core work remains human-driven.
Displacement vs. Replacement Gap
The gap between displacement and replacement scores reveals a critical insight: industries with a large gap are being transformed, not eliminated. A big gap means AI changes how you work, not whether you work.
Top 10 industries shown. Displacement = risk if you don't adapt. Replacement = chance of full job elimination.
What does the gap mean?
A larger gap between displacement and replacement means the industry is undergoing transformation, not elimination. Workers who learn AI tools will thrive; those who don't will struggle. A small gap (displacement and replacement are close) means the roles themselves may genuinely disappear. For example, Office & Admin has a gap of 12.6pt, meaning many of those roles face both competitive pressure and outright elimination.
What This Means For You
If You're in a High-Risk Industry
Industries scoring 70%+ displacement need immediate action. The window for adapting is shrinking fast. Your competitive advantage is learning to work with AI before it replaces your current approach.
- 1.Take the AI career quiz to understand your specific role's risk profile and get personalized action steps.
- 2.Consider AI coaching to develop a personalized adaptation strategy with expert guidance.
- 3.Read the AI Survival Guide for framework-based strategies to future-proof your career.
If You're in a Low-Risk Industry
Lower risk doesn't mean no change. AI tools can still boost your productivity and open new opportunities in your field. Understanding AI helps you stay competitive even in resilient sectors.
- 1.Learn how AI augments your work — even in safe industries, AI tools can save hours of administrative time.
- 2.Understand the broader shifts — clients, partners, and adjacent roles in your industry may be affected.
- 3.Stay informed — AI capabilities are advancing rapidly. Today's safe industry may face new pressures tomorrow.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which industry is most affected by AI?
Office & Administrative Support is the industry most affected by AI, with an average displacement score of 90.2% across 9 jobs analyzed. Roles like Data Entry Clerk (98%), Virtual Assistant (95%), and Receptionist (92%) face near-total displacement risk. This industry has both the highest displacement and highest replacement scores, meaning many roles face outright elimination rather than just transformation.
Which industries are safest from AI?
The five industries most resilient to AI disruption are: Personal Care & Services (34.4%), Science & Research (37.8%), Engineering & Architecture (41.2%), Construction & Skilled Trades (46.4%), Arts, Media & Entertainment (49.8%). These industries rely heavily on physical dexterity, human creativity, hands-on work, or unpredictable environments that current AI systems cannot replicate. However, even these industries will see some tasks augmented by AI tools.
Will AI eliminate entire industries?
No industry will be completely eliminated by AI, but several will undergo radical transformation. The key distinction is between displacement (competitive pressure to adopt AI) and replacement (full job elimination). Even the highest-risk industry, Office & Administrative Support, has an average replacement score of 77.6% compared to its 90.2% displacement score. This gap shows that most jobs will transform rather than disappear entirely.
How does AI affect office, finance, and retail industries specifically?
Office & Administrative Support (90.2%) faces the highest risk because most tasks involve data processing and routine workflows that AI handles well. Finance & Accounting (84.2%) is heavily impacted because AI excels at number crunching, fraud detection, and financial analysis. Retail, Sales & Customer Support (82.3%) faces significant disruption from AI chatbots, automated checkout, and personalized selling algorithms. All three share a common thread: high volumes of repetitive, rule-based tasks.
How is industry AI risk calculated?
Industry rankings are based on the FAIR Framework (Futurist-Informed AI Risk), developed by James Perkins at What About AI?. Each of the 291 jobs across 26 industries receives a displacement score (risk if you don't adapt) and a replacement score (probability of full elimination). Industry averages are calculated from all individual job scores within that sector. The framework draws from curated futurist predictions, hands-on AI capability testing, and economic research from Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, and the World Economic Forum.
Where can I check my specific job within an industry?
You can search for your specific job at whataboutai.com/jobs, which contains detailed FAIR Framework analysis for all 291 jobs. Each job page shows your displacement score, replacement score, timeline, expert quotes, and personalized action steps. You can also take the free AI Career Risk Quiz at whataboutai.com/quiz for a quick 2-minute assessment tailored to your role.
Find Your Job's AI Risk Score
Industry averages tell part of the story. Your specific role within an industry may face higher or lower risk. Take the free 2-minute quiz to get your personalized displacement score.
Stay Ahead of AI Industry Changes
Get weekly updates on which industries and jobs are being affected by new AI developments.