When we face rapid shifts in technology or significant evolution in the corporate environment, there’s a lot of speculation that impacts knowledge workers and other administrative professionals behind the walls of corporate America. As artificial intelligence [AI] reshapes global workforces, the hype can give a misconception driven by perceived differences or misinformation. Can someone truly understand how an executive assistant [EA] operates if they have never performed in the role?
To look at it from another angle, we must consider the facts, data and the lived experience of millions of professionals in addition to the individual opinions. Knowledge workers and EAs who are actively rewriting the narrative are skilling up. They are evolving and positioning themselves for a state of readiness as AI agents begin to be deployed. They are learning about large language models [LLMs], neural networks, natural language processing, behavior tracking, data classifications and clusters, and how predictable patterns shape outcomes.
“The future of AI is not about replacing humans, it’s about augmenting human capabilities.”
Quote source: Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google
Here’s where the misconception needs to be honed in on. Not everyone who works long hours or is on standby everyday is drowning in demands. Here’s what the data reveals:
- Data and trends from McKinsey show that professionals in administrative roles will remain vulnerable in any era if they are either not advancing in digital literacy or not equipped with the technology in their place of work to grow and learn advanced workflows that are aligned to traditional, routine functions that can be automated.
- According to this McKinsey report, 30 percent of hours worked today could be automated by 2030. Those who don’t evolve risk becoming part of the displacement.
The old adage, do more with less is gone. EAs who invest in their career and make technology work for them are already automating. In an AI+ world, it is about embracing technology, partner with it to augment what we do. So before buying into the hype that all professionals are overworked and undervalued, take a closer look at the source before defining how this opinion relates to the bigger picture. The ones changing the narrative, are moving forward based on data, insights, and innovation. They are learning how to renovate and reinvent new ways of working.
Continuous learning is essential in the corporate landscape, and it’s becoming even more critical as AI accelerates the pace of change and innovation across industries. There’s no single standard for intelligence, so everyone brings a unique approach to what we do, adding to the depth of our collective force. Now, let’s take this into the future of AI and agents. We are starting to hear more about pattern and rule matching. We take these patterns and build feedback loops with data insights, separating signal from noise. To do this, we make technology work for us.
Taking this a step further, we know how to shift our administrative processes to organize data, architect information, and procedures. This has a significant impact on our systems, because intelligence, artificial or human, works best in a well-defined and organized space.
While AI has been evolving for years, it is now making an impact in the corporate world due to the leap in large language models like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity. If the knowledge workforce is phasing out because of artificial intelligence, then what becomes of the millions of professionals whose roles, like EAs and executives, depend on applying expertise, analysis, and judgment?
According to the 2024 Microsoft Work Trend Index:
- 75% of global knowledge workers are already using generative AI.
- The use of AI among knowledge workers has nearly doubled in the last six months.
- Companies are investing in AI training and skills development, and fostering cultures of continuous learning.
With any advances in innovation, there’s often a reactive phase, restructuring, headcount adjustments and budget realignments. On the ground, we are seeing rapid adoption by professionals who want to become more productive, creative, and adaptive. This factors into misconceptions.
To be mindful in anything we do, it’s important to explore what is shifting in your environment.
- The old way of working of churning through high volumes of email, constant back-and-forth collaboration and a perpetual state of urgency that is a common result of no time to focus on what matters most.
- Dynamic new ways of working are evolving. Value now comes from creativity, problem-solving, pattern recognition, data mining, workflow automation, and strategic thinking.
- AI is being used for repetitive tasks and is augmenting human intelligence, freeing up time to focus on priority work that requires uniquely human insight.
We can’t emphasize enough the importance of building a culture of continuous learning as we move deeper into an AI augmented era. Embracing new technology and innovating for the future requires intentional talent development, and EAs are well positioned to deliver in this space. When we evolve with technology, we deepen our human intelligence and position ourselves for readiness. Not all EAs have graduated from the paper-based age to the digital era, and now into the AI-augmented world in an agile environment that reflects the future of work. This is reflective in data, digital media and research. But in many ways, EAs are adaptive knowledge workers. Before coming to judgement on what someone says, posts or publishes in a book, remember we all walk unique lives and have different experiences based on our inherent drive to grow or not. So, the notion that the administrative processes that EAs architect behind the walls of corporate America is phasing out is likely a misconception held by those outside a space they don’t fully understand.
