The world of work is undergoing a rapid transformation, driven by the rise of agentic AI – systems capable of independent action and complex problem-solving.
Coupled with demographic shifts and broader technology adoption, this next phase of work is leading to a revaluation of the skills and roles needed. As we move away from a human-only workforce, businesses need proactive strategies to navigate these changes effectively and to set employees up for success.
This shift means rethinking how work is done and what skills are valued. Our own proprietary research, which surveyed 200 global human resource executives, shows that agentic AI adoption is expected to skyrocket by 327 percent by 2027. This will obviously affect the way in which companies work and implies in depth thinking about reskilling the workforce and redeploying a significant portion of it into new roles.
Read: Dubai’s AI revolution: What are the jobs of tomorrow and those being left behind?
The report highlights the UAE’s intent to lead the way, with the government investing heavily in comprehensive initiatives to equip its workforce with AI skills, aiming to become a global leader in the field by 2031 through the UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031 and the National Program for AI. In the public and private sectors, the UAE is making solid progress in deploying AI.
For example, 93 percent of service organizations in the UAE are using or evaluating AI to scale services without sacrificing quality, with top use-cases including agent-facing intelligent assistants, customer-facing intelligent assistants, and service responses, intelligent offers and recommendations.
This shift means rethinking how work is done and what skills are valued. The focus is moving from task execution to working alongside – and supervising – AI agents. HR leaders now have the task of redesigning workflows, creating new training programs, and setting up frameworks for human-AI collaboration. Every employee will need to develop a mix of human judgment and creativity, AI, and business skills to succeed in this digital labor revolution.
The need for a skills-based talent approach
The integration of agentic AI isn’t only creating new job categories, but also transforming existing roles. We’re witnessing the emergence of positions focused on designing and managing AI systems to enable agents and empower teams to have more freedom to focus on strategic thinking, innovation, and customer engagement, such as AI workflow designers, process architects, prompt engineers, and model architects.
Beyond these technical specializations, new roles are needed to ensure the ethical, fair, and compliant use of AI at scale. Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs) anticipate moving employees into technical roles like data scientists and technical architects in the near future.
The most critical skill for the agentic economy? AI literacy. Salesforce research shows that HR leaders are planning to redeploy nearly a quarter (23 percent) of their employees into new positions that better utilize their unique human skills. Eighty eight percent of CHROs see this as more cost-effective than hiring externally, with a projected 30 percent boost in employee productivity once agentic AI is fully integrated.
Soft skills such as collaboration, adaptability, and relationship-building will also become increasingly important. As AI supports routine tasks, human jobs will increasingly focus on areas where people can add the most value. Supervising AI agents requires strong leadership skills, quick learning, proactivity, and a data-driven mindset — skills that aren’t typically part of traditional training and will need new programs.
To thrive in this new landscape, companies need to focus on skills rather than job titles. Technology, especially AI and data analytics, can play a crucial role by analyzing internal and external data to identify skill gaps and uncover hidden talents. For instance, large language models can review resumes to detect patterns that suggest new career paths employees might not have considered. This skills-based approach enhances the effectiveness of talent redeployment, improving both efficiency and quality.
The question isn’t whether jobs will change, but how
Despite the clear benefits, most organizations are still in the early stages of adopting agentic AI. Only 15 percent of businesses have fully implemented it, and 73 percent of employees remain unaware of how digital labor will impact their daily tasks. This awareness gap underscores the urgent need for clear communication and effective change management.
Leaders need to be transparent, acknowledging the changes ahead and providing support to employees through the transition. The digital labor economy is here, and the most valuable skills are evolving. Human skills are becoming more crucial alongside technical AI knowledge. Business leaders are under pressure to navigate this complex landscape.
Organizations that proactively plan for redeployment, invest in reskilling, and build frameworks for trusted human — AI collaboration will be best positioned to not only adapt but to lead in this new era of work, where human ingenuity and digital intelligence work together.
This transformation is unlocking new levels of productivity and offers a strategic opportunity to redefine the workforce for a hybrid future. By embracing these changes, businesses can ensure they remain competitive and innovative in the years to come.
Mohammed Alkhotani is senior vice president and general manager at Salesforce Middle East.
