Goldman Sachs studied more than 800 occupations and found artificial intelligence exposure is concentrated among entry-level workers and call center staff, according to the firm's employment analysis released Tuesday.
Entry-level positions and customer service roles face the greatest exposure to automation, while higher-wage occupations and jobs requiring human judgment show lower vulnerability. The finding contradicts narratives of across-the-board disruption.
Goldman's methodology examined occupation-level data across the United States economy to measure which roles could be affected by AI capabilities. Call centers emerged as a focal point because the work is repetitive, customer-facing, and increasingly addressable by conversational AI systems. Entry-level positions, which often involve routine tasks and standardized processes, show similar exposure patterns.
The study's scope, 800-plus occupations, makes it one of the larger systematic examinations of AI's sectoral reach. Earlier research from OpenAI and the University of Pennsylvania estimated that 80 percent of the U.S. workforce could see at least 10 percent of their tasks affected by AI, though that analysis focused on task-level exposure rather than full job displacement. Goldman's occupational lens offers a narrower but more actionable view of concentration.
The concentration in entry-level and call-center roles has policy implications. Workforce development programs and retraining initiatives tend to focus on displaced workers after job loss occurs. If AI adoption accelerates in these sectors first, early intervention in customer service, data entry, and junior administrative roles could become a priority for labor agencies and employers.
Goldman's finding aligns with near-term market behavior. Several major financial institutions and technology companies have announced hiring freezes or reductions in customer service and junior analyst positions over the past 18 months, citing automation gains. The firm's research provides quantified backing for those sectoral trends.
Workers in occupations with high exposure face near-term transition pressure; those in occupations with lower exposure face relative stability. If Goldman's occupational ranking holds, entry-level workers in nontechnical fields will face the most urgent pressure to upskill or shift roles within the next two to three years.
