According to a think tank at IBM, 40% of the workforce will have to be “retrained” in the coming years. You may have already guessed it: it is HE who is bringing about such a massive change. We can panic at this news (1.4 billion people with the wrong skills), or we can take a step back and think that maybe the way we work is overdue for a change.

I'm optimistic about the “Great Reskill” taking place because I know it won't just be the privileged few who have a chance to remake themselves. AI skill enhancements aren't limited to those with engineering degrees or technical knowledge. We'll all be pushed to reinvent ourselves at work in the coming years, and there's an opportunity to come up with more enjoyable roles.

I've seen that change firsthand as a CEO in an industry at the forefront of AI disruption: customer service. Agents worldwide are feeling the impact on their work. But many are using this moment as a jumping-off point, a spur to reimagine their careers.

Looking beyond AI anxiety

I know anxiety about aging is widespread and growing. Gallup reports that 22% of us live with that fear. As the founder of a customer service AI platform, I see that anxiety firsthand in the companies we work with as people try to redefine themselves in a rapidly changing field. But as a customer service agent, I also understand that these employees have perspectives and skills that have yet to be tapped.

I remember the famous mistake people made when ATMs arrived in the 1980s. Everyone thought it would be the end of bank tellers, but, in fact, it the role of the bank teller was reimagined to focus on marketing and interpersonal skills, and the number of bank jobs actually increased. Likewise, recent reports suggest that AI may create more jobs than it destroys.

So, if we can move beyond our anxiety, the Big Skill becomes a once-in-a-generation chance to discover new avenues for meaningful work. Many of us have been hungry for just such a revolution since the pandemic turned office life upside down. This may be the moment when new roles and new alignments begin to take shape.

Where there is a will to retrain, automation becomes the beginning, not the end.

What skills should you pursue?

To make sure you have a role in an AI-driven company (ie, any future company), there are a few skills you can double-click on right now.

1. Learn to manage an AI agent

Pretty soon, almost every employee will become a manager with their team of AI agents. Those adept at leveraging AI colleagues—for everything from task management to content creation and customer support—will quickly set themselves apart. After all, managing an AI agent it has a lot in common with effectively managing any employee: You need to instill them with key skills, monitor performance, take advantage of teachable moments, and ultimately learn to let go and delegate.

2. Improve your data literacy

Those who know how to navigate large data sets use data visualization tools and marshal's records of it level of AI tools they will be life partners. Remember: AI relies on large data sets. By becoming a data wizard—one who doesn't get headaches from data sets, but translates them into usable resources for the team—you position yourself at the heart of that process.

3. Focus on your humanity

Take stock of your current role and honestly decide which elements can and cannot be automated. Double yourself up specific human expertise. Never doubt the value of motivating a team, for example, or strategizing for an untapped market. It can also be “softer” skills like yours emotional intelligence and ethical awareness that sets you apart. Emphasizing your specific human value turns you into the irreplaceable human.

Driving 'Great Agility' forward

So what can companies and individuals do to seize this moment instead of being captured by it? I've seen many businesses reflexively cut staff after the rollout of AI – eager for a quick boost in efficiency. For me, this can be short-sighted and often failed.

Progressive companies, in contrast, are reaping the benefits that AI provides and reinvesting in their people. Some have called this one “abundance agenda” where AI gains allow a company's capacity to grow overnight – and the only cost is training everyone to use AI.

As staff are retrained, they will take on new, expanded roles—perhaps roles that are still being determined. Some will manage entire fleets of agentssynchronizing them with the larger goals of the company while enjoying superhuman influence. Others will focus on creating the behavior of individual AI agents, becoming “rapid engineers”, “AI personality designers” and “AI ethicists”.

I love telling the story of a young woman named Meagan, who started her career as a front-line customer service agent at a financial services company and now has a job that didn't exist a year ago: she leads a team of artificial intelligence agents. For Meagan, familiarity with AI (coupled with a willingness to reimagine her role) has been career jet fuel. She has risen through the ranks and is now seen as an AI expert by company leadership and other departments. Her experience is emblematic of the opportunities that await us all.

I think it's also important to understand that there's no need to wait for a signal from the powers that be to start retraining AI. As with any new disruptive technology (PC, Internet, mobile technology), the best way to gain expertise with AI is to get your hands dirty and just start using these tools. Unlike previous technologies, no understanding of coding or an engineering degree is required.

In fact, some of the biggest steps forward in integrating AI into the workplace are being made by people with non-technical experience. If you can use ChatGPT to create a meal plan or draw fanfiction, then you can use it to do your job better.

The next few years will be massively disruptive for almost every field, and no one knows exactly where the chips will fall. But here's what I do know: it's the person who embraces AI who will own tomorrow's job market, not AI itself. Meeting our AI future with curiosity and a willingness to level our skills is the way to thrive in uncertain times.