You’ve heard it all before—AI is coming for our jobs. Headlines paint a dystopian picture: robots replacing cashiers, chatbots stealing call centre gigs, and algorithms leaving recent graduates out in the cold.
But is this alarm justified? Or is AI just the latest tech buzzword riding a wave of hype?
Let’s break it down.
What Are Entry-Level Jobs, Anyway?
Entry-level jobs are the foundation of many people’s working lives. These are the roles that require little to no prior experience or specialised skills. Think: retail assistants, junior admin clerks, receptionists, call centre agents, data entry workers, and many cleaning and maintenance staff.
They’re often where young people or career changers get their first foot in the door—earning an income, gaining confidence, and building the basic skills needed to move up.
AI and Entry-Level: What’s Happening?
It’s clear that AI is creeping into spaces previously dominated by humans. For example, Netcare, one of South Africa’s major private healthcare providers, is going big on digital transformation. CEO Richard Friedland said in May 2025 that while AI will increasingly support hospital operations, natural staff turnover will absorb any reduction in human roles. That sounds like good news—but the kinds of tasks being automated (admin, scheduling, basic diagnostics) are often handled by entry-level staff.
Globally, we see similar trends. Klarna, the Swedish fintech company, leaned hard into AI to handle customer service. But after a year, it reversed course and started hiring human agents again. Why? Because the bots just weren’t good enough. CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski admitted that while AI cut costs, it failed to deliver the kind of customer experience Klarna wanted.
A Pattern We’ve Seen Before
AI isn’t the first innovation to threaten jobs. Industrial automation replaced millions of factory workers. But over time, new roles emerged—machine maintenance, programming, logistics, and tech support.
This idea is resurfacing in the AI conversation: people replaced by AI could be re-trained to work with AI—managing, improving, and maintaining these systems. But let’s be honest: not everyone who loses a cashier job is going to become a machine learning engineer. The leap isn’t so simple.
Is It All About Replacement?
Not necessarily. Many experts argue AI won’t replace most entry-level workers outright—it will augment them. A retail worker might use an AI-powered tablet to check stock or answer customer queries faster. A junior admin assistant might rely on AI to summarise documents or automate meeting scheduling. In these scenarios, AI makes workers more productive instead of eliminating them.
There’s also the human factor. Entry-level jobs often require soft skills like empathy, critical thinking, and social awareness—skills that AI still struggles to replicate. A chatbot may answer FAQs, but it can’t soothe a frustrated customer or read the room during a tense office moment. These are crucial elements in many workplaces.
Fewer Entry-Level Jobs? A Bigger Picture
It’s true that entry-level opportunities are shrinking—not just because of AI, but due to economic pressure and rising employment costs. Labour laws that protect workers (a good thing) also increase the cost of hiring, especially for small businesses. As a result, many employers hesitate to bring on junior staff unless absolutely necessary.
Combine this with digital tools that streamline operations, and you’ve got a situation where one admin assistant with AI support can do the work of three.
What Happens Next?
The truth is, we’re still in the early stages of figuring out how AI fits into the job market. It’s evolving rapidly—but it’s not yet stable, and it’s certainly not infallible. Many of the “robots are coming” stories are based more on speculation than reality.
Entry-level jobs will continue to exist. We’ll still need cleaners, retail workers, and call centre agents. But the nature of those roles may shift. Increasingly, workers will need to interact with AI systems, even at a basic level. That creates a new kind of “entry-level” where tech literacy is a key skill.
What Can Be Done?
Governments, educational institutions, and businesses must work together to ensure people—especially the young and the vulnerable—aren’t left behind. This includes:
• Investing in training for digital skills, even at the most basic levels.
• Supporting transitions for workers whose jobs are changing or disappearing.
• Protecting job quality, so AI-enhanced jobs don’t become low-paid, high-stress tech support roles with no career path.
• Reimagining education, so that even school-leavers are equipped with the foundational skills to adapt in a changing world.
In Conclusion
Yes, AI is changing the world of work. And yes, some entry-level jobs will be affected—some already are. But we’re not in a wholesale replacement scenario yet. The real question isn’t whether AI will take your job, but whether we’ll adapt fast enough to make sure people still have a place in the evolving workplace.
In the end, the human touch still counts for something—and probably always will.
What do you think? Have you seen AI creeping into entry-level roles in your industry? Is it helping—or hurting? Let’s chat in the comments.
