A new study has identified 44 professions at risk of being replaced by artificial intelligence, with some jobs facing a 81 per cent defeat rate against the tech
The tech giant behind the world’s most popular chatbot has issued a chilling warning that artificial intelligence poses a serious threat to workers’ jobs.
Bosses at the ChatGPT creator have published a devastating new study pinpointing 44 professions at risk of being replaced by AI. Researchers utilised a specialised assessment called GDPval to pit cutting-edge technology against human workers across America’s nine most profitable industries, according to the Daily Mail.
The disclosure emerges as the US Military develops AI pilot drones capable of launching devastating strikes on Beijing and Moscow, reports the Daily Star. The findings spell disaster for those employed in retail and sales roles. The news emerges as a warning was issued over using AI to plan your finances as Brits turn to chatbots for help.
READ MORE: Gadget Show star says all Brits need to welcome robots into homes for simple reasonREAD MORE: Save £130 on robot vacuum that ‘does full room in click of a button’
Human specialists were enlisted to establish whether AI or genuine professionals delivered superior results on workplace duties.
Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.1 system emerged as the leading performer, defeating human rivals in a staggering 47.6 per cent of competitions on average, with certain professions suffering even more catastrophic defeats.
Most ‘at-risk’ jobs
The technology demolished counter and rental clerks in a shocking 81 per cent of direct competition.
ChatGPT’s parent company declared: “We found that today’s best frontier models are already approaching the quality of work produced by industry experts.”
Nurses and engineers endured rigorous assessments. In a rigorous experiment, scientists put all 44 professions through their paces against AI systems on tasks workers routinely perform in their everyday roles.
Registered nurses found themselves analysing photographs of skin conditions and preparing consultation documents, while manufacturing engineers grappled with creating digital 3D designs of cable reels.
The assessors were kept in the dark about whether humans or robots completed each task, simply selecting the most impressive results.
The data was then analysed by scientists to determine a “win rate”, indicating how chatbots compare to real-world professionals.
AI is not the full picture
However, tech bosses admit that these tests don’t paint the full picture.
The company acknowledged that the experiment doesn’t encompass all aspects of a job, recognising that “most jobs are more than just a collection of tasks that can be written down.”
Despite this, the Silicon Valley giant maintains that the findings accurately forecast the significant impact AI will have on professionals across various sectors.
Retail workers appear to face the most daunting future, with certain chatbots outperforming shop staff 56 per cent of the time on average.
Employees in the wholesale trade sector aren’t faring much better, recording a 53 per cent AI victory rate, while government roles including compliance officers and social workers experienced 52 per cent defeats.
However, film directors and journalists seem to have dodged the worst of the AI threat.
The information sector, including directors, film producers and journalists, managed to hold its own against AI, with even the best-performing systems only winning 39 per cent of the time.
However, some roles within these fields performed significantly below average.
Sales managers were identified as the second most at-risk group to AI, with artificial systems outperforming them in a shocking 79 per cent of cases, closely followed by counter and rental clerks.
Shipping and receiving clerks were beaten by AI 76 per cent of the time, while editors saw their robotic competitors triumph over them in 75 per cent of contests.
Intuition ‘no protection’
Even jobs traditionally dependent on human intuition are not safe from the AI threat, with private detectives and investigators only managing to win a mere 30 per cent of face-offs.
Different chatbot systems showed vastly different performances, with some models excelling in specific task types.
Claude’s Opus 4.1 had issues with precision but managed to secure victories by producing visually appealing graphics.
The company’s top-tier GPT5-high system achieved an average win rate of 48.8 per cent across all professions and led the pack in terms of accuracy.
ChatGPT’s GPT-4o system, which was launched just 15 months prior, could only manage victories in a paltry 12.4 per cent of tests.
This striking contrast in findings underscores the breakneck speed at which AI is matching human capabilities and the profound effect it might have on global workforces.
Company chief Sam Altman has admitted that concerns about job displacement due to AI technology cause him sleepless nights.
During his appearance on The Tucker Carlson Show last month, Mr Altman stated: “I’m confident that a lot of current customer support that happens over a phone or computer, those people will lose their jobs, and that’ll be better done by an AI.”
Mr Altman has even suggested the prospect that up to 40 per cent of all roles could face automation through AI in future.
Executives try to soften the blow
Nevertheless, the tech mogul stopped short of declaring that humans would be immediately displaced by AI.
The firm has attempted to reframe these findings as proof of how AI could “support people in the work they do every day.”
AI win rate against human professionals:
- Counter and rental clerks: 81%
- Sales managers: 79%
- Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks: 76%
- Editors: 75%
- Software developers: 70%
- Private detectives and investigators: 70%
- Compliance officers: 69%
- First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers: 69%
- Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products: 68%
- General operations managers: 67%
- Medical and health services managers: 65%
- Buyers and purchasing agents: 64%
- Personal financial advisers: 64%
- Administrative services managers: 62%
- Customer service representatives: 59%
- First-line supervisors of retail sales workers: 59%
- First-line supervisors of production and operating workers: 58%
- Nurse practitioners: 56%
- Real estate brokers: 54%
- News analysts, reporters, and journalists: 53%
- Computer and information systems managers: 52%
- First-line supervisors of police and detectives: 49%
- Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products: 47%
- Lawyers: 46%
- Project management specialists: 42%
- Child, family, and school social workers: 42%
- Medical secretaries and administrative assistants: 42%
- Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents: 42%
- First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers: 41%
- Financial investment analysts: 41%
- Recreation workers: 37%
- Registered nurses: 37%
- Property, real estate, and community association managers: 34%
- Financial managers: 32%
- Producers and directors: 31%
- Audio and video technicians: 30%
- Concierges: 29%
- Order clerks: 28%
- Real estate sales agents: 27%
- Pharmacists: 26%
- Accountants and auditors: 24%
- Mechanical engineers: 23%
- Industrial engineers: 17%
- Film and video editors: 17%
Source: Open AI, GPDval 2025.