AI and Entry-Level Roles
The rapid spread of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) since late 2022 has sparked an urgent debate: is AI creating opportunities for workers, or quietly eroding entry-level jobs? Recent large-scale research from Stanford University, based on payroll data covering millions of U.S. workers, provides some of the clearest evidence yet. It suggests that while overall employment remains strong, entry-level workers in AI-exposed professions are already experiencing significant declines in hiring.
For employers and graduates alike this finding is both a warning and an opportunity. At Ashdown Group we believe it is crucial to understand which roles are most at risk and how organisations can adapt by reimagining the early-career pipeline.
AI and Employment Research
The Stanford study identified six facts about how AI is affecting employment. Three stand out for HR, marketing, accounting and IT:
Early-career workers are hardest hit
Automation vs. augmentation matters
It’s not just the economy
Workers aged between 22–25 in AI-exposed roles have seen employment fall by around 13% since late 2022, even though older colleagues in the same jobs continue to grow their headcount.
AI that automates routine tasks - such as data entry, reporting, or drafting template documents - is associated with declines in junior hiring. By contrast, AI that augments human judgment - helping with analysis, research or creative ideation - does not show the same negative effect.
The employment decline cannot be explained by interest rate rises or sector-wide slowdowns. The fall is concentrated among entry-level staff in AI-exposed roles, and it began only after the release of generative AI tools like ChatGPT in late 2022.
The impact of AI on Human Resources (HR) Roles
Graduate HR assistants traditionally cut their teeth on administrative tasks, and the use of AI to complete these tasks is translating into fewer opportunities for junior HR professionals to “learn by doing”.
The use of AI may be a welcome introduction for those performing repetitive tasks in the rapidly changing entry-level HR role as the graduate HR role shifts from “administrative processor” to ethical AI steward and employee experience specialist.
The Impact of AI on Information Technology (IT) Roles
Perhaps nowhere is the disruption to entry-level careers more visible than in IT. Traditionally, graduates began as first-line support analysts or junior developers, honing their skills in customer interaction, debugging, patching, and routine maintenance.
For graduates, the consequences are stark. Without hands-on exposure they miss the apprenticeship-style grounding that once shaped well-rounded IT professionals. However, new opportunities are emerging and Entry-Level IT roles are evolving and graduates are expected to new develop AI skills.
The Impact of AI on Marketing Roles
You would struggle to find a more rapid adoption of AI tools than within the marketing teams of organisations. This has resulted in many tasks alreay being taken over by Gen AI platforms.
Entry-Level marketing tasks risk becoming commoditised, with less scope for graduates to build practical copywriting or analytics experience, and Entry-Level marketing roles of the future are likely to evolve, with a focus on being responsible for AI orchestration rather and graduates will need to guide, validate, and refine AI-generated content, apply brand nuance, and blend insights across channels.
The Impact of AI on Accounting Roles
The implications of AI adoption in accounting are arguably more profound than in many other professional sectors. A central challenge is the risk that automation of foundational tasks, such as reconciliation, ledger management, and double-entry bookkeeping, will erode the very skills junior accountants have traditionally relied upon to build their professional competence.
Yet new opportunities are emerging. Instead of focusing on process-heavy tasks, entry-level accountants will increasingly be called upon to interpret AI-generated outputs, test assumptions, and exercise judgment in areas of compliance, regulation, and ethics.
Preparing for the Future
I think it's fair to say we have moved on from questioning whether to adopt AI. A serious challenge is how to redesign training and career pathways so that junior staff can still acquire essential skills in a world where routine tasks are automated.
Ultimately, the firms that will thrive are those that view AI not as a shortcut to reduce headcount, but as a catalyst to reshape the profession’s talent pipeline. By deliberately reengineering training pathways, they can ensure that the next generation of accountants remain both technically grounded and strategically capable, blending the efficiency of AI with the professional judgment and scepticism that only humans can provide
Why are younger workers disproportionately affected?
The research suggests AI is especially good at replacing codified knowledge – the textbook knowledge that young graduates bring fresh out of university. By contrast, tacit knowledge – built up through years of experience – is harder for AI to replicate.
This dynamic may explain why companies retain experienced staff while slowing entry-level hiring. But it also opens the door for a new type of graduate role: one that is less about performing routine tasks and more about deploying AI effectively.
We see a clear case for redefining the graduate proposition. Instead of relying on junior employees to perform repetitive tasks, a more engaging and purposeful role can be carved out for early-career recruits.
- Invest in AI literacy. Ensure that new hires are trained not just in their discipline but in how to use, evaluate, and improve AI tools.
- Recast graduate roles. Position entry-level staff as AI productivity multipliers, tasked with integrating AI into workflows rather than being displaced by it.
- Retain human judgment. Use AI to handle scale and speed, while empowering graduates to focus on ethical oversight, creativity, and problem framing.
Summing Up
The message is clear - entry-level jobs in HR, marketing, accounting, and IT are changing rapidly under the influence of AI, and right now, that means fewer entry-level vacancies. For employers, this means rethinking hiring and training strategies. For graduates, it means adding value by developing AI fluency and adaptability alongside core professional skills.
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