Overview

• Microsoft Research developed an AI applicability score using over 200,000 anonymized Bing Copilot interactions to gauge how closely AI capabilities align with job tasks
• The study ranks 40 occupations most susceptible to AI support—led by interpreters and translators—and 40 roles least exposed, including phlebotomists and nursing assistants
• Senior researcher Kiran Tomlinson stated the metric is meant to highlight potential task augmentation by AI rather than forecast wholesale job losses
• Researchers cautioned that the applicability scores omit downstream business impacts, so they should not be interpreted as direct predictions of layoffs
• Microsoft has eliminated more than 15,000 positions in 2025 and reported $500 million in savings from AI-driven automation, underscoring tangible workforce shifts