Something quiet is happening in workplaces right now. Teams are staying the same size, but by leveraging AI they’re able to handle more work with the same number of people.
Projects that used to require three people now need two. Tasks that took a week now take three days. And in most cases, no one's working harder or longer hours.
What changed? A few people on the team learned to use AI effectively and suddenly, the math of how much can get done with the same number of people has changed.
If you're watching AI rise it's easy to ask the wrong question: "Will AI replace me?" But that's not the real threat. The real question is: "Will there be enough work for me to be needed?"
The fear that AI will directly replace you is overblown for most knowledge workers. If your job requires judgment, creativity, collaboration, or nuanced decision making, AI isn't going to do it alone. Not yet, and maybe not ever.
But here's what is happening: people who use AI well are becoming 2x more productive. They're writing better reports in half the time. They're analyzing data faster and spotting patterns others miss. They're generating ideas, refining strategies, and solving problems at a pace that non-AI fluent professional simply can't match.
And when one person can do the work of two or three, organizations don't need as many people.
You're not competing with AI. You're competing with the person next to you who figured out how to use it.
This shift is creating three distinct levels of competition, and you need to understand all three.
Level 1: Competing Directly with AI
This is the scenario everyone fears, but it's not the most common. If your job is highly procedural (data entry, basic scheduling, simple content generation), then yes, AI might replace you outright. For most knowledge workers, this isn't the threat. But if it is, you need to pivot immediately, because you can't win this fight. AI will only get better, and competing on speed or accuracy for routine tasks is a losing game.
Level 2: Competing with AI-Enhanced Individuals
This is the more common threat, and it's already happening. Someone using AI effectively will outperform you. They'll be faster, produce higher-quality work, and handle a broader scope of tasks. They'll make better decisions because they can research faster, analyze more data, and explore more options in the same amount of time.
Even if your company isn't cutting roles, you're still competing. For promotions, for high-visibility projects, or influence and opportunities. The AI-enhanced worker gets the win, and you're left wondering why you keep getting passed over.
Level 3: Competing for Scarce Roles
Here's where it gets serious. If a team of ten people can now do the same work with five AI-enhanced individuals, then five roles disappear. This isn't hypothetical, it's math. And when that happens, just being AI-capable isn't enough. You have to be one of the best AI-capable people on the team.
Showing up and being competent isn’t enough anymore. You're competing to survive a culling. It’s a bit like musical chairs. And the people who get a chair are the ones who didn't just *use* AI, they got really good with it early and became indispensable.
So what separates someone who gets one of those chairs from someone who doesn't?
It's not just about using AI. It's about how you use it.
Most people are using AI like a better search engine or a fancy autocomplete. They ask it questions, get answers, and move on. That's helpful, but it's surface-level. It doesn't make you indispensable.
The pivot you need to make is from user to builder. You need to become someone who doesn't just use AI for individual tasks but someone who designs workflows, builds repeatable processes, and trains AI assistants/agents that make entire operations run better.
Here's what that looks like in practice:
These people aren't just productive. They're essential. They've become the architects of how work gets done. And when companies need to be more lean and competitive, they don't cut the people who innovate and build effective systems. They cut the people who are not adapting and adding value.
Why Timing Matters
Here's the reassuring part: most people haven't figured this out yet. Most organizations are still in the early stages of AI adoption. They're experimenting, but they haven't reorganized around it. The roles haven't shrunk yet. The competition hasn't fully materialized.
But it will.
And when it does, the people who moved early will be in a fundamentally different position than the people who waited. First-movers won't just have more experience. They'll have built reputations as the people who "get it." They'll be the ones leadership turns to when it's time to redesign processes or figure out what the team actually needs.
This is a race, but it's one you can still win. The window is open. But it won't stay open forever.
What to Do Next
You don't need to become an AI expert overnight. You just need to start experimenting now. Pick one part of your work where AI could make a difference and learn how to use it well. Not just for one-off tasks, but for building a repeatable process.
Position yourself as the person on your team who understands not just how to use AI, but how to implement it. Be the one people come to when they want to figure out how to get more done with less effort.
Because the people who do this now won't be competing for survival later. They'll be the ones deciding who stays.
You Don't Have to Figure This Out Alone
If you're reading this and thinking, "I need to make this pivot, but I don't know where to start," that's exactly the conversation I help people have. I work with professionals who see the shift happening and want to get ahead of it, not scramble to catch up later.
If you'd like to talk through what this looks like for your specific role and situation, I offer a free 30-minute consult. No pressure, just a chance to think through your next moves with someone who understands both career strategy and how AI is reshaping work.
