Executive assistants gain wider role as AI reshapes office work
Some companies have cut assistant jobs, but recruiters and pay data point to rising demand for higher-skilled executive support roles.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
3 min read
Artificial intelligence is changing the executive assistant job, with some employers cutting roles while others seek assistants who can take on broader responsibilities. Fortune reported that pay data and recruiter demand suggest the position is being recast in some companies as a more senior operational role.
Bloomberg reported layoffs affecting executive assistants at companies including PwC and McKinsey. Even with those cuts, Adnan Khan, cofounder and co-CEO of executive assistant staffing firm Viva Talent, told Fortune that many clients are looking for more advanced assistants rather than eliminating the job.
A shift beyond calendar work
Khan told Fortune that top executive assistants are increasingly expected to act as stand-ins for the leaders they support in areas where software cannot replace human judgment. He said the job is moving beyond calendars, travel and expenses toward work that requires discretion, relationship management and follow-through.
According to Khan, clients are asking for assistants who can use AI tools strategically while supporting larger groups and handling more complex work. Fortune reported that those duties can overlap with tasks often associated with managers or chiefs of staff.
Khan predicted that expanded responsibilities could include leading company-wide meetings for an executive, coordinating work across different teams or carrying out early performance-review steps for an executive’s direct reports. Those examples point to a job with more authority inside the organization, according to Fortune.
Pay data points to demand
A Payscale report cited by Fortune found that some jobs widely viewed as vulnerable to AI, including executive assistants, are seeing higher pay. In the technology industry, Payscale found that newly hired executive assistants earned a 26% market advantage over existing employees in the same role.
The report put tech-sector pay for newly hired executive assistants at $110,000, compared with $87,000 for incumbent employees, according to Fortune. That gap suggests employers are paying more to bring in candidates with the skills they now want.
Khan attributed the demand to capabilities he said AI has not mastered, including empathy, relatability and sound judgment. Fortune reported that he sees those traits as central to a job that depends on trust and human relationships as well as operational efficiency.
One executive told Khan that a human assistant can hold him accountable like a peer rather than a subordinate or a tool, according to Fortune. Khan said trusted assistants can press for decisions, test assumptions and help ensure follow-through in ways software does not.
AI companies still employ assistants
Khan also told Fortune that leading AI companies, including OpenAI and Anthropic, still use executive assistants and continue to hire for the role. He said that undermines the idea that the job has become obsolete because of the same technology those companies build.
The picture remains mixed. Bloomberg’s reporting shows that assistant roles have been affected by cuts at some major professional-services firms, while Fortune’s interviews and Payscale’s data show demand for higher-skilled assistants in other parts of the market.
For workers in the role, the changing expectations may mean a heavier emphasis on AI fluency, judgment and the ability to represent executives in meetings or internal processes. For employers, the shift suggests that automation may reduce some administrative work while raising the value of assistants who can operate closer to the executive decision-making process.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.