A growing number of companies are beginning to rethink the role of formal qualifications and professional experience in the workplace as artificial intelligence becomes more deeply integrated into daily operations.

According to a new survey conducted by Germany’s Ifo Institute, nearly one in five companies already using AI believe it is easy to replace employees with technical or university degrees by combining AI tools with workers who have fewer formal qualifications. Around 15% of respondents also said that AI makes it easier to replace experienced employees with less experienced workers who can effectively leverage AI systems.

The findings highlight a broader shift taking place across many industries. As AI tools become more capable of handling research, analysis, content creation, coding assistance, customer support, and administrative tasks, companies are increasingly focusing on a worker’s ability to use technology effectively rather than relying exclusively on traditional credentials.

Skills Are Becoming More Accessible

One of AI’s most significant impacts is its ability to lower barriers to knowledge and execution.

Tasks that once required years of specialized training can now be completed faster with AI assistance. Employees can access information, generate drafts, analyze data, and solve technical problems with support from increasingly capable AI systems.

For organizations, this creates opportunities to expand talent pools and accelerate onboarding. Workers with strong problem-solving abilities, adaptability, and AI literacy can often perform tasks that previously required more formal education or extensive experience.

However, this shift does not necessarily eliminate the need for expertise. Instead, it changes how expertise is applied.

The ability to ask the right questions, evaluate outputs, identify risks, and make informed decisions remains critical. AI can accelerate execution, but human judgment continues to play a central role in delivering reliable outcomes.

Retail Leads the Transition

The survey found the highest willingness to make these workforce adjustments in retail and wholesale trade.

Nearly 29% of companies in the sector reported that AI could help compensate for the absence of formal degrees, while almost 23% said AI could support less experienced employees in roles traditionally filled by more experienced professionals.

Service companies followed closely behind, while manufacturing and construction reported lower levels of readiness.

The differences likely reflect the nature of the work itself. Industries with a larger proportion of information-based, administrative, customer-facing, or analytical tasks are generally better positioned to benefit from AI augmentation than sectors that depend heavily on physical operations, technical certifications, or hands-on expertise.

Experience Still Matters

While AI appears capable of helping companies bridge some qualification gaps, the survey suggests that professional experience remains harder to replace.

More than 62% of AI-using companies said it is still difficult or impossible to substitute experienced employees with less experienced workers, even when AI tools are available.

This distinction is important.

Experience is often tied to contextual understanding, decision-making under uncertainty, stakeholder management, operational judgment, and the ability to recognize patterns that are difficult to capture through prompts or documentation alone.

In many business environments, these capabilities create value beyond what AI can currently provide.

What This Means for Businesses

The findings reinforce a trend that many organizations are already seeing firsthand: AI is reshaping workforce requirements.

Companies are increasingly evaluating employees based on a combination of domain knowledge, adaptability, critical thinking, and AI proficiency. At the same time, traditional qualifications and years of experience continue to provide significant value, particularly in complex, regulated, or high-stakes environments.

For business leaders, the key challenge is no longer simply adopting AI tools. The larger opportunity lies in redesigning workflows, redefining roles, and identifying where AI can amplify human capabilities while preserving the expertise, judgment, and accountability that organizations depend on.

As AI adoption continues to accelerate, the most successful companies are likely to be those that view AI as a capability multiplier, helping people become more effective rather than treating technology as a direct substitute for expertise.

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