Mark Cuban Says These Are the 11 Types of Workers Most Likely to Thrive in the AI Era

With AI quickly becoming a standard business tool for companies looking to grow profits and avoid wasting money, workers are right to worry. According to a 2024 McKinsey and Company study, 78% of organizations use AI in at least one business function. It’s fair to wonder whether the technology will make workers’ skills more valuable or obsolete.

Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban falls firmly into the first camp. Instead of seeing AI as a replacement for human workers, he has compared it to transformative technologies like personal computers and the internet. In his view, the biggest winners are those willing to learn how to use AI to work smarter and deliver more value.

So, who are these workers? Let’s find out.

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1. Management consultants

Companies pay consultants to solve systemic problems, improve efficiency, and help with decision-making. They could replace them with AI to gather information and summarize findings, but they still need someone to interpret the data and recommend courses of action.

The demand for experts who help companies understand how to deploy AI strategically isn’t likely to go away any time soon.

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2. Financial analysts

As a financial analyst, you probably spend a good portion of your time reviewing reports, monitoring markets, and assessing investment opportunities. AI could reduce the time spent processing large volumes of financial data, allowing you to focus on interpretation and forecasting.

Instead of replacing analysts, AI may help them identify trends and opportunities faster. Recognizing this need, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a faster-than-average 6% employment growth for these professionals by 2034.

3. Marketing strategists

According to HubSpot’s State of Marketing report, more than 75% of marketers use AI to model customer behavior, draft content, and automate campaign management. Still, the technology can’t deal with brand identity, consumer psychology, or long-term positioning.

AI can handle repetitive tasks, but strategy, creativity, and audience insights remain valuable human skills.

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4. Accountants

Speaking of repetitive tasks, accounting has always involved data entry, reconciliations, and document review. Incidentally, these are exactly the types of work AI helps automate. However, AI fails to realize the implications of tax law, compliance requirements, and financial planning.

As AI takes over routine work, accountants may be able to spend more time advising clients and businesses to make smarter business decisions.

5. Financial advisors

Many financial decisions involve more than figures. Investors need reassurance during market downturns, guidance through major life changes, and personalized retirement planning.

AI’s strength is in generating projections and portfolio analysis, but it can’t replace the trust and relationship-building that advisors provide. With roughly $124 trillion likely to transfer between generations through 2048, according to a study by Cerulli Associates, financial advisors are likely to be in high demand for financial guidance.

6. Software developers

You may wonder why this occupation is on the list. After all, AI has evolved to the point where it writes code, identifies bugs, and automates routine programming tasks better than any developer.

That may well be, but businesses still need humans to design systems, solve complex problems, and determine what software should accomplish in the first place.

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7. Business strategists

Business strategy requires understanding competitors, customers, and industry trends. AI is great at providing raw information, but leaders still need to decide how to use it.

As companies’ access to data is greater than ever, strategists who know how to separate signals from noise are increasingly valuable.

8. Sales professionals

While AI has no issue identifying prospects, personalizing outreach, and preparing for meetings, it struggles to help salespeople build relationships and close deals.

Trust is one of the most important factors in major purchasing decisions. No amount of AI preparation replaces the communication skills, empathy, and negotiation abilities of a human.

9. Entrepreneurs and small-business owners

In 2024, the Census Bureau recorded more than five billion new business applications, showing that entrepreneurship is still alive and well in the country.

For his part, Cuban has frequently argued that AI lowers barriers to entry for entrepreneurs. Tasks like market research, customer support, and data analysis, which used to require multiple employees, are now the purview of affordable AI tools. Entrepreneurs who know how to use AI may be able to compete with larger organizations despite having small budgets.

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10. AI implementation specialists

Many companies want to improve their productivity with AI, but often don’t know where to begin. They need professionals who evaluate workflows, identify opportunities, and help them integrate AI tools.

Gartner predicts that all IT organizations will have AI initiatives within the next few years, creating high demand for implementation support.

11. Operations managers

Operations managers focus on improving efficiency, cutting costs, and ensuring organizations run smoothly. These responsibilities are also AI’s strengths, including automation, forecasting, and process optimization.

Still, this doesn’t mean AI could replace operations professionals. Instead, it may give them better visibility into workflows and performance metrics, unlocking significant productivity gains.

Why Mark Cuban thinks these workers have an advantage

Unlike many AI doom-sayers, Cuban doesn’t view AI as a replacement for human talent. He argues that workers who learn to use this new tool often outperform those who resist it.

The jobs above share a commonality. They combine technical or analytical work with human-only skills like creativity, judgment, relationship-building, and strategic thinking. AI helps automate repetitive tasks and process information more quickly, but it still relies on people to ask the right prompts, evaluate results, and make decisions.

Cuban advises learning how to work alongside AI. Embracing the technology could free up more time for high-value work that machines struggle to replicate.

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Bottom line

AI may change how millions of people work, but Mark Cuban believes the biggest winners are those who learn how to use it to enhance their existing skills, make better decisions, and deliver more value. Adaptability could become the biggest career advantage of all as businesses continue adopting AI tools.

If you’re worried about AI affecting your career as you work to grow your wealth, learn how AI is already used in your industry. If you understand new technology, you may be better positioned to advance than those who ignore it altogether.

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