Shopify’s CEO just fired a warning shot of sorts: AI proficiency is now mandatory. Well, he kinda said you are welcome to try to opt out of learning how to apply AI to your job… but I don’t see that ending well for you.
And if you want to request headcount? You’d better have a strong case for why AI can’t do the job first. “Before asking for more headcount and resources, teams must demonstrate why they cannot get what they want done using AI,” Tobi Lütke wrote in a company-wide memo.
At first glance, it reads like a warning that automation is coming for everyone. The robots are coming for your job. But dig a little deeper, and there’s a more nuanced, and more interesting, story unfolding.
AI isn’t replacing humans. It’s reassigning us.
The work that can be automated? It will be. AI will take it. But what’s left is the work that actually requires being human:
- Listening deeply
- Thinking creatively
- Building trust
- Negotiating nuance
These aren’t soft skills. They’re the hard-to-scale skills that drive real impact, especially in customer-facing and leadership roles. In my world of hiring for marketing, media, analytics, and sales in CPG, retail, and eComm, these are the roles where EQ matters just as much as IQ.
So what does this mean for hiring?
It’s time to reframe how we think about roles—and the people we need to fill them.
- Are your hiring teams clear on what can only be done by a human?
If not, AI will expose the fuzziness quickly. - Are you building job descriptions around irreplaceable human skills, not just responsibilities and outputs?
“Own the marketing calendar” is not the same as “influence cross-functional partners and shift strategy based on buyer behavior.” - Is your hiring process designed to evaluate things like curiosity, judgment, and adaptability? How about strategic capability?
These are notoriously hard to interview for, but they’re the new currency in an AI-powered workplace. - And one more thing:
Even if headcount stays flat, compensation probably won’t. That AI specialist who helps you avoid three new hires? Still going to command a premium. There will be high competition for that talent.
The bar has moved.
AI can now handle the “what.” Our job – yours and mine – is to hire for the how and why.
This shift isn’t just for tech companies. It’s coming for every industry that touches consumers, commerce, or data.
So ask yourself: are you rethinking how you define and fill roles in the age of AI?
Because if not, you might already be behind.