'So much of the work is going to be done by agents': ServiceNow CEO says graduate unemployment could reach 30% because of AI agents

Date:
Mon, 16 Mar 2026 17:00:00 +0000

Description:
90% of human customer service agent use cases can be replaced by AI, ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott explains.

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breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are
now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Graduate unemployment is set to rise as AI agents replace entry-level workers Palantir and Amazon already expect human headcounts to decrease ServiceNow says AI agents can do customer service work ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott has becomethe latest in a long list of business leaders to suggest AI adoption, particularly agentic AI, could product major challenges for entry-level workers.

Speaking with CNBC , McDermott indicated unemployment among college graduates could reach the mid-30% range within just a few years as AI agents begin to replace more entry-level human workers. As a result, it's making it harder
for graduates to stand out in a shrinking market, and we're already seeing this play true with a 5.7% unemployment rate for recent graduates as of late 2025 (per the Federal Reserve Bank of New York). Article continues below You may like Could AI be a scapegoat in layoffs? 'I think were going to have a human-level performance on most, if not all, professional tasks': Microsoft
AI chief thinks AI will replace most white-collar work in the 12 to 18 months - so is this the end for human workers? Business landscape is about to
undergo a seismic transformation driven by AI agents Graduates are losing out on jobs due to AI "So much of the work is going to be done by agents. So it's going to be challenging for young people to differentiate themselves in the corporate environment," McDermott said.

Besides graduates, AI also looks to be disrupting other areas in white-collar employment, such as coding and marketing, marking a major shift from previous workforce trends. For example, automation and other industrial revolution changes mostly focused on manual labor, but AI is now affecting knowledge workers.

Palantir CEO Alex Karp has also recently disclosed plans to increase revenue while simultaneously reducing headcount by 10x, while Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has also declared an expectation that the company's headcount could shrink.

"I do think it's coming quicker than people anticipate," McDermott added, though no clear solution was indicated. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me
with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

ServiceNow's AI tools have already reportedly eliminated around 90% of the
use cases that once required human customer service agents.

The company recently posted a 25% year-over-year increase in fiscal full-year revenue with McDermott noting "there is no AI company in the enterprise better positioned for sustainable profitable revenue growth than ServiceNow." Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/so-much-of-the-work-is-going-to-be-done-by-agent s-servicenow-ceo-says-graduate-unemployment-could-reach-30-percent-because-of- ai-agents


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