Despite layoffs hitting executive assistants at companies including PwC and McKinsey, the role may not be disappearing. It may be evolving into something more powerful.
In the age of AI, the best executive assistants won’t just manage calendars and expenses, says Adnan Khan, cofounder and co-CEO of executive assistant staffing firm Viva Talent. They’ll increasingly act as proxies for the executives they support.
“The goal is to be as much of a proxy for the executive as possible and all the things that cannot be done by AI,” he says. “So, less assistant, more executive.”
Khan says he hasn’t had many clients tell him they are cutting EA roles. Instead, they are looking for more advanced assistants who can leverage AI strategically to support larger teams, manage more complex workflows, and take on responsibilities traditionally reserved for managers or chiefs of staff.
That could mean running company-wide meetings on an executive’s behalf, coordinating cross-functional initiatives, or even conducting initial performance reviews for an executive’s direct reports, Khan predicts.
The market appears to be rewarding that shift. A new Payscale report found that some of the jobs AI was expected to replace—like executive assistants—are seeing rising pay. Employers are even paying a premium to attract them: In the tech industry, executive assistants command a 26% new-hire market advantage, earning $110,000 compared to $87,000 for incumbent employees.
Khan attributes the demand to qualities AI has yet to master. Executive assistants are expected to exercise empathy, relatability, and sound judgment—skills that remain critical in a role built as much on human relationships as operational efficiency, he says.
One executive recently told Khan that the value behind a human assistant is that they “hold him accountable like a peer, not like a subordinate or a tool.” A trusted assistant can push for decisions, challenge assumptions, and drive follow-through in ways software simply can’t.
Khan notes that some of the world’s leading AI companies, including OpenAI and Anthropic, still rely on executive assistants and continue to hire them. “If they are not eliminating EAs, then who is?” he says. “They are certainly not signaling that it’s an obsolete role that will be replaced by their own tech.”
Kristin Stoller
Editorial Director, Fortune Live Media
kristin.stoller@fortune.com
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