Chatbot usage data shows generalists using AI for specialized work

Recent research presented at a Brookings event suggests that corporate reliance on specialized outside consultants may be diminishing. An analysis led by London School of Economics researcher Luis Garicano found that more than 43 percent of workplace ChatGPT queries involved assignments outside the user's primary job function. Rather than paying external agencies for routine help, staff members are increasingly relying on artificial intelligence to handle specialized tasks directly.

This trend allows generalists to handle specialized projects quickly without incurring extra costs. However, Garicano warned that this shift risks creating what he termed a broken ladder for recent graduates. In the past, entry level workers at agency firms gained experience by performing basic tasks. As software automates those starter duties, junior professionals may lose essential training opportunities.

It remains uncertain how regulatory bodies will handle licensing requirements when workers rely on software to produce legal or financial work without professional sign off. Beyond regulatory questions, an open challenge for organizations is determining whether relying on generalists backed by software will eventually degrade overall output quality, as subtle errors in complex fields might go unnoticed without dedicated human experts.