Will business professors be replaced by AI?
Updated
Business professors score 52 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 40%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 24% outright, and 36% stays with people.
- 24% AI can do it
- 40% AI helps
- 36% Needs a person
High exposure
Higher than 79% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 25 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 5 of them today, speeds up 10 and leaves 10 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records. Attendance and grade records are routine data entry in software. | 75% AI can do it |
| Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments. AI searches and formats specialized reading lists; instructor verifies. | 75% AI can do it |
| Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts. AI generates syllabi, homework sets and handouts from a template. | 70% AI can do it |
| Develop and maintain course Web sites. AI builds and updates course web pages and content with little input. | 70% AI can do it |
| Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers. AI can grade routine assignments and essays; instructor reviews results. | 60% AI can do it |
| Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, and course materials and methods of instruction. AI can propose curriculum revisions and review course materials. | 50% AI helps |
| Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others. AI drafts and grades exams; proctoring and final sign-off stay human. | 50% AI helps |
| Write grant proposals to procure external research funding. AI drafts proposal sections and budgets; investigator is responsible for the content. | 50% AI helps |
| Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media. AI aids literature review, analysis and drafting; research design stays human. | 45% AI helps |
| Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as financial accounting, principles of marketing, and operations management. AI drafts lecture outlines and examples; instructor still delivers live. | 35% AI helps |
Show the other 15 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional organizations and conferences. AI summarizes literature; attending conferences and talks stay human. | 35% AI helps |
| Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks. AI can compare textbooks and draft orders; purchasing decisions stay human. | 35% AI helps |
| Provide professional consulting services to government or industry. AI helps with analysis and reports; client engagement stays expert-led. | 30% AI helps |
| Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and career issues. AI supplies course planning and career info; advising relationship stays human. | 25% AI helps |
| Perform administrative duties, such as serving as department head. AI handles paperwork and reports; people leadership stays human. | 25% AI helps |
| Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues. Collaboration is mainly live discussion; AI only summarizes notes. | 20% Needs a person |
| Collaborate with members of the business community to improve programs, to develop new programs, and to provide student access to learning opportunities, such as internships. Building employer relationships and placements depends on in-person trust. | 20% Needs a person |
| Mentor new faculty. Mentoring is a personal relationship; AI only supplies reference material. | 20% Needs a person |
| Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities. Recruitment events are in person; registration tools only assist. | 20% Needs a person |
| Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work. Supervising theses and internships needs ongoing personal feedback. | 20% Needs a person |
| Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions. Live discussion facilitation depends on in-room interaction and judgement. | 15% Needs a person |
| Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students. Office hours need live, personal interaction with students. | 15% Needs a person |
| Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues. Committee service is live deliberation; AI only helps with minutes. | 15% Needs a person |
| Act as advisers to student organizations. Advising student groups requires in-person presence and relationships. | 10% Needs a person |
| Participate in campus and community events. Attending campus and community events is physical presence work. | 5% Needs a person |
How business professors compare
All occupations (923)
Educational instruction and library (62)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $99,080 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 82,150 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +5.9% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Run regression and variance analysis in SAS
- Run statistical tests in IBM SPSS Statistics
- Manage gradebooks and course delivery in the LMS
- Lead live case discussions with students in class
- Hold office hours and advise students in person
- Build spreadsheet models in Microsoft Excel for coursework
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about business professors and AI
Will AI replace business professors?
Partly. About 4 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly maintaining student records and preparing course materials such as syllabi and handouts. Live classroom discussion, office hours and committee deliberation stay with professors because they need a person in the room.
Which tasks is AI taking over from business professors?
Record keeping, bibliographies and course preparation go first. Maintaining attendance and grade records scores 75 on exposure, and compiling reading lists scores 75 as well, since AI searches and formats them while the instructor checks the result. AI also generates syllabi and homework sets from templates, exposure 70.
Which tasks stay human for business professors?
Moderating classroom discussions and holding office hours stay with professors, each scoring 15 on exposure. Both depend on live interaction and judgement in the room. Participating in campus events, exposure 5, and advising student organizations, exposure 10, need physical presence and personal relationships.
How can business professors stay valuable as AI takes over routine work?
Teach the analysis itself by running regressions and variance tests in SAS and IBM SPSS Statistics with students present. Review every AI-drafted syllabus, handout and grade in the LMS before release. Spend the hours freed from record keeping on office hours and committee work, where live presence counts.
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