Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman predicts widespread white-collar job automation within 12-18 months

Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman has warned that artificial intelligence (AI) could automate a large share of white-collar jobs within the next 12 to 18 months, as the company accelerates development of what he calls “professional-grade AGI”.

In an interview with the Financial Times on Thursday, Suleyman said Microsoft is targeting a larger share of the enterprise market with advanced AI systems capable of performing routine knowledge-work tasks.

AGI, or artificial general intelligence, refers to systems designed to match or exceed human-level performance across a wide range of intellectual tasks.

“White-collar jobs, essentially those sitting in front of computers whether lawyers, accountants, project managers, or marketers… most of these tasks will be fully automated by AI within the next 12 to 18 months,” Suleyman said.

Rather than replacing isolated roles such as software developers, the company is building AI agents, he added. AI agents are software systems that can independently complete multi-step workflows, from drafting contracts to analysing financial statements.

The development follows a series of incidents surrounding cost-cutting measures seeded by AI. Salesforce reportedly laid off around 1,000 employees this month amid a broader AI transition. Other major employers, including Amazon, FedEx, and Ericsson, have also announced restructuring tied partly to automation and efficiency drives.