Geopolitical shocks. Uncertainty around international trade. Slowing population growth. Throw generative AI (GenAI) into the mix of concerns, as more and more job postings require it, and it’s no wonder Canadian employers are cautious about the future.
One thing remains clear despite the disruption: While GenAI is changing rapidly, most skills remain uniquely human, and the human factor has never been more critical. That’s what Michelle Slater, Indeed’s senior marketing director for the Americas region and global partnerships, surmised at a recent Toronto roundtable of human resources leaders in March. The event was part of the Futureproofing Your Workforce in the Age of AI series hosted by Business Insider and sponsored by Indeed.
“[AI] can be a companion to our work, but it does not replace the humans,” Slater said. She highlighted the importance of striking the right balance between human expertise and machine intelligence, “building teams that are not only resilient, but also ready for what is truly next.”
Jobs in flux
Indeed’s data on millions of global job postings, along with inputs from job seekers, gives them a unique bird’s-eye view of the labour market and how it’s changing. “We have early insight as to what’s going on and how work is actually evolving,” Slater said.
In Canada, the economy has absorbed geopolitical hits, but uncertainty remains around tariffs and trade, along with slowing population growth. The job vacancy rate barely moved, from 3.1% to 2.8%, between the third quarter of 2024 and the third quarter of 2025. The unemployment rate ended 2025 at 6.5%, near where it stood in mid-2024.
However, “the fundamentals of talent attraction remain the same as they have been for a long time,” Slater told the group in Toronto. “A strong value proposition for employees drives recruitment and work wellbeing. Meaningful work [also] drives retention.”
She noted that the overall picture for AI “is not necessarily about disruption, but more about redesign.” It’s clear that jobs done by humans aren’t going away anytime soon. Instead, the way those jobs are done will change, making job redesign essential.
Separating AI fact from fiction
Slater cautioned against letting headlines about AI and jobs cloud the reality. Indeed’s data shows that “it’s actually only a small percentage of jobs that are currently impacted 100% by AI,” she said.
Digging into this research suggests that only about a quarter of jobs are highly transformable by GenAI, and a large percentage of jobs will experience moderate or “hybrid” transformation, with AI assisting with tasks. What’s evident here is that humans will still lead the work.
And for Slater, that’s because of a very simple truth: “Jobs need people… AI can power progress, but it cannot replace humanity.”
Building the workplace of tomorrow
“When I think about hiring my team, I’m looking at productivity and how the team can be more productive with AI,” said Slater. She said that the future of work will be defined by how effectively leaders integrate technology with human workers’ unique capabilities.
The reward for getting the human-AI balance right should be a workplace that’s better able to adapt to ongoing changes, which includes team members who can focus on tasks that can’t be automated. Because the reality right now, as Slater summarized once more, is that “AI can augment a role, but we still need people [to do the work].”
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This post was created by Insider Studios with Indeed.