The growing use of artificial intelligence in the workplace has caused “very good” disruption to the jobs market, the boss of a recruitment agency has said.
Published 15th Oct 2026, 07:57 BST
Updated 15th Oct 2026, 08:01 BST
Toby Fowlston, chief executive of recruiter Robert Walters, said the increasing adoption and use of AI has helped free up time for “really critical human moments” and boosted companies’ demand for workers. It came after the London-listed firm revealed a rise in net fees in its UK operations. Robert Walters’s net fees across its UK market grew 10% to £13.2 million year on year in the quarter to September 30. Mr Fowlston told the Press Association: “Clearly there’s been huge disruption with AI, and much, by the way, has been very good.
“Particularly for us, the administration and really giving back valuable time for those really critical human moments, which are so important in our business.”
He added: “Every single person within their job likely has tasks which are automatable and tasks which are not.
“And I think what AI is doing is it’s really starting to disrupt those tasks that, frankly, you can automate, and therefore those tasks are now being substituted by humans with AI.
“Now, the other side of that, of course, is that it creates capacity, and therefore the complementary element is that we are starting to see – and have been seeing – that actually a lot of these organisations that have really adopted AI, they have an even greater need for people.” Mr Fowlston said the recruitment agency has seen a growing demand for lawyers and compliance and cyber experts from firms, to help with their adoption and usage of AI.
He also said the increasing use of AI, including for administrative roles, has had an impact on youth unemployment.
Mr Fowlston said the “bar for entry” to the job market was now “much higher” for young people and graduates.
Asked how to tackle this, he told PA: “I think Government intervention is always going to be helpful.
“(Let’s) see what comes out in the Budget on that, and indeed what the Government feel on that, and I think anything that can enable that youth entry to improve is clearly a good thing.
“That’d be the first thing. I think the second thing is really recognising what the graduate entrants can also do themselves as well. I mean, what are the skills that AI doesn’t have? It doesn’t have emotion, communication, getting out and talking to people, the ability to get into offices,; all these key things.”