Ikea’s AI bot didn’t replace workers. It made them more valuable

The reality thus far is that AI is reshaping roles rather than eliminating them. My colleague Claire Zillman just wrote about how Ikea is reskilling its workforce. It’s been five years since Ikea launched the AI-powered customer service bot Billie that now assists three-quarters of customers who come to it with queries. Instead of laying off the call center workers whose jobs the bot had partly taken over, though, Ikea has retrained them. And now those centers have become the retailer’s fastest-growing sales channel over the past three years, with year-on-year growth of between 15% and 20% annually.

It’s a story that I’m hearing more in my conversations with leaders. Last week, my colleague Sheryl Estrada and I co-hosted a dinner for CFOs in partnership with IBM. Throughout the wide-ranging conversation, it became clear that these finance leaders—who arguably should be motivated to keep headcount down in volatile times—are thinking about AI as a driver of productivity, growth, and engagement. Their challenge is getting colleagues to use the tools more often, to get over the fear that AI is there to one day replace them.

The World Economic Forum estimates that 92 million jobs globally could be displaced by AI, related technologies, and demographic shifts by 2030. But about 170 million new roles could also be generated, WEF estimates, if employers invest in upskilling workers to deploy AI. As Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon points out, AI is just another technology tool. What’s different is the pace at which it’s driving change. Examples like Ikea are important in showcasing how AI really can benefit humans, with hard numbers that demonstrate growth. I’d be curious to know how engagement and net promoter scores shift, too. I look forward to hearing your stories.

Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com

Top leadership news

Inside Mamdani’s grocery store

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani plans five city-owned supermarkets, one per borough, offering a core basket of staples at prices 30% below market. The $70 million initiative, operated by private managers on city property without rent or taxes, aims to cut household grocery bills but faces sharp criticism from economists and small grocers who warn it could distort competition, force private stores out of business, and ultimately shift costs to taxpayers.

CXMT’s blockbuster IPO 

Chinese chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies, or CXMT, became the country’s most valuable company almost overnight. Yet experts are split on whether the rise in CXMT’s stock price is a temporary boost fueled by AI-driven memory shortages, or a long-term shift in global AI supply chains where Chinese chipmakers are now coming to the fore. 

Wall Street’s hidden recruiting pipeline

At Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America, the fastest route from the Ivy league to a corner office might not run through the career center at all, but through the football roster. Researchers found a team bond is a far more potent career driver than a diploma itself. Having one additional former teammate—same sport, same school, same roster—already working at a firm raised a fellow player’s odds of joining that firm by 193.7%.

The markets

S&P 500 futures are up 0.48% this morning. The last session closed up 0.70%. The STOXX Europe 600 was up 0.37% in early trading. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was down 0.05% in early trading. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.94%. South Korea’s KOSPI was down 5.21%. China’s CSI 300 was down 0.98%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.48%. India’s NIFTY 50 was up 0.86%. Bitcoin was down at $62K.

Around the watercooler

The labor market could become so backward that the economy will have to shed jobs to keep unemployment steady by Jason Ma

Amazon’s Andy Jassy sees a $1 trillion cloud built on businesses like the PGA Tour—which swapped its server trucks for AI broadcasts by Amanda Gerut

Bars, bowling alleys and movie theaters cost too much to run and visit. Americans have run out of places to hang out and we’re paying with our health by Catherina Gioino

Most billionaires are stuck in ‘slow philanthropy.’ MacKenzie Scott gave away $26 billion and won’t stop until ‘the safe is empty’ by Sydney Lake

CEO Daily is curated and edited by Joseph Abrams, Jason Ma, Claire Zillman, and Lee Clifford.