Study finds sales and people-facing roles most resistant to AI disruption
New research from digital business card and event-tech firm Wave Connect suggests jobs built on networking and referrals, such as sales management and event planning, remain the least vulnerable to automation.
Communication skills seen as key defence against automation
A new report has identified the professions considered least likely to be replaced by artificial intelligence, concluding that roles reliant on face-to-face communication and networking are the most secure.
The study, published in August 2026 by Wave Connect, a provider of digital business cards and an event lead-capture and AI badge-scanning platform, examined roles built around human interaction rather than written communication tasks such as emails and guides, which it says are already being automated by AI tools.
Researchers assessed professions using two measures: how often referrals influence hiring, expressed as a percentage, and a networking index reflecting how much relationship-building affects job performance.
Sales management tops the list
Sales managers ranked highest overall, with 27 per cent of employees reaching interview stage through networking or referrals, the highest referral rate in the study. The role also scored 93 out of 100 on the networking index, with a median salary of £148,200 (as stated in the report, expressed in dollars).
Real estate sales agents came second, with 22 per cent securing interviews through recommendations, though their median salary of $52.8k was significantly lower than that of sales managers.
Investment fund managers ranked third, combining a high referral rate of over one in four with the highest salary in the top five, at $166.5k a year, second only to marketing managers, who the report identifies as the highest-paid communication-based role at $166.8k annually.
Talent and sports agents followed closely, with a quarter of professionals gaining roles through personal connections and a networking score of 73 out of 100.
Meeting, convention and event planners completed the top five, with 23 per cent securing jobs via referrals and the highest networking score among the top five roles, despite a comparatively modest salary of $61.1k.
The report also found that around one in five financial advisers reach the interview stage through personal contacts rather than applications alone.
Company comment
George El-Hage, founder and chief executive of Wave Connect, said the findings challenge assumptions that AI is eroding communication-based careers. He said roles requiring genuine collaboration, from nurses to sales managers and event planners, are more secure than ever, as trust and personal relationships remain something AI cannot replicate.
Wave Connect said the findings are based on its own analysis of workforce data comparing referral rates and networking importance across professions, and asked that any use of the data credit the company.