Web Summit: AI raises workloads for 59% of tech professionals
Web Summit’s first State of the Industry report reveals that AI is increasing workloads for the majority of tech professionals, with founders and engineers reporting the sharpest rises. The findings also point to shrinking entry-level roles and mixed views on AI’s long-term impact on skills and investment.
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Workloads rise as AI adoption grows
Tech professionals are feeling the strain of AI adoption. According to Web Summit’s survey of 1,455 founders, investors, engineers, and creators, 59% say AI has increased their workload, while only 20% report a decrease. The remaining 20% saw little change.
The workload surge is most acute in AI and machine-learning infrastructure (70%), SaaS and business software (68%), and hardware and IoT (67%). Founders (63%) and engineering or product staff (64%) are the hardest hit, while investors (42%) are less affected.
Nidhi Naithani, Web Summit’s Senior Vice President of Technology Operations, said AI speeds up production but also raises expectations about deliverables.
Entry-level roles face cuts
The report signals a shift in hiring trends. While 39% of respondents expect headcount growth in their field over the next two years, 42% anticipate fewer entry-level roles. Among C-suite respondents, this rises to 50%, and among investors, it jumps to 58%.
Students remain optimistic, with 55% expecting more entry-level jobs. However, concerns are growing about the long-term pipeline of skilled professionals. One respondent questioned, "What happens when all the seniors retire or leave? Who’s going to fix AI slop?"
Critical thinking and AI investment divide opinions
Opinions on AI’s impact on critical thinking are split. While 55% of tech professionals believe AI strengthens their ability to think critically, 26% say it weakens it. Engineers are the most skeptical, with 37% reporting a negative impact on their thinking skills.
Investment in AI remains a contentious topic. About a third of respondents believe AI spending is still in its early stages and will continue to grow, but 32% think it’s too high and will slow gradually. A further 10% expect a sharp decline. Engineering and product professionals are the most likely to say AI investment is already excessive, with over half holding this view.
References to external analyses, including a Gartner report cited by the Financial Times, suggest $3.5 trillion of AI spending is at risk of future write-downs.
Teams shrink, output rises, and skills priorities diverge
The report highlights expectations of leaner teams delivering more. Overall, 42% of respondents anticipate smaller teams with higher output due to AI, rising to 50% among founders. Only 9% expect team growth.
Tech professionals use an average of 2.3 AI providers, with 43% using three or more. This reflects a fragmented but active AI tool ecosystem.
Attitudes toward future skills differ sharply by gender. Women (41%) prioritize emotional and people skills, while men (37%) favor technical and engineering abilities. However, 24% of women also see technical skills as critical, compared to 27% of men who value emotional skills.
What this means
Lazyfounder analysis — our interpretation, not reported fact.
Web Summit’s report confirms what many founders and operators suspect: AI is not yet the efficiency panacea it was promised to be. For now, it is adding work—especially for those building AI infrastructure, SaaS, or hardware—rather than reducing it. This aligns with earlier Lazyfounder coverage on the risks of misapplying AI, where poor deployment eroded trust instead of boosting productivity.
The shrinking pipeline for entry-level roles is a red flag for talent development. Founders may see this as a short-term cost-saving measure, but long-term, it could starve teams of the hands-on experience needed to refine AI systems. The survey’s demographic splits—gender, age, and role—suggest AI’s impact is uneven. Operators should audit where AI is creating bottlenecks, not just efficiencies, and adjust hiring and training plans accordingly.
The skepticism toward AI investment among engineers and product teams is notable. If those closest to building and deploying AI believe spending is already excessive, founders might want to scrutinize their own AI budgets. The focus on emotional and people skills, particularly among women, could indicate a growing gap between technical hype and the day-to-day realities of running teams.
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Sources
- The Next Web · 2026-10-22
Web Summit survey: 59% in tech say AI has increased their workload
This story is an original summary drafted with AI by Lazyfounder from the reporting listed above and checked by automated validation. Facts are attributed to their original publishers; sections marked as analysis are Lazyfounder's. Where a source is in another language, facts were machine-translated and quotations are reported, not reproduced. Read the original coverage via the links, and see our AI policy and corrections policy.
About the author
Editor, Lazyfounder
Tarun Mottlia edits LazyFounders, covering Indian startups, funding rounds, AI and product launches. Every story on the site is AI-assisted and checked against its cited sources before publication.
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