If AI can read, classify, and even summarize documents, do businesses still need information management professionals?
It’s a question that’s fueling anxiety across industries. And as headlines proclaim that artificial intelligence will “replace” jobs, it’s easy to wonder whether roles centered around managing information might be at risk.
But the truth is far less sensationalized: AI isn’t replacing information management professionals. It’s elevating their roles with increased productivity and new areas of focus.
The Fear Factor: Why Professionals Worry About AI
For many, headlines that paint AI as fully autonomous are a cause for concern. When people hear that AI can “handle documents end-to-end,” they picture a future where human input is no longer needed.
The reality is much less black and white. AI may replace tasks, but not entire roles.
What AI Actually Does Well
Generative AI-powered capture is incredibly good at repetitive, manual work that used to consume hours of staff time:
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Extracting data from invoices and contracts.
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Automatically indexing and classifying files.
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Surfacing key details for faster decision-making.
This delivers speed, scale, and consistency that no human team can match. But while AI is excellent at execution, it lacks the critical thinking and decision-making skills that true information management requires.
The Irreplaceable Human Factor
This is where information management professionals shine. They bring:
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Big-Picture Knowledge: Knowing industry-specific rules, compliance nuances, and business priorities.
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Decision-making skills: Recognizing when an exception matters and how to handle it.
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Strategic thinking: Designing better workflows and policies that align with company goals.
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Collaboration and training: Guiding teams, ensuring adoption, and working with vendors and stakeholders.
AI can’t replace these skills, but it supports them with new information and insights. Information management professionals remain the decision-makers and strategists, while AI takes care of more mundane tasks.
The Future of Information Management
Allowing AI to serve as a collaborative partner creates powerful opportunities to elevate your role:
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AI handles the busywork, like data entry, indexing, and repetitive classification.
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Humans focus on bigger-picture initiatives, like maintaining compliance, managing exceptions, and creating opportunities for continuous improvement.
Practical Examples of AI Collaboration
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Accounts Payable: AI extracts invoice data instantly. Professionals handle exceptions and manage vendor relationships.
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Contract Management: AI flags clauses and payment terms. Professionals decide what those terms mean for the business.
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Compliance Audits: AI retrieves and organizes records. Professionals interpret regulatory requirements and ensure readiness.
In every case, AI enhances productivity while humans analyze, interpret, and decide on the proper course of action.
What This Means for Professionals Today
Far from making information management roles obsolete, AI opens up opportunities for professional growth:
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Upskilling: Professionals who understand AI become even more valuable to their organizations.
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Shifting focus: Less time spent on data entry means more time focused on decision-making and strategy.
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Becoming AI Administrators: Guiding, training, and overseeing AI systems is an impactful role for ensuring accuracy and compliance.
In Summary
The fear of AI replacing information management professionals is understandable, but the truth is far more grounded and nuanced. AI won’t replace you. It will empower you to focus on the work that matters most: strategy, decision-making, and efficiency.
At Square 9, we see AI as a partner, not a threat. Collaborating to build a smarter, more productive future for information management.
How Square 9 Can Help
Square 9 Softworks is a generative AI-powered platform that removes the frustration of extracting data from documents, forms, and all external sources, so you can harness the full power of your information. Release your team from repetitive tasks while your work flows freely in areas like accounts payable, order processing, onboarding, contract management, and more. The Square 9 platform captures your unstructured content, transforms it into clean, searchable data, and securely shares it across your organization to accelerate your decisions and actions.