Skills Shortage: Fill Vacancies with AI Instead of Searching for Months
In short: By 2040, 13.3 million people in Germany's workforce will reach retirement age – 30% of all workers (Destatis, 2026). For many SMEs this means back-office, reception or accounting positions stay vacant for months. These positions can often be staffed fully or partially with AI – usually within about six weeks and at a fraction of a job's full cost. Crafts, production and relationship work stay human.
How big is the skills shortage in 2026?
The numbers are more nuanced than headlines suggest. According to the German Economic Institute's competence centre KOFA, an annual average of around 370,000 qualified workers were missing for open positions in 2025 – roughly a third of all open skilled positions could not be filled with suitable candidates. Due to the weak economy, this gap shrank by around 24% compared with 2024.
That is no all-clear: the structural driver is demographics. Destatis expects 13.3 million workers to retire by 2040 – and younger cohorts are not large enough to replace them. Once the economy picks up, the gap will widen. Companies that rethink positions now will be ahead.
Why more recruiting alone isn't enough
- Long time-to-hire: small companies compete with corporations for the same candidates – and often lose.
- Hidden costs of vacancies: overtime, unanswered inquiries, missed calls, delayed invoices.
- The boss as stopgap: the vacant role's tasks end up with management – time missing for decisions.
- Knowledge loss: when experienced colleagues retire, their knowledge leaves with them unless it is documented.
Which vacancies can be filled with AI
| Vacancy | AI-staffable | Typical effect |
|---|---|---|
| Reception / phone | fully | No more missed calls, appointments outside office hours |
| Back office / order processing | fully | Inquiries and orders captured and answered immediately |
| Sales assistant / lead research | fully | Sales gets prepared, prioritised contacts |
| Accounting assistant | partially | Receipts, draft invoices and dunning prepared |
| Executive assistant | partially | Inbox, meetings and minutes pre-sorted |
| Customer service | partially | Standard questions answered instantly, people for hard cases |
| Production, assembly, crafts | no | AI doesn't replace hands – it can only support planning |
More detail per position: AI employees: which positions AI can take over.
Example calculation: vacancy vs. AI position
A simplified example for a back-office position (illustrative assumptions):
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Hours per week in the position | 40 |
| Full cost per hour (incl. overheads) | €40 |
| Working weeks per year | 46 |
| Cost of the position per year | €73,600 |
| Share AI takes over | 70% |
| Capacity covered by AI per year | €51,520 |
| AI position (AI Starter) in year one: 12 × €2,990 + €5,990 setup | €41,870 |
| AI position from year two | €35,880 |
Not included: the costs of a vacant position – lost orders, overtime, recruiting effort. On top, the AI position works around the clock, with no holiday cover and no re-onboarding after turnover.
4 steps from vacancy to AI position
- Break down the job description: which tasks does the vacant role contain, and how many hours per week does each take?
- Colour the tasks: fully AI, partially AI or stays human – using the 5-question test (repetition, digital data, rules, manageable errors, more than 10 hours per week).
- Staff the AI position: connection to email, telephony, ERP or CRM, clear handover rules, operation by the provider. Go-live usually about six weeks after start.
- Enable the team: one employee leads the AI position – spot checks, approvals, exceptions. A vacancy becomes a leadership task.
Legal points to consider
- Data protection: EU servers, data processing agreement, transparency towards callers and customers that they are talking to an AI.
- EU AI Act: AI in recruiting is high-risk; the selection decision stays human – see EU AI Act 2026.
- Co-determination: if there is a works council, it must be involved when technical systems are introduced.
FAQ
Can AI solve the skills shortage in SMEs?
Not completely, but it can noticeably ease it for many office and admin positions. Reception, back office or lead research can be fully staffed with AI, others partially. Crafts and production stay human.
How quickly can a vacancy be filled with AI?
After an analysis of about two weeks, the first AI position usually goes live about four weeks later.
What does it cost to fill a position with AI?
At mysoftwarelab from €2,990 per month for an operated AI position, plus €5,990 setup and VAT, with a 12-month minimum term.
Conclusion: the position you can't fill doesn't have to stay empty
The skills shortage is not a temporary problem for SMEs. Breaking a vacancy into tasks and staffing the recurring ones with AI gets the work done within weeks – and your team can focus on what only people can do.
Which position has been vacant for months? Request a callback within 24 hours – Andreas Indorf checks with you in 15 minutes whether and how far AI can take it over. See all positions in the interactive org chart.
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Which position in your org chart should AI take over first?
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Benefit from over 20 years of enterprise experience
Andreas Indorf
Managing Director, mysoftwarelab GmbH
Qualification: BAFA-certified management consultant for digitalization and artificial intelligence (consultant number #213652)
Expertise: Over 20 years of developing and implementing IT systems for DAX companies and international corporations. Specialized in AI automation for mid-sized businesses since 2021.
Hands-on Experience: As a model operation, mysoftwarelab already runs 80% of its own IT services through AI. This hands-on experience flows directly into our client consulting.
Focus: Pragmatic AI adoption for mid-sized manufacturing and service companies (50-200 employees) with measurable cost savings and government funding.
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