When Roles Change with AI

What happens to our roles when AI changes how work gets done?

I think many of our roles and titles will be impacted by AI. Not necessarily because the work disappears, but because the way the work gets done will change. Take the Scrum Master role as an example.

I have personally been uncomfortable with the word “Master” in the title for some time. It carries historical associations and also doesn’t always reflect what I believe the role is really about. I prefer thinking of it as servant leadership — helping a team succeed rather than being the master of anything. It has always been master of the framework and not about people, but the world does not get it that way.

Maybe that is also why terms like Scrum Lead, Agile Lead and Team Coach feel more natural today. But there is another change already happening.

In many organizations, Scrum Lead responsibilities are being performed by people with completely different titles — Engineering Managers, BSAs, Leads, Project Managers or Program Managers. They have to act as Team Coaches.

The title may be different but the responsibilities don’t disappear. Teams still need people who can facilitate good conversations, surface impediments, listen, coach, resolve conflicts, encourage continuous improvement and help people work better together.

These are not just Scrum skills. They are servant leadership skills. And I think more of us will need them more now. And this is where AI becomes interesting.

AI can analyze delivery data, identify patterns, surface recurring blockers, summarize retrospectives, track improvement actions and help us prepare better for conversations.

For someone carrying these responsibilities alongside another role, AI could make the work more manageable. For someone in a dedicated Scrum Lead role, perhaps AI creates space to spend less time on routine activities and more time on coaching, facilitation, systems thinking and helping teams navigate change.

So perhaps the bigger question isn’t whether the Scrum Lead title survives.
As AI changes our roles, how do we use it to free up more time for the servant leadership skills our teams will continue to need?