Ex-Meta Exec Launches Free AI Jobs Tool for Gen Z

When Clara Shih watched AI agents beat some of her best workers at Meta last fall, she didn't panic about the future of work. She decided to help the next generation prepare for it.

The 20-year AI veteran just launched the New Work Foundation, a free nonprofit offering AI tools specifically designed to help Gen Z navigate an increasingly automated job market. Her timing couldn't be better: Ivy League graduates are struggling to land entry-level positions while AI threatens to reshape white-collar work entirely.

Shih's "aha moment" came when she realized traditional career training simply couldn't keep pace with AI's breakneck development. "I realized that the only way to help people keep up with the pace of AI was to give them AI tools," she told Fortune.

The foundation's first offerings include Field Report, which shows real-time career insights like job openings, competition levels, and AI automation risk for different professions. There's also JobClaw, an AI agent that matches job seekers with opportunities based on a simple five-question form about their interests and strengths.

No résumé required. No corporate jargon. Just straightforward help for people trying to break into the workforce.

The tools arrive as Gen Z faces a perfect storm of challenges. Recent surveys show many are abandoning traditional career paths entirely, turning instead to entrepreneurship, gig work, and trade schools. Meanwhile, employees already using AI at work are earning more promotions and raises than those resisting the technology.

The Ripple Effect

What makes Shih's approach different is her belief that AI skeptics are exactly who should be involved. "The people who have moral objections to AI, those are actually the people that I want involved, making sure that we steer these systems in the right direction," she said.

That philosophy transforms AI from a threat into a tool that young workers can shape themselves. Instead of being replaced by automation, Gen Z can learn to work alongside it and even guide its development.

The foundation's message is clear: whether you love AI or fear it, the workplace is already changing. Recent data from ZipRecruiter confirms Gen Z is rethinking everything about traditional careers, but Shih sees a path forward that doesn't require abandoning professional ambitions entirely.

Her advice echoes what's already happening in offices across the country: learning to use AI isn't just helpful anymore, it's becoming essential. But unlike expensive bootcamps or exclusive training programs, these tools are free and accessible to anyone with an internet connection.

The future of work is arriving fast, and now Gen Z has a fighting chance to meet it on their own terms.