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What Changed: The Evolving Competition for VAs

What Changed: The Evolving Competition for VAs

AI disrupted the hiring process, but it also revealed who the real professionals are.

Shane Riggs
August 12, 2025

BEYOND VIRTUAL

Richard had been my go-to VA for three years. Email management, calendar coordination, basic research? He handled them all flawlessly. Then last month, he called me with news I didn't expect: he was taking a position as an operations coordinator at a local company.

"The clients I worked with for years are now using AI for most of what I did," Richard explained. "I watched my hourly workload drop from 30 hours a week to maybe 8. The writing was on the wall."

But here's what Richard didn't see coming: while he was losing work to AI, other VAs in our network were doubling their rates and expanding their client base.

The difference? Richard was a generalist in a world that suddenly needed specialists.

The VA hiring scene has really undergone significant changes. Clients aren't just seeking help with repetitive tasks anymore; AI handles those. Now, they're after experts who can tackle specific, intricate problems that AI can't touch.

The competition isn't just other VAs anymore; it's now all about who’s better at using AI.

Feature Story

THE RISE OF SPECIALISTS

The era of the "do-everything" virtual assistant is coming to an end. In its place, a new breed of highly specialized VAs is emerging, and they're commanding premium rates while building waitlists of eager clients.

The Generalist Extinction

For years, being a jack-of-all-trades was the VA's competitive advantage. Everyone loved having one person who could handle email, scheduling, research, data entry, and basic content creation. It was convenient, cost-effective, and reliable.

And once again… AI changed that equation overnight.

When ChatGPT started writing emails, Calendly handled scheduling, and AI tools began processing data faster than any human, the generalist value proposition crumbled. Suddenly, clients realized they were paying premium rates for work that AI could do for pennies, and thus, the specialist revolution began.

The Specialist Revolution

Let me tell you about some of the most successful VAs I've seen recently from my company. They've stopped trying to do a little bit of everything and have instead become experts in specific areas.

For example, a VA who focuses only on clients in the real estate or healthcare industries. They understand the lingo, the rules, and all the specific headaches that come with those industries in a way that AI just can't. Because of that deep knowledge, they can charge 40-60% more than a generalist (That’s a huge additional cost!).

Then you have the tech wizards. These VAs have spent time mastering a specific software, like becoming a HubSpot admin or an expert at Salesforce. Their clients see them less as an assistant and more as a consultant, and they often have their calendars booked up for months.

We also have the creative thinkers. While AI can churn out a blog post, it doesn't get a company's unique voice or what really makes their audience tick. The VAs who specialize in things like content strategy and social media planning are more valuable than ever because they bring that human touch.

And finally, some of the smartest VAs are becoming "Process Architects." They build entire systems for clients, using AI tools as just one part of a bigger, more efficient workflow.

The New Value Proposition

The specialists winning today share three characteristics:

Deep Knowledge: They know their niche better than their clients do
AI Integration: They use AI as a tool, not a competitor
Strategic Thinking: They solve problems, not just complete tasks

Speaking of which, one of our VAs, Adelson, specializes in podcast production. Aside from editing the podcast episode, he designs content strategies, manages guest relationships, optimizes for discoverability, and uses AI tools to enhance production efficiency. His clients don't hire him to save time; they hire him to grow their shows. Talk about efficiency!

In today’s world, the market rewards depth over breadth.

Visionary Voices

MICHELLE WEISE: THE SPECIALIST IMPERATIVE

Michelle Weise, Senior Advisor at Imaginable Futures and author of "Long Life Learning," has spent years studying how professionals adapt to technological disruption. Her insights perfectly explain what's happening in the VA industry.

Weise argues that the traditional career model, “learn once, work for decades,” is dead. In the AI era, professionals must continuously develop specialized expertise to stay relevant.

The Learning-Working Cycle

Weise's research reveals that successful professionals in AI-disrupted industries follow a continuous learning-working cycle, and how they don't just adapt to change, but rather, anticipate it.

"The half-life of skills is getting shorter and shorter," Weise explains. "What you knew five years ago may not be relevant today, but your ability to learn and specialize in emerging areas determines your future value."

For VAs, this means:

Continuous Skill Development: The most successful VAs spend 10-15% of their time learning new specialized skills
Market Anticipation: They identify emerging client needs before those needs become obvious
Strategic Positioning: They position themselves as experts in growing niches rather than shrinking generalist markets

Weise's framework explains why specialists like Jennifer thrive while generalists like Richard struggle. Specialists embrace the learning-working cycle, constantly evolving their expertise to stay ahead of AI capabilities.

❝

"The future belongs to those who can combine technical skills with uniquely human judgment and creativity."

Michelle Weise

Learn more: Long Life Learning with Author Michelle Weise

The Trend

THE T-SHAPED PROFESSIONAL ERA

I keep coming back to this conversation I had with Adelson last month. He's one of those VAs who's crushing it right now (the one I mentioned earlier), charging rates that would make your eyes water. When I asked him what changed, he said: "I stopped trying to be everything to everyone."

That's when the whole T-shaped thing started making sense.

What is a T-Shaped Professional?

The vertical line: Deep expertise in one specialized area where you're almost irreplaceable
The horizontal line: Broad understanding of how your specialty connects to other business functions
The result: You become a translator who can see the big picture while delivering expert solutions

What's interesting is that the VAs doing really well right now seem to have figured this out almost by accident. They got really good at one thing, then curiosity led them sideways into understanding how their expertise connects to everything else.

The translation advantage is probably the biggest benefit. When marketing panics about conversion rates while product celebrates engagement metrics, most people just shrug. But T-shaped VAs can actually explain what's happening because they speak both languages.

And what's perhaps most valuable is that they don't panic when their main expertise shifts. When part of what they do gets automated, they already have other knowledge areas to lean into. It's like having backup plans without really planning for them.

The timeline varies, honestly. Some say three years, but I've seen VAs make this shift faster. Maybe it's more about staying genuinely curious about how your work affects the bigger picture than following some rigid development plan.

What I find fascinating is how AI actually makes this approach more valuable, not less. The more automated individual tasks become, the more businesses need someone who can see how all the pieces fit together.

Curious to see if you’re a T-shaped professional? Check this out! T-Shaped Skills

A Final Note

Here's what this shift means in simple terms:

Generalist VAs are losing work to AI automation
Specialist VAs are commanding 2-3x higher rates
T-shaped professionals are becoming strategic partners, not task executors

For Virtual Assistants

The new hiring environment for virtual assistants means a shift toward specialization. VAs should build deep expertise in one high-value area while also developing a working knowledge in a few related disciplines. This allows you to position yourself as a problem-solver, not just a task completer. You can then leverage AI as a tool to enhance your specialized capabilities and deliver even greater value.

For Business Owners

This shift in the VA landscape is highly beneficial for business owners. It provides access to higher-level, strategic support at competitive rates. You get a partner who understands your business holistically, not just individual tasks. These specialized VAs can anticipate problems and identify opportunities, leading to more efficient operations and better results delivered faster.

The Bottom Line: The generalist VA era is over. The specialist era has begun. Those who make this transition thoughtfully are unlocking opportunities that never existed before.

Until next time,