New research reveals 60% of executives predict AI roles will earn higher pay, with nearly 1 in 4 offering a 20%+ premium for AI skills.
Zapier, the leading AI orchestration platform, released findings from its AI Job Market survey of 550 corporate executives. The research paints a clear picture: Despite a cooling job market, companies aren’t just interested in AI talent, they’re actively competing for it, creating new roles, and paying a premium to get it.
The survey arrives at a moment when job seekers are facing one of the tightest hiring markets in recent years. But while overall hiring has slowed, the data tells a different story for workers with AI expertise. Companies are spending more, hiring more, and building long-term strategies around AI skills.
“The broader job market is tough right now, and there’s no way around that. But the demand for AI skills is one of the clearest bright spots we’re seeing,” said Emily Mabie, Senior AI Automation Engineer at Zapier. “Companies aren’t treating AI as a nice-to-have anymore. They’re building entire teams around it, creating roles that didn’t exist two years ago, and putting real money behind it. If you’re investing in AI skills right now, you’re putting yourself in a much stronger position.”
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Key Survey Findings
- AI skills are nearly universal in demand: 98% of executives plan to ensure their employees or consultants have AI skills. Nearly two-thirds (65%) plan to train current employees, while 44% are looking to invest in new talent.
- Dedicated AI roles are becoming standard: 56% of executives already have employees in AI-focused roles, including positions created from scratch or converted from existing ones. Another 24% are actively looking to hire for or create these roles.
- AI roles command higher pay: 60% of executives say AI-focused roles at their organization will earn more than comparable non-AI roles. Nearly 1 in 4 (22%) say they’ll pay a 20% premium or more for an AI position.
- This is a long-term bet: More than half (55%) of executives say they’re making a long-term commitment to ongoing hiring and training for AI talent. The share of companies with 100+ employees in AI roles has jumped from 38% last year to 52% today.
The Skills Employers Actually Want
The survey also reveals which skills matter most when companies are hiring for AI roles. Generative AI usage and prompt engineering tops the list at 67%, followed by data management, processing, and analysis at 60%. But what stands out is how many of the most-wanted skills aren’t AI-exclusive. Soft skills like communication and problem-solving (47%), and project management (42%) also ranked in the top five.
The takeaway for job seekers is that AI know-how matters, but it’s not the whole picture. Employers want people who can pair technical AI literacy with the kind of foundational business skills that make those tools actually useful.
Training Remains a Critical Gap
While the appetite for AI skills is enormous, execution is still catching up. One-third (33%) of executives plan to bring in external consultants for AI expertise, and 14% don’t yet know how they’ll close the skills gap. This echoes findings from Zapier’s recent AI Workslop survey, which found that workers without employer-provided AI training were six times more likely to say AI made them less productive.
“The companies getting the most out of AI aren’t just hiring for it. They’re investing in training, building the right infrastructure, and connecting their tools so AI actually works across the business,” Mabie added. “You can have the most talented AI team in the world, but if your systems don’t talk to each other, you’re leaving a lot of value on the table.”
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