Zapier survey shows AI roles surge & pay premiums rise

Zapier has published results from an AI job market survey that suggests corporate executives are making widespread plans to ensure staff and consultants have AI skills, and that AI-focused roles will command higher pay.

The study, based on responses from 550 corporate executives, found that 98% plan to ensure employees or consultants in their organisations have AI skills. Nearly two-thirds intend to train existing employees, while 44% plan to invest in new talent.

The findings add detail to a mixed hiring picture across many sectors. Employers report caution in overall recruitment, but the survey suggests AI-related hiring and training continue to expand even as other hiring activity cools.

Roles and pay

More than half of executives surveyed said their organisations already employ people in AI-focused roles (56%). These include newly created positions as well as existing roles that have shifted toward AI-focused work.

Another 24% said they are actively creating or hiring for dedicated AI roles, suggesting employers increasingly treat AI work as a defined job category rather than an add-on to existing roles.

Pay expectations also featured in the research. Six in ten executives said AI-focused roles at their organisations will earn more than comparable non-AI roles. Nearly one in four (22%) expect to pay a 20% premium or more for an AI position.

Emily Mabie, Senior AI Automation Engineer at Zapier, said demand for AI skills stands out despite broader labour market pressures.

"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, Zapier.

She linked the appetite for AI talent to changes in team structures and the creation of new roles.

"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," Mabie said.

Skills mix

The survey suggests employers want a mix of technical and business skills, not just expertise with prompting tools. Generative AI usage and prompt engineering ranked first among skills executives said matter most when hiring for AI roles, cited by 67% of respondents. Data management, processing, and analysis followed at 60%.

Several non-technical skills also ranked highly. Communication and problem-solving were cited by 47%, and project management by 42%.

Taken together, the results point to demand for roles that bridge technical teams and business functions. They also suggest employers expect AI work to involve change management, stakeholder engagement, and delivery discipline, rather than isolated experimentation.

Training gap

While many executives plan to build AI skills internally, the survey points to uncertainty about how organisations will close gaps. One-third (33%) plan to bring in external consultants for AI expertise, while 14% said they do not yet know how they will address skills shortages.

Mabie said the issue goes beyond recruitment to training and systems.

"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 said.

She added that outcomes also depend on data and systems integration.

"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," Mabie said.

Longer commitment

Executives also signalled that AI hiring and training plans extend beyond short-term staffing. A majority (55%) described their approach as a long-term commitment to ongoing hiring and training for AI talent.

The survey also tracked the reported scale of AI staffing. Zapier reported that the share of companies with 100 or more employees in AI roles rose to 52% from 38% a year earlier, based on its year-on-year comparison.

The results suggest organisations are moving beyond pilots and ad hoc projects, with more formal headcount allocation and defined career paths likely to follow in some sectors.

Zapier positions itself as an AI orchestration platform that connects more than 8,000 apps and is used for workflow automation. The survey was run by Centiment and was based on five core questions and 10 demographic questions. Zapier reported an overall margin of error of approximately plus or minus four percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

Overall, the findings point to continued competition for AI-skilled workers, with employers placing value on hybrid profiles that combine AI literacy with communication and delivery skills.