It's no secret that the war for artificial intelligence (AI) talent rages on. However, a new analysis by business intelligence data provider ZoomInfo reveals two interesting trends.
The first trend is that AI-related job titles in senior leadership positions have doubled in the past two years. With high stakes involved in deploying AI for tasks ranging from running complex networks to providing IT help, it's not surprising that enterprises are bringing in the big dogs to spearhead their AI initiatives.
The second trend highlights that while generative AI (genAI) has been grabbing headlines, ZoomInfo's data reveals most AI job titles are still focused on core engineering roles. This suggests a continued focus on building the foundational infrastructure needed to develop and deploy AI products and services that drive business outcomes.
This isn't surprising, considering how deeply AI has infiltrated every corner of the enterprise. From logistics and manufacturing to marketing and customer service, AI is transforming how businesses operate. At the forefront of this transformation are AI strategists, who possess the knowledge and experience to best leverage AI for business advantage.
Top 10 AI jobs According to ZoomInfo data, these are the 10 most popular AI job titles:
- AI engineer
- AI researcher
- AI software engineer
- AI intern
- AI developer
- AI research scientist
- AI research engineer
- AI consultant
- Artificial intelligence developer
- Product manager, AI
Source: ZoomInfo[/caption]
While engineering roles are increasing, senior leadership roles are exploding in demand.
ZoomInfo reports that its data platform detects more than 1 million personnel changes daily. To better understand trends in AI executive hiring, the company says its data scientists analyzed announcements from over 300 companies detailing appointments for senior leadership roles focused on AI.
Its analysis revealed that in 2021, there were only 60 tracked mentions of new AI-related leadership roles. In 2022, this number nearly doubled. In 2023, there were 144 AI leadership hires — a 2.4x increase from 2021. Employers adding top-tier leadership with an AI focus covers a wide of industries and sectors, from Amazon to Boeing to the Defense Department, according to ZoomInfo.
[caption id="attachment_139832" align="alignnone" width="792"] Leading organizations are leaning into adding senior-level AI executives. Source: ZoomInfo.[/caption]
“Adding senior leaders with AI knowledge reflects a more significant level of investment than companies that are only hiring individual contributors or frontline managers,” according to ZoomInfo's report.
Generative AI jobs modest but gaining popularity Given the current pop culture status of genAI, ZoomInfo also examined job titles that included the term “generative AI.” While the volume of these job titles is modest, representing less than 1% of the newly seen AI-related titles in 2023, the chart below illustrates a significant spike in genAI positions during the latter half of 2023.
[caption id="attachment_139833" align="alignnone" width="893"] New positions with generative AI titles have increased nearly 50 times compared to the previous two years combined.
Source: ZoomInfo[/caption]
The ZoomInfo report cautions that even with the rapid impact genAI has had, the technology won't fulfill its potential without complete and accurate data and a skilled workforce to deploy it.
“Your data infrastructure can make or break any investment in this technology, and it's a struggle business leaders are quickly realizing,” the ZoomInfo report states. “Mismanaged databases, a CRM riddled with holes, or outdated information feeding your algorithms can result in costly, irreparable damage that's extremely tricky to not only catch, but fix.”
The business intelligence company recommends that enterprises prioritize working with high-quality data partners, emphasizing that data quality is as crucial as having the proper AI tools.
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