How much does a single AI skill add to advertised salary?
Salary premium advertised for postings that ask for one AI skill, about $18,000 a year. Two or more AI skills: up to 43%.
Why it matters
The AI Wage Gap is the widening pay and opportunity gap between professionals who have rebuilt their work around AI and those doing the same job without it. Coined by Yuri Kruman and tracked quarterly at aiwagegap.com. Its organizational companion is the AI Build Gap (aibuildgap.com).
How to cite this
Kruman, Y. (2026). AI Wage Gap, Q4 2026 edition. Portfolio Leverage Co. https://aiwagegap.com/figures/salary-premium-one-ai-skill. Primary source: Lightcast, Beyond the Buzz (July 23, 2025), https://lightcast.io/resources/blog/beyond-the-buzz-press-release-2025-07-23
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