Artificial intelligence is becoming an essential skill across all professions

Higher salaries for those who master AI

A PwC study, the AI Jobs Barometer 2026, reveals that artificial intelligence adoption is growing across various sectors. Professionals with AI-related skills earn higher salaries on average than colleagues in the same role without these skills.

In the 2025 edition, based on nearly one billion job postings, the average salary premium for AI skills was 56%. By 2026, this figure had risen to 62%.

AI is no longer exclusive to tech professionals

This growth is driven by the fact that artificial intelligence can be applied to tasks in almost every area of a company. HR professionals can use AI to organize information and compare resumes. In marketing, it supports research and analysis. In finance, it helps structure data and identify patterns. In sales, it assists with meeting preparation and customer information analysis.

PwC’s 2025 survey found that 100% of the sectors analyzed were increasing their use of AI, including mining, agriculture, and construction.

This doesn’t mean everyone needs to become a programming expert. The required knowledge depends on the role and may involve selecting tools, formulating tasks, reviewing outputs, and integrating technology into existing processes.

Domain expertise remains crucial

The value of artificial intelligence is also tied to a professional’s existing knowledge. For example, an accountant has a deep understanding of financial rules and processes that an AI model may not necessarily master to the same extent. By combining this expertise with AI tools, they can automate operational tasks and focus more on interpreting results.

AI and domain expertise can work together effectively, especially when professionals can assess whether the tool’s output makes sense.

Skills are evolving faster

The pace of this transformation is evident in studies on professional skills. PwC found that skills required in AI-exposed occupations are changing 66% faster than in less exposed roles, based on job postings from 2019 to 2024.

LinkedIn reached a similar conclusion. According to the Work Change Report 2025, 70% of skills used in most jobs are expected to change by 2030, with AI being a key driver of this shift.

AI literacy, which involves understanding and effectively using AI tools, was also among the fastest-growing skills in LinkedIn’s 2025 survey.

How to use AI to enhance your work

The difference between simply using AI and making it a professional skill may lie in the type of tasks a worker can take on.

Consider an analyst who uses AI to summarize reports. The initial benefit is time savings. However, they can also use the tool to compare information from different documents, identify patterns, and prepare analysis for meetings.

In this scenario, the technology doesn’t necessarily replace the professional’s work. Instead, it can expand the scope of their responsibilities.

Microsoft’s Work Trend Index 2025 found a related statistic: 83% of surveyed leaders believe AI will enable employees to take on more complex and strategic tasks earlier in their careers.

Some potential applications for professionals across various fields include:

• Automating repetitive tasks
• Analyzing large volumes of data
• Speeding up research
• Creating initial document drafts
• Organizing data for decision-making
• Supporting project planning and preparation

The key takeaway is that professional benefits don’t always come from doing the same task faster. They may come from using freed-up time for more complex activities.

What to learn to advance your career

The data doesn’t suggest that learning artificial intelligence guarantees a promotion or salary increase. The premium identified by PwC is an average across professionals and doesn’t represent a direct cause-and-effect relationship for every individual.

For those not in technology, a practical starting point is to observe your own tasks and identify those involving research, analysis, content creation, information organization, or repetitive work.

Next, professionals can test AI tools in low-risk activities, review the results, and measure the impact. Time savings, simplified processes, and new deliverables are examples of outcomes that demonstrate successful technology integration.

In this context, artificial intelligence shifts from being a standalone skill to a complementary competence that enhances existing professional knowledge. Developing AI fluency may involve learning to combine AI tools with technical expertise, experience, and analytical abilities.