A Payscale survey dominated by U.S.-headquartered organizations found that 55% made no pay adjustment for AI skills, while respondents said AI-related skills or competencies had been added to existing roles at 61% of represented organizations.
The two results describe different aspects of workplace policy: job requirements and compensation. The report does not pair the results by organization, so it does not show how many employers added AI-related skills while leaving pay unchanged. The 55% finding concerns organizations, not the personal salaries of survey participants.
Among reported approaches, 14% of respondents said their organizations offered higher base pay for AI skills. Ten percent reported larger bonuses or other variable pay, while 9% identified equity or long-term incentives. The report gives shares for these approaches, but not the size of any pay increase.
Payscale says the shift toward AI-related work may contribute to labor shortages and increase the need for compensation adjustments. It describes pay incentives as one way to attract talent. That explanation links compensation to hiring pressure, while the survey percentages report employer policies rather than whether an incentive improved recruitment or retention.
Payscale’s 2026 Compensation Best Practices Report gathered 3,413 responses from October through December 2025 and had a 50% completion rate. Human resources and compensation professionals made up 63% of respondents; 91% said their involvement in compensation activities was at least medium.
Of the organizations represented, 80% were headquartered in the United States, 13% in Canada and 7% elsewhere. The geography makes the results primarily a U.S. employer snapshot, with smaller Canadian and other-country shares.
The survey measured compensation changes for AI skills; it did not establish whether employers used AI proficiency in performance reviews or promotion decisions. It reports the prevalence of pay approaches, not the amount involved or the number of employees receiving them. The results reflect employer survey responses rather than payroll records verified employee by employee.
