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It is no surprise, then, that AI skills have become one of the hottest and highest-paying in the job market. So, while the overall job market may be subdued, GenAI talent is commanding a much higher premium even as existing employees are being told to expect muted appraisals.

A survey of 1,267 employers and 2,541 employees across the country offers an insight. While 66 per cent of employers say they offer high salary premiums for AI-skilled roles, the salaries of 54 per cent of workers in AI-exposed roles have either stagnated or declined over the past year, according to the Indeed AI at Work Tracker 2026.

Indeed's report found that 40 per cent of organisations pay 11-30 per cent more for AI roles than for non-AI roles, while another 26 per cent offer salary premiums as high as 31-50 per cent. This has widened the gap between what employers are willing to pay for external AI talent and how they are compensating their existing workforce.

Even within technology roles, this dichotomy is evident. Hiring for AI roles increased 16 per cent year on year in June while overall IT hiring declined 3 per cent, according to JobSpeak, a report by job portal Naukri that analysed job listings from 150,000 companies. Across 14 sectors, AI and machine learning jobs increased by 25 per cent, the report added.

This divergence suggests that while companies are going the extra mile to hire AI talent, they may be doing so at the cost of their existing workforce. Sashi Kumar, managing director, Indeed India, says acquiring AI talent externally is only one half of the equation; retaining and motivating employees who upskill internally is the other, and the two must go hand in hand.

GenAI is highly trainable, and given that existing employees have a better understanding of the business context, it is important to equip them with new AI skills. “Otherwise, this disconnect will create a dual vulnerability for organisations, sparking job insecurity while accelerating the attrition of senior institutional talent,” he says. This is important because business context and domain expertise are not scalable, but tech knowledge is.

Shiv Nath Ghosh, chief commercial officer, professional talent solutions, Randstad India, believes GenAI is no longer confined to technology teams but is increasingly being used across every business function, including HR, finance, legal and administration. That, he says, is where the real opportunity lies for the next leg of job creation wherein every job description will require AI skills.

As a result, non-tech professionals themselves and companies too will have to take several initiatives to upskill their existing workforce in AI. Already, companies and employees report that AI skills and certifications carry greater weight than formal academic qualifications.