The Real Story on AI Salaries

AI hiring is moving fast. Job titles are multiplying, the work behind them keeps shifting and compensation hasn't settled into anything consistent yet.

Two candidates can hold nearly identical titles and sit in completely different salary ranges. It comes down to how hands-on the work is, how mature the organization's AI strategy is and whether the role is truly AI-focused or just AI-adjacent.

To bring some clarity, we combined market data from our licensed compensation product with real numbers from roles we've placed ourselves. The result is a practical view of where AI salaries are actually landing today across entry, mid and senior levels.

The title matters less than the scope of the role.

This guide breaks down:

• What drives AI salaries higher or lower

• How adding "AI" to a job title changes compensation

• Where the most in-demand AI titles are landing right now

• How Canadian AI salaries compare to the US

• A real client story on hiring niche, production-ready AI talent