I was curious how much today’s job openings include AI. It reminded me of almost 10 years ago, when design systems became the new buzz in the design field. Suddenly, “design system” showed up in job requirements in all kinds of shapes.

Now the new buzz is AI. I scraped UX job openings on LinkedIn and Indeed (thanks to this repo). Alongside AI mentions, I also looked at how many roles are entry-level (up to 2 years).

Link

Updated from 576 to 554, as some missing cells had been unintentionally counted.

Here’s what I found:

Global

• ~11.19% mention explicit AI requirements

• ~15.88% target entry-level (up to 2 years)

• ~1.62% mention AI requirements on entry-level roles

US (New York, SF, Seattle)

• ~9.26% mention explicit AI requirements

• ~15.03% target entry-level (up to 2 years)

• ~0.62% mention AI requirements on entry-level roles

Notes

1. Job postings were taken within a 30-day window starting August 8, totaling 554 postings across 12 cities.

2. Data came from LinkedIn and Indeed, focusing on UI/UX and product design roles.

3. Entry-level included postings that accept 0–1 year of experience.

4. Other platforms are missing, such as Glassdoor, Google, and company career pages.

Recurring themes in the listings

Curiosity/interest in AI
Phrases like “curiosity about AI,” “openness to AI tools,” “deep curiosity,” and “enthusiasm for AI” appear 5–6 times.

AI tools (explicit mentions)
Direct references to AI tools (ChatGPT, MidJourney, Galileo AI, Uizard, etc.) appear 10+ times. Variants like “AI-driven tools,” “AI-assisted design tools,” and “AI prototyping tools” show up consistently.

AI-driven workflows / integration
Mentions of integrating AI into workflows, “AI-driven workflows,” or “transforming processes with AI” occur 5–6 times.

AI product specialization
Knowledge of AI-driven product domains (conversational UX, personalization features, data-heavy AI/insights products) appears 3–4 times.

Three ways AI shows up in job requirements

• AI literacy / awareness / curiosity: general understanding, openness, staying updated

• AI tools fluency: hands-on use of AI-assisted design/prototyping platforms, plugins, workflows

• AI product specialization: designing AI-powered features or products

Final Notes

1. I spoke to my industry mentor, Roger Wong, head of design at BuildOps, and he had a theory: job postings are just the surface. In practice, there’s often a gap between recruiters and hiring managers. Recruiters may reuse old requirement templates. That reminded me of when I was hiring for my own design team (almost 10 years ago!). I had only one discussion with a recruiter about requirements, and we never revisited it throughout the year.

2. And in reality, even though AI doesn’t always show up in requirements, most designers are already using it in different forms. The job postings that mention AI are just the surface.

3. Entry-level numbers are relatively low, though I don’t have other roles or industries as a benchmark. I wonder if more of these positions sit quietly on company career sites, or if some companies simply convert interns into full-time hires.