Bosses expect you to know AI — even if it's not in your job description

That job description you're reading might not mention AI, but an employer will likely still expect you to know how to use it.

A new snapshot of job listings from career platform Ladders showed that, while the number of AI roles listed on the site has tripled since 2021, the share of postings mentioning AI has decreased.

It's an indication that more employers are viewing technology as an everyday skill rather than as a differentiator, Marc Cenedella, founder and CEO of Ladders, told Business Insider.

"It will be mentioned less and less in the same way that Microsoft Office isn't mentioned in job postings anymore," he said.

Among about a dozen job categories Ladders reviewed, each saw a drop in postings that name-checked AI. For design and UX roles, AI mentions dropped from 56.7% of jobs in 2021 to 44.6% in 2025. Listings for product management positions registered a similar decrease.

Even in software engineering, where the proliferation of coding agents has raised concerns that junior coders, in particular, will have a harder time finding work, AI references in job listings decreased from 53.5% to 45.8% in the four-year span.

Mentions of AI in job listings could pick up again, Cenedella said, if specialized tools emerge in different industries, though he said that might not happen until sometime in 2026 or 2027.

If that shift does come, it might mean that people in areas such as sales, pharmaceuticals, or semiconductors could need to demonstrate fluency with specific AI applications or methods for using the technology, Cenedella said. Employers could then start calling out those skills in job postings.

AI outside technical roles

The overall drop in mentions of AI doesn't mean interest in the technology is fading, especially in certain areas. Ladders found that about 525,000 leadership and executive roles include AI references, up from 213,000 in 2021. All told, in 2025, the technology has been mentioned in 45% of executive postings on the site.

Roles that aren't primarily technical — areas like finance, ops, design, sales, and project management — are seeing some of the fastest increases in AI skills adoption, Ladders found.

One reason, Cenedella said, is because the technology is moving so fast.

Overall, Ladders said that jobs specifically about AI, such as engineering roles, shot up on its site to 6.7 million in 2025 from 2.1 million in 2021.

Regardless of whether a job posting mentions AI, a boss will likely want you to be able to use it, Agur Jõgi, chief technology officer at the software company Pipedrive, told Business Insider.

"It's just like a ticket to the game," he said.

Know your business

Jõgi said that you need to understand how AI is transforming your field and how it's affecting your job. "That enables you to move as fast as the rest of the industry is moving," Jõgi said.

By knowing how others in your line of work are using AI, he said, you can then develop similar skills.

Jõgi said that if you're a holdout who's resisting using the technology, it could mean you're in for longer days if you want to keep up with colleagues who are going all in.

Eventually, as more people embrace AI, the early adopters who juiced their workplace productivity through AI will see that advantage fade, he said. To maintain it, Jõgi said, these go-getters will need to develop a fresh advantage.

"To beat the competition, you need to do something smarter, or you need to do slightly more," he said.

Do you have a story to share about your career? Contact this reporter at [email protected].

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