Demand for artificial intelligence skills in New Zealand job ads has more than quadrupled over the past decade, though the overall share remains small.

SEEK’s new AI Gauge tracks AI-related terms across job listings to measure how demand is shifting over time.

The number of ads mentioning AI has been trending up again since mid-2024.

AI-related ads now make up 2.6% of total job listings.

The share rose between 2016 and 2019, was largely steady through COVID, then declined as the labour market cooled.

In late 2024, total job ads began rising again, but AI-related ads grew faster, lifting their share sharply through 2025.

Machine Learning and Large Language Model terms appear in most AI-related ads.

Generative AI terms that were absent in 2022 now appear in around 4% of AI ads.

Mentions of Agentic AI and AI governance have also jumped over the past year.

AI skills remain most common in IT roles.

The sharpest shift has been in Marketing and Communications.

In 2016, just over 0.5% of marketing ads mentioned AI.

That figure is now around 6%, or roughly one in 16 roles.

Job titles are shifting too.

In 2016, common titles included Data Scientist and Data Analyst.

In 2025, AI Engineer, Machine Learning Engineer and Automation Engineer are more prominent.

Dr Blair Chapman, SEEK’s Senior Economist, says the data reflects growing demand for both technical AI capability and the broader ability to use AI tools in day-to-day work.

For jobseekers on the Hibiscus Coast, AI skills are moving beyond specialist tech roles into mainstream business and creative positions.

For local employers, AI capability is becoming part of standard role expectations rather than a niche requirement.

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