Artificial intelligence has dominated HR and compensation discussions for the past several years, but many organizations are still trying to determine exactly how AI will impact jobs, compensation programs, and workforce planning. A recently released study by Korn Ferry, the Global Total Rewards Pulse Survey: AI Impact on Roles and Compensation (March 2026), provides a snapshot of how organizations around the world are approaching these issues. The survey gathered responses from more than 4,200 organizations across 133 countries and offers several insights compensation professionals should keep on their radar.
Perhaps the most significant finding is not what organizations know, but what they do not know. According to Korn Ferry, 40% of organizations remain uncertain about the degree to which AI will impact roles within their workforce. While AI adoption continues to accelerate, many employers are still evaluating which jobs will be significantly affected and how those changes should influence compensation strategies.
What makes this challenge unique is the pace of change. Organizations are being asked to make pay decisions today while the future design of many jobs remains unclear. Previous technological shifts often unfolded over many years, giving employers time to adapt. AI appears to be moving much faster. New capabilities emerge almost monthly, making it difficult to determine which skills will remain valuable and which may quickly become commonplace.
Among organizations that have identified AI-related positions, Korn Ferry found that the most common compensation premium reported ranges between 10% and 15% above comparable roles. It's worth noting, though, that this figure should be read with some caution: nearly two-thirds of respondents said they were simply not sure what the right premium should be, underscoring just how unsettled this area of pay practice still is. Among those willing to put a number on it, competition for employees with advanced AI, machine learning, and data science capabilities clearly remains strong as organizations seek to integrate AI into business processes.
The question for employers is whether these premiums represent a temporary market response or a longer-term shift in compensation strategy. Specialized skills typically command higher pay when demand exceeds supply, but AI's rapid evolution creates additional uncertainty. Skills that are scarce today may become more broadly available tomorrow, while entirely new skill sets emerge just as quickly.
The survey also speaks to how far AI's footprint extends right now: among respondents able to estimate it, the most common answer was that roughly 5% to 10% of roles are being meaningfully transformed or impacted by AI today — a more modest figure than the daily headlines might suggest. Looking ahead, though, the outlook shifts: a striking 76% of organizations expect more transformational impact over the next two to three years than they've experienced to date, with only 3% expecting less. In other words, today's impact looks contained, but most compensation leaders don't expect it to stay that way. This raises important questions for compensation and HR leaders. How should organizations evaluate jobs that are partially automated? Will traditional job descriptions continue to accurately reflect the work being performed? How should compensation programs recognize employees who effectively leverage AI to improve productivity and decision-making?
Beyond AI, the survey points to a business outlook that is best described as cautiously optimistic rather than simply cautious. A clear majority of organizations (63%) expect moderate to rapid growth in 2026, and 93% anticipate some level of revenue growth over the next 12 months. That said, respondents are watching real headwinds: geopolitical uncertainty, global economic slowdown, and strong competitive pressure topped the list of external factors organizations expect to affect growth. Salary increase projections for 2026 reflect that same balance of confidence and restraint, showing a slight decrease compared with the increases reported in late 2025, reflecting a more conservative posture on fixed compensation costs rather than a sharp pullback.
For compensation professionals, the findings suggest that reward strategies may become increasingly targeted. Employers may focus resources on critical skill areas, high-demand talent segments, and roles most directly affected by emerging technologies. This places greater emphasis on workforce planning, job architecture, market pricing, and ongoing monitoring of internal equity.
One of the key takeaways from Korn Ferry's research is that while AI is already influencing compensation decisions, many organizations are still in the early stages of understanding its long-term implications. The challenge is balancing today's market realities with tomorrow's workforce needs, which most organizations expect to shift considerably over the next few years. As AI continues to reshape work at an unprecedented pace, organizations will need compensation programs that are flexible enough to adapt while maintaining fairness, competitiveness, and alignment with business objectives.
Source: Korn Ferry, Global Total Rewards Pulse Survey: AI Impact on Roles and Compensation (March 2026)