2027 artificial intelligence salary guide.
Our 2027 artificial intelligence salary guide brings together pay benchmarks across AI engineering, applied AI, research, data science and architecture roles. See what these skills are worth across the UK, whether you're hiring or considering your next move.
Download our 2027 artificial intelligence salary guide.
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SALARY TRENDS
Artificial intelligence salary trends in 2027.
Artificial intelligence salaries have risen faster than the wider UK market this year, at 10.2% against 3.8% across the disciplines we cover. Artificial intelligence is the second fastest-growing specialism we cover in 2027, with engineers, architects and research scientists all seeing increases of more than 6%.
The market is candidate-led in 2027. Nearly two thirds of employers plan to hire, and people who can build with LLMs, RAG and agentic systems and deploy them in production are in very short supply.
KEY FINDINGS
Key findings for artificial intelligence in 2027.
These figures give you a quick view of salary movement and hiring activity in AI for 2027, whether you’re setting a salary for a role, reviewing your own pay or keeping an eye on the market.
- 10.2% average salary increase compared with 2026
- 65% of employers are hiring now or plan to hire within the next six months
- 44% of AI professionals are actively looking for a new role
- 34% of AI professionals feel their pay doesn’t reflect the work they do
OTHER SALARY GUIDES
Looking at salaries in another area?
Explore our other 2027 data salary guides to compare pay, regional benchmarks and hiring trends across each discipline.
FAQs
Artificial intelligence salary guide FAQs.
The guide covers 10 AI roles from AI Analyst through to Head of AI, including engineering, applied AI, research, data science and architecture positions. It includes UK and regional benchmarks at the 25th, 50th and 75th percentiles, alongside 2026 comparisons and 2028 projections.
The median UK salary across the 10 artificial intelligence roles in our guide is £80,000. AI roles can differ significantly in technical depth and responsibility, so use this as a broad market marker and compare the individual position and region for a more accurate benchmark.
AI salaries increase with technical depth, production responsibility and seniority. Roles involving model development, AI architecture, deployment or wider AI strategy are more likely to sit towards the upper end of the range, particularly where someone combines strong technical experience with commercial or leadership responsibility.
AI Engineer, Head of AI and Applied AI Scientist are the three most in-demand roles in our research. Python, LLM and generative AI development, RAG, vector databases, agentic AI and MLOps are also among the technical skills employers are prioritising.
Benchmark against the exact AI role rather than using one figure for the whole market. Positions requiring production LLM development, RAG, MLOps, cloud deployment, architecture or senior AI leadership may need to sit further towards the 75th percentile than roles with a narrower remit.
No. The figures are base salary only. Bonuses, equity, pension contributions and other benefits should be considered separately when comparing the full package.
Yes. We can benchmark an AI role around the models and technologies involved, production responsibility, seniority, sector, location and experience required.