Demand for artificial intelligence skills is rising rapidly across New Zealand’s employment market. SEEK’s latest NZ Employment Report shows 4.0% of job advertisements now reference AI skills, up 93.3% from a year ago.
The growth is also spreading beyond traditional technology roles. AI is increasingly appearing in marketing, consulting and strategy positions, while skills relating to agentic AI and AI governance are among the fastest-growing areas. The figures suggest AI capability is moving from a specialist technology skill towards a broader workplace requirement.
Key facts
- AI skills now appear in 4.0% of New Zealand job advertisements.
- AI mentions increased 93.3% year-on-year and 4.4% month-on-month.
- 17.6% of ICT job ads now reference AI skills.
- AI appears in 9.8% of Marketing & Communications ads and 9.3% of Consulting & Strategy ads.
- Agentic AI mentions increased 7.1% over the month, while AI Ethics & Governance increased 7.9%.
- Job ads for occupations with high exposure to automation were 0.1% lower than a year ago, while medium- and low-exposure occupations continued to grow.
Our take
The important signal isn’t simply that New Zealand needs more AI specialists. AI capability is increasingly being incorporated into existing professional roles.
For organisations, that suggests AI workforce planning should extend beyond technology teams. Governance, responsible use and practical AI literacy are becoming employment skills in their own right. For professionals, the opportunity is similarly broader: understanding how to apply AI effectively and responsibly within an existing discipline may become as important as specialist technical expertise.
KiwiGen.AI 