If AI is truly so pervasive in the modern workplace, why did only 17% of all Go-To-Market (GTM) jobs advertised over the past 90 days list AI as a required skill?
According to Ricky Pearl, co-founder of Pointer Strategy, it is because businesses are still in the experimentation phase rather than fully embedding the technology into their core operations. “Companies are relying on a smaller group of AI-capable employees and expecting existing staff to learn AI on the job rather than hiring specifically for it,” Pearl said.
Pointer Strategy tracks all publicly available GTM job advertisements weekly and compiles its findings into a quarterly index.
Pearl, who brings more than 20 years of sales recruitment experience to the data, noted that GTM roles serve as a leading economic indicator because they sit at the exact point where businesses generate revenue—essentially acting as the canary in the coal mine.
“Companies can delay hiring in HR, finance, or administration, but if they are confident about growth, they usually invest in sales and marketing first. Conversely, when confidence falls, GTM hiring is often among the first areas to slow,” he explained.
The latest Pointer Index, ending June 30, shows that out of 8,209 GTM roles advertised, just 17% explicitly mandate AI skills.
However, the demand varies significantly by function. Technical GTM roles saw much higher requirements: Presales led the pack with 51% of job ads requiring AI skills, followed closely by Customer Success and Enablement at 40%.
Interestingly, these were the exact three functions experiencing the steepest declines in overall volume, with Customer Success job openings dropping by 555 roles and Presales by 260 roles.
Pearl explained that Presales professionals are responsible for helping clients understand, deploy, and extract value from increasingly AI-driven software.
“The results indicate that companies aren’t simply looking for people who can use AI tools. They need people who can explain AI to customers, integrate AI into workflows, solve technical implementation issues, and advise on governance and best practice,” Pearl said. “In other words, the demand is shifting from using AI to managing AI.”
A top-down mandate
The index also revealed a direct correlation between seniority and AI expectations, highlighting a top-down mandate rather than a grassroots shift.
While only 13% of entry-level and 14% of mid-level roles mentioned AI, that figure jumps significantly for leadership positions:
- Senior: 26%
- Lead: 29%
- Director: 26%
- VP: 38%
- C-Suite: 15%
Pearl suggests this pattern shows organisations are hunting for strategic leaders who can decide where to deploy AI, redesign workflows, govern its use, train teams, and measure productivity gains. As for the drop at the executive level? “The drop at C-level may simply reflect that executive advertisements focus on broader leadership responsibilities rather than listing specific technical skills.”
Geography and top advertisers
Geographically, Sydney remains the dominant GTM hub by a wide margin, boasting 2,650 active roles compared to Melbourne’s 1,602. Sydney also leads the charge on AI adoption, with 24.2% of its GTM ads requiring AI skills, compared to 16.2% in Melbourne, and under 8% in both Perth and Adelaide.
The Pointer Index also identified the most active hiring companies during the quarter. Tech giants Salesforce (232 positions) and AWS (224 positions) topped the list. At the close of the index, Salesforce maintained 32 active roles while AWS had 47.
The full Pointer Q2 FY26 Index can be downloaded here.
