“AI is reshaping roles and compensation across the industry.”
Phillip Lewis Chief Client Officer, Aquent
New research from Aquent, featured in Digiday’s Media Buying Briefing, shows that AI’s rapid rise is widening the salary gap between technical and non-technical roles in media and marketing. Aquent reports that Machine-Learning Engineers saw median salary growth of 6% year over year, more than double that of roles like Copy Editors. Compensation for CTOs, CMOs, Data Scientists, and Data Engineers also continued to climb. The findings further highlight fast-emerging AI-driven roles, including AI Product Managers earning $162,000 and Natural Language Processing Engineers at $155,623. This data underscores Aquent’s conclusion that AI expertise is now among the most valuable and fastest-growing skill sets in the industry.
This article originally appeared on 2026 Salary Guide.
