Liepin released "Insights on Talent Supply and Demand Trends in the Artificial Intelligence Industry in 2026": AI is not a "youth industry" and industry talents are flowing to industrial clusters

Zhixi Author | ZeR0 Editor | Mo Ying Zhixi reported on July 17 that today, during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference WAIC 2026, Liepin Big Data Research Institute released the "2026 Artificial Intelligence Industry Talent Supply and Demand Trend Insights". Based on the full platform recruitment and job search data in the first half of 2026, the report depicts the new talent pattern after the AI ​​industry enters the stage of large-scale application from the dimensions of job demand, talent structure, salary changes, urban mobility and cross-professional migration. For a long time, the market has had three major misunderstandings about AI talents: first, it is believed that competition for AI talents is mainly focused on algorithm engineers; second, it is believed that AI is only a "short-term hot spot" for young people; and third, it is believed that AI opportunities mainly belong to science and engineering talents. However, recruitment data shows a different trend: on the one hand, the demand for AI talents is shifting from single algorithm capabilities to the integration of software and hardware and industrial implementation capabilities, and positions such as architecture, hardware, and embedded have become new shortage directions; on the other hand, AI is not a "youth industry". While young talents are rapidly entering the industry, the value of mid-to-senior talents with technical accumulation and industry experience continues to increase; at the same time, AI is creating new interdisciplinary opportunities, and liberal arts talents are also entering the AI ​​industry chain through positions such as Prompt, AI training, and AI ethics. Currently, the scale of China's core artificial intelligence industry has exceeded 1.2 trillion yuan, and the industry talent gap exceeds 5 million. As AI enters the stage of in-depth application in real industries, talent competition is shifting from "competition for technical talents" to "competition for composite capabilities." 1. The competition for AI talents has entered the "era of integration of software and hardware": algorithms are in short supply, and industry-implemented talents have become a new necessity. 1. From model research and development to industrial implementation, the demand for AI talents is migrating. In the past two years, competition in the AI ​​industry has centered more on the research and development of large models, and algorithm talents have become the focus of the market. However, as AI enters the industrial application stage, corporate talent needs are changing: from "people who train models" to "people who make AI truly come to fruition." Liepin big data shows that in the first half of 2026, new jobs in the AI ​​industry increased by 21.08% year-on-year, and the overall recruitment demand continued to expand. but