AI-Spending Firms Add 10% Headcount in Two Years After Rollout

A study published July 1 by financial services firm Ramp and employment data provider Revelio Labs found that companies spending heavily on artificial intelligence increased their overall headcount by an average of 10 percent in the two years after adoption. The analysis covered workforce records and AI expenditures at nearly 22,000 U.S. companies from January 2021 through February 2026.

Firms with the largest AI investments expanded entry-level hiring by 12 percent, the study showed. Early and intense adopters spent more than $100 per employee per month on AI tools that included coding subscriptions, while low-intensity users recorded no hiring gains and reduced staff.

Ara Kharazian, lead economist at Ramp, said the results point to demand for junior employees familiar with the technology.

“Our early result is that it looks like firms are starting to look for more entry-level hires, likely people who are more AI native,” he said. Kharazian added that job seekers should prefer employers already using AI. “If you are a job seeker, or you are graduating from college, and you’re choosing between two different firms that are otherwise similar, I would choose the one that’s using AI,” he said.

The Ramp findings contrast with a November 2025 Stanford University study that reported employment among young software developers fell nearly 20 percent from its late-2022 peak. Kharazian noted the Stanford data covered the broader labor market rather than only AI-using firms.

A separate California AI-unemployment tracker found unemployment insurance claims among college-educated workers in high-AI-exposed roles such as customer service and software development rose after ChatGPT’s 2022 release and stayed elevated through May 2026.