By Mufy Pachorawala, founder of getAIwork · Last updated: August 21, 2026
Key facts
- 1,186 live AI listings right now — filled listings are deleted daily, so this is open inventory, not a running total
- Paid platform programmes are now the largest category at 607 (51%), ahead of conventional jobs at 547
- 46% tagged fully remote (549 listings)
- Only 11% are beginner-friendly — 60% ask for advanced skills
- 68% technical · 26% writing-centred · 6% visual skill demand
- 38,332 raw posts screened by our pipeline to date, every live listing human-approved
- The board is free and public at getaiwork.com/board/ — machine-readable data at stats.json
How many AI jobs are open right now, by type?
The single biggest shift in this data over recent months is that recurring paid platform programmes have overtaken conventional jobs as the largest category. These are ongoing task-work programmes — AI model training, annotation, evaluation — with rolling intake rather than a single hire.
| Listing type | Live listings | Share | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform programmes | 607 | 51% | Paid task work: AI training, annotation, evaluation |
| Jobs | 547 | 46% | Salaried or contract roles, AI skills central |
| Gigs | 32 | 3% | Freelance project work with a defined deliverable |
| Total | 1,186 | 100% | Screened & human-approved; filled listings deleted daily |
Which skills does open AI work actually ask for?
Roughly two-thirds of live listings are technical. But 26% are writing-centred — prompt work, content, linguistic evaluation and review — which remains the clearest evidence that a non-coding route into paid AI work exists.
| Skill family | Live listings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Technical (data, engineering, evaluation) | 808 | 68% |
| Words (writing, prompts, linguistic review) | 307 | 26% |
| Visuals (design, image/video) | 71 | 6% |
How much experience do AI listings require?
| Level asked for | Live listings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner-friendly | 132 | 11% |
| Intermediate | 340 | 29% |
| Advanced | 714 | 60% |
This remains the least-quoted and most important number in the AI-work conversation: most open AI work is not entry-level. Anyone describing this market as full of easy, no-skill money is selling something. The realistic route for a beginner runs through the 11% — beginner-friendly listings and platform task work — building demonstrable skill and moving up into the 29%.
What the numbers actually say (honest read)
- Platform task work is now the centre of gravity. At 51% of open listings it is the largest category, and it has the lowest entry barrier of the three.
- Most of the work is still skilled. 60% asks for advanced capability. The market is real, but it is not undemanding.
- Writing is a legitimate on-ramp. 26% of demand is words-centred. A lack of coding does not lock you out.
- Remote is now close to half the board at 46%, up substantially — largely because platform programmes are remote by nature.
The board is public. Or take the 2-minute match quiz to filter it to what fits your skills, level and location.
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Methodology
An automated pipeline monitors public job sources and has screened 38,332 ‘AI job’ posts to date, filtering out expired, duplicate, misleading and pay-to-apply postings. Every listing that survives screening is reviewed and approved by a human before going live. Filled or stale listings are deleted daily, so the counts above describe currently open inventory — they are not cumulative. Counts are exported from the live board and this page is refreshed weekly; the ‘last updated’ date at the top is the export date. Categories (type, skill family, level, remote) are assigned during screening.
Cite this page: getAIwork Job Board Index, August 21, 2026 — https://getaiwork.com/articles/ai-job-market-statistics/. Machine-readable figures are published at getaiwork.com/stats.json. For the wider picture, pair board-level data like ours with macro sources such as the Stanford AI Index and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook.
Update log
- August 21, 2026 — 1,186 live listings, 38,332 screened to date. Platform programmes overtake conventional jobs as the largest category; remote share reaches 46%.
- August 20, 2026 — 37,792 screened.
- August 13, 2026 — first publication: 426 live listings, 36,753 screened to date.
Frequently asked questions
How often are these AI job statistics updated?
Weekly. Figures are exported from the live getAIwork Work Board, which is refreshed daily and purged of filled listings, so the counts describe current open inventory rather than a cumulative historical total.
Where does this data come from?
From the getAIwork Work Board. An automated pipeline has screened 38,332 public ‘AI job’ posts to date; a human approves every listing before it goes live. Only currently-open, approved listings are counted. The board is free and public at getaiwork.com/board/, and the raw figures are published as JSON at getaiwork.com/stats.json.
What counts as an ‘AI job’ in this data?
Three things: salaried or contract jobs where AI skills are central; freelance gigs with a defined deliverable; and platform programmes — ongoing paid task work such as AI model training, annotation and evaluation, with recurring intake.
What share of AI listings are beginner-friendly?
132 of 1,186 live listings — about 11% — are explicitly open to beginners. A further 340 (29%) ask for intermediate skills. The majority of open AI work targets people who can already demonstrate a skill.
How many AI jobs are remote?
549 of 1,186 live listings (46%) are tagged fully remote. That share has risen substantially in recent months as platform-based task work — which is remote by nature — has grown.
Can I cite these statistics?
Yes. Cite as ‘getAIwork Job Board Index, August 21, 2026’ and link to this page. It updates weekly, so include the date you accessed it. Machine-readable data is at getaiwork.com/stats.json under the same terms.
Mufy Pachorawala · Founder, getAIwork
My AI scans thousands of AI-job posts — 36,753 screened so far — and I personally approve every listing before it reaches the board. I write these articles by the same rules: pay quoted only as listed, and no income promises. Read our editorial rules.
Related: How to make money with AI: 17 real ways · Get paid to train AI · AI jobs in 2026: the complete guide
