AI in Marketing and PR: Why There Are Fewer Vacancies but Higher Salaries for Strong Specialists
Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the market for marketing, advertising, and PR. It is already taking over part of the routine workload, accelerating analysis, and assisting with content, visual materials, reporting, and communication preparation. But this does not mean the profession is disappearing. It is becoming more complex, more demanding, and less tolerant of specialists who function only as executors.
“Time for Action” analyzed the changes in marketing and PR the market is reducing the number of vacancies, but increasing salaries for those who can combine creativity, responsibility, and technological skills. This means companies are no longer looking simply for someone who can write a text, assign a task to a designer, or publish content. They are looking for a specialist who understands what should be said, how it affects reputation, what risks a message may create, and how to measure results.
According to work.ua, the number of vacancies in the category “Marketing, Advertising and PR” declined from 5,674 in January 2024 to 4,879 in January 2026. This is a noticeable contraction, but it has not been accompanied by falling salaries. On the contrary, average pay has increased: in January 2024 it stood at 23,000 UAH, in 2025 it reached 28,000 UAH, and by January 2026 it rose to 31,000 UAH. This dynamic clearly shows that the market is not collapsing, but filtering. Companies are opening fewer positions, but are willing to pay more to those who provide not just output, but quality of judgment. Artificial intelligence reduces the value of part of the technical routine, but increases the value of professional judgment.
Previously, many tasks in marketing and PR relied on manual work preparing several text options, gathering ideas, conducting basic analysis, drafting a post, writing an email, adapting messages for different channels. Now much of this can be done faster with AI. But this is exactly where a new risk emerges speed does not equal quality. AI can generate text, suggest structure, identify patterns, and summarize large volumes of information. But it carries no reputational responsibility for mistakes. It does not understand the line between a sharp formulation and a dangerous distortion. It does not always recognize when a message may seem insensitive, false, or legally risky. This is why the human role is not disappearing, but shifting toward oversight, evaluation, and strategic judgment. This is well illustrated by the position of Viroslava Novosylna, founder and CEO of SLOVA Tech PR:
“I would not trust my reputation to an AI PR specialist not even to publish a post on my behalf. I think that is where the answer lies to whether AI will replace specialists. AI automates, accelerates processes, analyzes. But asking the right questions, adjusting the direction, checking for adequacy, truthfulness, and ethics that remains the specialist’s responsibility. PR professionals are not afraid that AI will replace them. Although I personally would not mind taking a break sometimes. But in a world of fakes, disinformation, and information noise, the one who wins is the one who thinks faster reacts, calculates consequences, and anticipates scenarios.”
This quote captures the central shift in the market. A specialist can no longer remain only a writer of texts or a coordinator of publications. They must become the person who asks the right questions, verifies facts, sees ethical boundaries, understands reputational risks, and does not outsource responsibility to a tool. This is why skill requirements are changing. The share of hard skills in vacancies has risen to 68%. Employers now expect candidates not only to understand marketing, sales, and SMM, but also to work with digital tools, reporting, performance analytics, and technology-driven processes. SEO is уступаючи to a broader demand for digital competence, while reporting has moved higher in the ranking of required skills. This is logical. As content production becomes partially automated, companies care more about understanding what actually works, which channels perform, how audiences behave, and why one campaign is more effective than another. The focus is shifting from producing materials to managing performance.
At the same time, it is telling that copywriting and literacy have disappeared from the list of the most in-demand skills. This does not mean грамотність is no longer needed. Rather, employers increasingly view basic text production as a task that can be accelerated or partially delegated to AI. But a strong PR or marketing text is not simply about correctly arranged words. It requires understanding the audience, the reputational environment, brand tone, risk exposure, and timing. A similar shift is happening in design. If visual work was previously treated as a distinct technical requirement, some of its basic functions can now be handled through automation. But this does not eliminate the need for visual judgment. On the contrary, specialists must better understand which image or format is appropriate and which creates a cheap, random, or reputationally weak impression. At the same time, the role of soft skills is growing. In 2026, employers value responsibility, initiative, speed of reaction, and creativity most highly. These are not decorative qualities for a résumé, but practical survival skills in the information environment. If a brand enters a crisis, it is not enough to write a press release. What matters is the ability to quickly assess the situation, identify risk, understand the audience, anticipate scenarios, and respond without causing additional harm.
It is also notable that analytical thinking has fallen to tenth place in the soft skills ranking. This can be explained by the fact that part of analytical work is increasingly automated. AI can process data quickly, detect patterns, and generate conclusions. But this does not make thinking less important. It changes its form. What matters less is the mechanical ability to gather information, and more the ability to interpret it correctly and avoid making bad decisions based on a polished automated report. This is exactly where the line is drawn between the specialist who grows with the market and the one the market gradually pushes out. If a person can only perform standard tasks, AI becomes a competitor. If they can manage the process, formulate tasks, verify results, identify risks, and take responsibility for outcomes, AI becomes a tool that amplifies their work. This is also visible in the broader labor market. AI is affecting employment not so much through direct mass unemployment, but through task redistribution. In finance, law, consulting, HR, and administration, entry-level roles are already being eroded. It is the junior positions, where repetitive work dominates, that feel automation first.
For marketing and PR, this is especially important. Previously, junior specialists could enter the profession through simpler tasks drafting basic copy, compiling lists, preparing short texts, conducting simple monitoring. Now AI performs part of this work, which means the entry path into the profession may become more difficult. Beginners will need to learn faster not only how to do tasks, but how to think verify, analyze, explain decisions, work with tools, and understand business goals.
Against this backdrop, one trend among Generation Z is particularly telling: younger people are increasingly turning toward stable manual professions, such as construction or electrical work. This does not mean a mass rejection of digital careers, but it does reflect a shift in how career security is perceived. If office or creative work once seemed less vulnerable, automation is now pushing some younger workers toward professions that are harder to replace with algorithms. For brands, this means communication is also changing. Audiences are seeing more automatically generated content and are becoming more sensitive to artificiality, repetition, faceless phrasing, and synthetic activity. The winners will not be the companies that simply generate more posts faster. The winners will be those who understand people more accurately, speak appropriately, avoid replacing meaning with noise, and know how to build trust. Marketing and PR in 2026 are moving toward greater responsibility. Mistakes now spread faster than they can be corrected. A failed post, an inaccurate statement, unchecked information, or an ethically weak message can do more damage to a brand than before. AI can accelerate production, but it can just as easily accelerate error if the process is not controlled by a human.
The main shift is not that artificial intelligence is taking the profession away. It is taking away the comfortable illusion that someone can remain a mediocre executor and still stay relevant. The market is no longer paying for presence in the profession. It is paying for the ability to make decisions in a more demanding environment. For marketers and PR professionals, this means skills must evolve. It is no longer enough to know one platform, one format, or one method. It is necessary to understand the digital ecosystem, analytics, reporting, audiences, crisis scenarios, ethical boundaries, and how to work with AI as a tool. At the same time, it is essential not to lose what automation cannot replace judgment, responsibility, timing, the ability to foresee consequences, and the ability to communicate in a way that preserves trust. The Ukrainian marketing and PR market is already showing a new formula. Fewer vacancies, higher salaries, more complex requirements. This means the profession is not disappearing, but it is no longer an easy entry zone for those who hope to rely only on basic skills. Artificial intelligence does not replace strong specialists. It makes weak ones more visible. That is why the future of marketing and PR will depend not on who presses the generate button faster, but on who better understands the task, the responsibility, and the consequences of every message.
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