AI is truly disrupting the recruiting landscape.
As you might expect, salary negotiations don’t escape this disruption.
Let’s talk a little bit about what you need to know to protect your interest…
Why Is AI in Salary Negotiations?
Behind the scenes, AI in salary negotiation is being sold as the next revolution in fairness and transparency.
But, of course, that’s mostly corporate hype.
As far as job seekers and professionals are concerned, AI-driven negotiation tools are about enhancing corporate interest and profits, rather than empowering employees.
Here’s the harsh reality, and how AI is actually being used in salary negotiations:
- Automated Offer Generation: Companies use AI to generate salary offers based on predefined criteria such as job role, market trends, and internal metrics.
- Chatbots and Virtual Negotiators: Several AI-driven chatbots are emerging to negotiate on behalf of companies. One example is Pactum AI, which is primarily used by large corporations.
- AI Managed Contracts: Another notable tool, Ironclad, is creating an AI agent to analyze employment contracts and manage the entire contract lifecycle.
- Market & Salary Analysis: AI is used by employers to set salaries. (In other words, employers now have much better tools to precisely know how low they can get away with paying someone; something only large companies could do in the past.)
- Bias Detection: Some companies claim to use AI to reduce bias in salary negotiations by focusing on objective data rather than human opinion. However, this is subject to debate, as biased inputs can lead to biased outcomes.
AI as a Tool for Corporate Control
While these tools can and do provide tangible benefits and efficiencies in the market at large, they are not always what they pretend to be in the public sphere…
In fact, as with every single tool in the corporate arsenal, AI tools in salary negotiation should be treated as yet another tool of corporate control.
Even when AI provides you with new data, such as salary information and predictions, or when AI bots offer training for negotiations… Even if these tools seem like they are all upside at first glance, you should still keep your guard up…
Corporate Interest Comes First
First of all, remember: AI tools serve corporate interests, not yours.
Even when you are given access to some data or a shiny new tool, this will only happen when it serves corporate interests.
Let’s dismantle their talking points and you’ll understand why…
AI is Not Free of Bias
While it’s nice to think that AI can remove human biases like discrimination or favoritism – AI is coded by humans and built using data primarily from the Internet!!
Don’t you think the data on the Internet is biased and full of prejudices, stereotypes and outright misinformation? Of course it is! Which seeps into the AI systems.
In fact, we already have egregiously offensive examples of bias in AI systems, despite the best efforts of well meaning companies.
Here’s what’s really dangerous though…
Those biases which could have been attributed to bad human actors, can now easily creep into the AI systems, and be harder to detect hidden behind layers of “neutral” technology.
Ultimately, the idea that AI enhances fairness is a corporate fairytale designed to make you more likely to accept their offers without question.
AI Efficiency Cuts You Out of the Process
AI’s biggest advantage for companies is efficiency. It allows employers to run salary negotiations at scale.
But this also strips away the nuances of individual talent or individual circumstances.
Imagine going up against an AI that doesn’t care if you have unique skills or have been outperforming your peers. Instead, it churns out a generic salary based on a set of arbitrary data points.
And since no human recruiter is negotiating with you, wasting their time or sinking costs into the sunk cost fallacy, you are no longer building any leverage the longer the negotiation goes!
With AI dictating the terms of your negotiation, your ability to argue for a higher salary based on your performance or unique contributions shrinks to near zero. And in this context, the “efficiency” of AI is just a corporate euphemism for making it harder for you to advocate for yourself.
Transparency Is a Mirage, Fairness a Lie
You’ll hear a lot of buzzwords like “transparency” and “fairness” thrown around when companies sell AI tools to corporate HR departments. Don’t fall for it.
The data these AI platforms use is often fed by corporate data that they control. Keep in mind, these algorithms are often trained on flawed data, or even sourced from companies with a vested interest in keeping wages down. If companies feed their AI systems biased, lowball salary ranges, that’s exactly what you’ll get: biased, lowball offers.
By the way, even if an AI suggests a “fair” salary based on market rates, there’s no guarantee the company will honor that recommendation.
In fact, mark our words, give it ten years and AI will become a convenient scapegoat for justifying low offers. (“It’s not us, it’s the AI!”)
Zero Accountability
And let’s not forget: these AI systems aren’t public, and there’s zero accountability. The data inputs are proprietary, meaning you can’t verify whether the data is recent, relevant, or cherry-picked to benefit the employer.
Ultimately, the so-called “transparency” is a one-way mirror, and you’re on the wrong side of it.
OK. OK. You get the picture…
The entire AI revolution in recruiting, including the AI changes in salary negotiations are a giant gaslighting operation that disempowers workers and professionals, while giving unprecedented capabilities and cost efficiencies to corporations.
So… The important question is: What are we going to do about it?
How to Turn the Tables on AI-Powered Salary Negotiations
AI isn’t favorable for job seekers.
Corporations are rushing to adopt these technologies, often prioritizing their own bottom lines – not the interest of the candidates, or even the long term interest of their shareholders. (The average CEO tenure continues to drop, and stock buybacks continue to be a thing…)
Yet, despite this un-level playing field, professionals can still take some proactive steps gain control during negotiations.
Research and Leverage Data Against AI
AI algorithms rely on data, so you must out-research them. Use salary calculators, industry reports, and professional networks to gather your own data on market standards. Understand the going rate for your role in your location, and compare it against the AI-generated figures to see if you’re being lowballed. Use your research and references in counter offers.
Build Leverage by Keeping Your Options Open
Leverage is key in negotiations, and AI doesn’t account for your broader bargaining power.
If you’re in talks with multiple employers, use that to your advantage. Highlight your other offers or opportunities to push for better compensation.
Accept The Offer, Then Change Your Story
Nothing is preventing you from treating the AI tool as an irrelevant gatekeeper. You can accept the offer with AI, contingent upon a follow up conversation with an HR professional. In that conversation, change your story and push for the real outcomes you want. (There are some nuances to doing this, which you should ask one of our mentors to walk you through.)
Master the Art of Communication
AI lacks human nuance. You (hopefully 🤔) don’t.
During negotiations, present a strong case. Create a career narrative that leverages the Language of Value. This is especially important when AI has predetermined a range – your ability to communicate persuasively can help you break free from that mold by winning hiring managers over.
Network and Build Insider Connections
Cultivate relationships to gain inside information on salaries, company culture, and hiring practices. This not only provides leverage but allows you to negotiate from a position of knowledge.
The best negotiation is getting your allies to pull some strings for you…
Practice Negotiations with AI tools
Prepare thoroughly before entering negotiations. Practicing mock negotiations with chatbots like ChatGPT can help you refine your negotiation.
You can also ask these tools for recommendations to improve your negotiation approach, create better counters, and even have them do research to justify your salary positions with real world data.
Other Tools and Techniques to Enhance Your Salary Negotiations
- Salary Benchmarking Platforms: Websites like PayScale and Salary.com provide compensation data.
- AI-Powered Negotiation Assistants: Tools like Negobrain offer AI help for negotiations.
- Interview Coaching Tools: AI tools like Yoodli and InterviewPrep AI offer detailed feedback on how you present yourself during interviews. Of course, nothing beats working with a mentor who has been there and done that…
- Negotiation Scripts and Techniques: Preparing a detailed negotiation script can boost your confidence. Sites like iHire provide sample scripts. (We also have our own approved “insider negotiation scripts” for our students and members, built to leverage psychological techniques and cognitive biases.)
Conclusion: AI Isn’t Your Ally
AI might be changing the game, but it’s not in your favor.
Companies are using AI to maintain control over salary negotiations, pushing for efficiency and profit.
This isn’t news. Ever since the first corporation, the East India Trading Company, emerged in the 1600s – corporations have relentlessly used every possible means to maximize their profits, all else be damned.
Their new misadventures with AI is just a continuation of the same pattern… One which we neither condone or denounce – merely observe and use our observations to inform our students.
You are unlikely to change their mind or stop the proliferation of AI. But at least, you can protect yourself from being misled by the narrative that any of this technology is designed with your interests in mind.
Don’t be fooled by the corporate narrative – AI won’t advocate for you, and it won’t make the process any fairer; regardless of how they try to present it.
When it’s all said and done, it’s likely going to make it even harder for professionals to negotiate a salary, meaning, you should leverage every available tool, piece of information, and training to your advantage.