Wall Street firms tie bonuses, promotions to AI skills, survey finds

​AI skills are starting ​to count toward pay and ‌promotion on ​Wall Street, with nearly a quarter of financial firms tying raises, bonuses or ‌promotions to employees’ proficiency with the technology, a survey showed.

Another 30% require employees to disclose their use of artificial intelligence tools in formal ‌performance reviews, according to the survey by Selby Jennings, a ‌financial-services recruitment firm. The findings point to a broader shift on Wall Street as firms seek tangible returns from their investment in the technology.

"Companies are no longer ⁠just ​seeing if their ⁠employees are using AI tools but are also monitoring its impact on ⁠output and contribution to business results," Dylan Gomez, executive director at Selby Jennings, ​told Reuters. "While currently there is no established formula on ⁠how much compensation is getting tied to AI usage and performance, we expect this ⁠to ​become more defined by next year," Gomez added.

The survey found that 42% of respondents had introduced formal criteria to ⁠evaluate employees' AI skills, while 30% had created dedicated teams or roles ⁠focused on ⁠tracking whether their AI investments were delivering results. The firm polled 500 executives across the finance industry.