Rethinking Relocation for the World’s Most Competitive Talent: AI Specialists

Artificial Intelligence has not only taken over headlines—it’s rewriting the playbook for corporate competitiveness. From boardrooms to break rooms, every industry is racing to integrate AI, and with good reason: those who fail to keep up risk falling behind at unprecedented speed. But behind every breakthrough algorithm and generative model is a scarce resource even more valuable than the technology itself: the human talent that builds and sustains it.

Today, the competition for AI talent is arguably the fiercest in the world. Korn Ferry’s recent piece, “AI Pay: How High Can It Go?” captures how the marketplace for these specialists is unlike anything we’ve seen before. Salaries are soaring, compensation packages are ballooning, and in some cases, firms are bidding in the hundreds of millions to secure the brightest engineers. At the same time, the global supply of truly elite AI experts—those who combine deep education with practical application—is shockingly thin.

The AI Talent Squeeze

Reports show that currently 68% of companies face a moderate to severe AI talent shortage, and 85% of tech executives have delayed critical AI projects due to a lack of qualified engineers. By 2027, the U.S. alone will need 1.3 million AI jobs filled but is projected to have fewer than 650,000 qualified professionals. This imbalance has triggered aggressive poaching wars, with tech giants luring entire teams away from competitors.

The Korn Ferry article adds another dimension: the price of talent is escalating at a pace rarely seen. Workers with AI proficiency command a 56% salary premium, and the average salary for AI specialists in 2025 has already climbed to over $200,000. Paychecks, however, are only one lever in the competition. Benefits, mobility, and overall employee experience are becoming equally decisive.

The Overlooked Factor: Mobility and Relocation

Here’s the critical point many companies miss: even when compensation is handled, the ability to get the right talent to the right location quickly is increasingly a dealbreaker. Whether it’s relocating engineers to headquarters, placing compliance experts near regulators, or moving machine learning specialists into hubs of innovation, relocation and assignment programs are now strategic tools.

But too often, relocation benefits are outdated or treated as transactional. Additionally, the process for exceptions can create a time-consuming and irritating experience, particularly when something extra is needed but not approved! In practice, this creates unnecessary friction for companies trying to secure high-demand AI talent. If a competitor makes relocation seamless—covering not just logistics but family integration, spousal support, cultural onboarding, and long-term career planning—they instantly gain an edge. Additionally, adding choice, control and flexibility to the mix, will take their “move” experience to yet another level. However, if your program feels like an afterthought, you risk losing the very talent you’ve worked so hard (and paid so much) to attract.

Making Relocation a “Non-Issue”

Companies are increasingly recognizing this pressure point. Many firms are revisiting relocation and assignment policies to ensure they aren’t losing top AI professionals simply because of poor support. They are also considering how to arrange, structure, and process benefits in a way that facilitates quicker transitions. The most forward-looking companies are asking:

How competitive are our mobility benefits compared to peers in tech, finance, or healthcare?

Can we make relocation a “non-issue” so the candidate focuses on the role, not the disruption?

Are we designing the mobility experience holistically, with the same care we devote to salary and equity packages?

Some organizations are already taking bold steps: offering customized packages for AI hires, extending benefits to cover global mobility, and even creating concierge-style services for families. These aren’t “nice to haves” anymore; they’re strategic necessities in a market where losing a candidate could stall millions in AI investment.

The Call to Action

We're not just talking about AI companies here. There are an estimated 33,405 AI companies worldwide as of September 2025, with a total of 90,904 companies in the AI sector recorded in early 2025. If your organization is investing heavily in AI—and most are—you should ask yourself whether your relocation and assignment management programs match the stakes. Paying top dollar but failing to move talent smoothly is like buying a race car but refusing to build the track.

The AI talent war will not be won on salary alone. It will be won by companies that design a total experience—compensation, culture, and mobility—that removes friction and allows these scarce specialists to thrive. 

For companies serious about competing in the AI era, the question is no longer “Can we afford to modernize and enhance our relocation programs?” It’s “Can we afford not to?”