The story was first reported on, and published by, Digiday sibling WorkLife
Fear over robots taking jobs has long been a concern, but the rapid growth of the global artificial intelligence market has left white space for strong AI leadership. In particular, the role of chief AI officer is starting to pop up more across companies.
Currently, this position exists largely at companies that already working in AI or tech. Retail brand Levi’s is the exception, announcing a CAIO in 2019. Overall, the number of companies with this role is still so small that Indeed told WorkLife they weren’t able to gather enough data to see exactly how much it’s growing. But as the adoption of AI becomes more widespread across other industries, it’s likely this role will gain traction in other industries also, experts believe, echoing the early rise of the chief mobile officer circa 2011.
“Businesses that have seed opportunities in AI should probably have this role,” said Joshua Meier, chief AI officer at generative AI drug creation company Absci, formerly of OpenAI who worked on an earlier version of ChatGPT.
We spoke to a number of chief AI officers to see what this role entails its future place within organizations.
Click here to read the full story
More in Media
After newsroom cuts, The Washington Post turns to creator-led video deals
The Washington Post is betting on creator content to open up new revenue and audiences, after newsroom layoffs.
Inside The Daily Mail’s creator-led content playbook
Inside the structure, strategy, and metrics of the Daily Mail’s creator-led content push.
Media Briefing: Overheard at the Digiday Publishing Summit, March 2026 edition
With no sign of search traffic returning, publishers are doubling down on subscriptions to build direct reader revenue — but it’s not easy.