Buyers stopped searching for "AI"
Searches for AI fell by half this month while searches for automation doubled. Buyers are not backing away from the technology, they are getting specific about it. What that means for how you position.
Matthew MottolaGet this in your inbox every week. Join 26,000+ subscribers.
Subscribe →We have been saying for a while that the flexible workforce is specializing, not consolidating. This month the data took the next step: buyers stopped searching for the technology and started searching for the work.
Searches for AI fell by half. Searches for automation doubled.
That is not a retreat from AI. It is buyers who have moved past the demo and know which process they want taken off their plate. The category browse backs it up: the July peak was 107 distinct categories in a single week, and it has settled around 70, still roughly triple where June started.
The implication for solutions is the one we have been pointing at all along, and it just got sharper. "We do AI" is now the broad term that gets skipped. The solutions that surface are the ones whose positioning names the process and the industry, not the technology.
Distinct categories searched per week
|
24
Week of Jun 22
|
→ |
107
Week of Jul 20
|
→ |
69
Week of Jul 27
|
HC Search Trends
Every 55 seconds, someone is looking at a solution profile on Human Cloud. Here is what they are searching to find them.
| Automation | +100% this month |
| Advisory Consulting | +100% this month |
| Strategy, Finance & Operations | +50% this month |
| Consumer Electronics | -33% this month |
| Technology SaaS | -33% this month |
| Engineering | -33% this month |
| Public Sector | -40% this month |
| AI | -50% this month |
| Healthcare and Life Sciences | -62% this month |
Percentages are this month vs last month.
Access The Full Data
Industry news, acquisitions, product updates, and more.
|
Industry News Curated Monday, Wednesday, Friday 
Read the feed →
|
Industry Insights 72 acquisitions, 58 events, 35 deals 
Open Insights →
|
Upcoming Event
Open to the Human Cloud community.
Thursday, August 27 · 12:00 PM ET · Virtual
HC Community Call · Summer Blowout
Summer blowout. Final prep and share before a busy fall: which events are worth your budget, what buyers are budgeting for, and a live AI demo floor from the community.
Featuring
|
|
|
Get insights like this every week
Join 26,000+ leaders staying ahead of the flexible talent market.
Subscribe Now →Related Articles
From 24 to 107 exact categories
Buyers are increasingly expecting specialization. Companies are not searching for "marketing" any more. They are searching for a marketer who knows their exact commerce platform. Here is what our search data shows.
The Shift Is In: What Companies Are Actually Searching For Right Now
Coinbase cut 14% and introduced one-person teams with AI agents. Amazon launched Connect Talent, a hiring solution. Then a16z says the AI job apocalypse is a myth. What's really happening is a shift. Here's where companies are shifting based on our search traffic.
Layoffs up. Searches up. Meet The Great Transformation.
Snap cut 1,000 roles. Disney eliminated entire marketing divisions. Marketing just surged to #1 on Human Cloud alongside a 133% increase in creative and design. Plus new categories appearing for the first time.