The AI Index
← All roles
Roles · 2,296 tracked

Research jobs in the AI transition

Every research role across the index's two cohorts — AI-native challengers vs the legacy SaaS incumbents they pressure — from real org-chart data, refreshed monthly.

The split is live in this function: AI-natives grew research headcount +5% over the last 12 months while legacy SaaS cut it -8%.

Roles tracked
2,296
AI-native · 12mo
+5%
29 companies
Legacy SaaS · 12mo
-8%
36 companies
The gap
+13pts
AI-native minus legacy

AI-natives · biggest teams

Legacy SaaS · biggest teams

Method: role counts and 12-month growth come from PDL's org-chart data (v25) per company; cohort figures are headcount-weighted so small-team swings don't distort the function's story. A company with no reported growth for this function contributes headcount but not growth.

Other functionsFinanceCustomer supportSalesPeople & HRSales engineeringMarketingCreativePartnershipsLegalEngineeringFulfillmentProductOperationsProfessional servicesAnalysts & data