The position of AI prompt engineer has basically disappeared.

Written by: Bu Shuqing, Wall Street Journal

Two years ago, AI prompt engineers were one of the most sought-after professions in the tech industry, with annual salaries reaching up to $200,000, referred to as "AI whisperers" within companies. Their job was to carefully design input prompts to obtain the best responses from large language models. However, with the rapid development of AI technology and a deeper understanding of this technology by companies, this position has now largely vanished.

Jared Spataro, Chief Marketing Officer of Microsoft AI at Work, stated:

Two years ago, everyone said, "Oh, I think prompt engineers will become a hot job." The reality has turned out to be completely different.

In a recent survey conducted by Microsoft, 31,000 employees from 31 countries were asked which new job positions their companies plan to add in the next 12 to 18 months. The results showed that the prompt engineering position ranked second to last, while positions such as AI trainers, AI data specialists, and AI security experts topped the list.

The rapid advancement of AI technology is the main reason for the decline of prompt engineers. Today's AI models perform better in understanding user intent and can proactively ask follow-up questions when things are unclear.

Spataro explained that large language models have evolved to be more iterative, conversational, and context-aware. Microsoft's AI-driven research agent will ask follow-up questions, inform you when it does not understand something, and seek feedback on the information provided. In short, "you don't have to have a perfect prompt."

Hannah Calhoon, Vice President of AI at the job platform Indeed, stated that the number of job postings for prompt engineers is minimal. User searches for this position on Indeed surged from 2 times per million total searches in January 2023 to 144 times in April 2023, and has since stabilized at about 20 to 30 times per million searches.

Calhoon said:

They may have discussed the value of prompt engineers, but in reality, they are not hiring for this position.

With increasing economic uncertainty and pressure to tighten budgets, companies have become more cautious in overall hiring in recent years. Companies like insurance firm Nationwide, workwear brand Carhartt, and insurance company New York Life have all stated that they have never hired prompt engineers, but found that—where better prompting skills are needed—this is expertise that all existing employees can be trained in.

Jim Fowler, Chief Technology Officer of Nationwide, stated that the company has launched a company-wide AI training program for all employees, with prompt engineering being one of the most popular courses.

So whether you are in finance, human resources, or legal departments, we believe this will become a competency within job functions rather than a standalone job title.

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