Quarterly · all markets · 27,253 live specifications · live basis · as at 24 September 2026, W39 weekly freeze
The distance between AI adoption and role design, measured every quarter.
The Verellax Index measures the distance between AI adoption and role design across 27,253 live job specifications from 228 employers across all markets, every AI-central role read on four tests, published each quarter.
Published on a date we state in advance, and never edited after.
What does Edition One find?
Edition One · Q3 2026 · preview read as at 24 September 2026, W39 weekly freeze
Edition One publishes 1 OctoberOf 27,253 live roles from 228 employers, all markets, 49.8% involve AI (13,581 of 27,253), as at 24 September 2026, W39 weekly freeze. Of those, 44.8% have AI at the centre of the work, and of those, 32.5% are accountable for what the model produces. Each figure takes the one before it as its base.
This count includes roles where AI is mentioned only in the employer's description of itself, not in the role.
Learning systems: What employers ask people to know and do, read through the Verellax skills taxonomy. The Skills Index answers it.
Beside the ladder, as context, on the live-roles base: 22.3% of live roles, all markets, have AI at the centre of the work (6,084 of 27,253), as at 24 September 2026, W39 weekly freeze.
Uses AI60.8%of roles that involve AI posted in Q3 2026, to 21 September 2026, partial; 51.3% in Q4 2025. Builds it, Q3 2026: 17.7%. Governs it, Q3 2026: 4.1%.n 13,021 in Q3 2026, n 604 in Q4 2025 · all collected specs, posting-date basis · as at 24 September 2026, W39 weekly freeze · Each quarter's share is of that quarter's own postings; collection has grown since the earliest quarter.
Entry level, Australia
6.0%of live entry-level roles in Australia involve AI. Of those, 20.5% · 8 of 39 have AI at the centre of the work. Of 3,293 live roles at director and above, all markets, 55.6% involve AI, and of those, 42.7% have AI at the centre of the work.This count includes roles where AI is mentioned only in the employer's description of itself, not in the role.Australia · entry level · 39 of 650 · live specs · as at 24 September 2026, W39 weekly freeze
Every AI-central role is then read on four tests. The third rung is one of them.
As context beside the tests, not a finding of its own: 56.2% of AI-central roles meet none of the four tests (3,420 of 6,084).
Of 6,084 AI-central roles, all markets · each test on its own · live specs · as at 24 September 2026, W39 weekly freeze
Read the four testsHow is a specification scored?
The Index reads four properties of every specification: how central AI is to the role (core, supporting, peripheral, absent); how the work divides across the four layers; whether the role is a new title or a backfill; and, for an AI-central role, how it reads on the four tests.
228 employers · 27,253 live specifications · live basis · as at 24 September 2026, W39 weekly freeze
Read the methodFour grades, read from the specification as written: core, where the role exists to work with the model; supporting, where the model is part of the work; peripheral, where it is mentioned but incidental; absent. Core and supporting together make a role AI-central. Of 13,581 live roles that involve AI, all markets, 6,084 have AI at the centre of the work, as at 24 September 2026, W39 weekly freeze.
Every skill in the specification is classified into one of four layers: execution, coordination, judgement, or AI-adjacent. The layer shares describe the composition of the role, not a trend. Mapping coverage is stated per layer and is not yet flat across the corpus.
A new title is a role written for the first time; a backfill re-posts an existing one. The distinction separates roles that put AI at the centre of the work from AI folded into an old title, which is the redesign gap. Read on posting-date basis against the employer's own record.
Every AI-central role is then read on four tests. The third rung is one of them. Works with the model. Can overrule it. Is accountable for what it produces. Keeps decisions over it.
Which markets and sectors does it cover?
six markets, led by United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Ireland and Singapore, across eight sectors: technology, financial services, advertising agencies, AI-native, media and entertainment, professional services, consumer brands and retail, on 27,253 live specifications from 228 employers, as at 24 September 2026, W39 weekly freeze. The measure by market and by sector publishes on 1 October 2026; until then the chart shows where the record comes from.
all markets · eight sectors · 228 employers · live basis · as at 24 September 2026, W39 weekly freeze
How often is it published, and what changed?
Figures re-render weekly from that week's freeze. The Index re-publishes each quarter on a stated date. Edition pages never change; corrections append as dated notes.
Preview · re-reads each Monday from that week's freeze · publishes · Edition Two
Edition One publishes 1 OctoberHow do I cite the Index?
Cite the edition and the as-at date. Published under CC BY 4.0. Corrections append to the edition page as dated notes.
Licence CC BY 4.0 · pending confirmation · corrections append as dated notes
Send a correctionVerellax Index, Edition One, Q3 2026. Verellax workforce intelligence, 27,253 live specifications, 228 employers, all markets, as at 24 September 2026, W39 weekly freeze. verellax.com/index/edition-one