Agentic AI tops emerging skills in hiring, says WTW
Banking among top sectors hiring cyber security, software and solution architecture talent
Agentic AI was the fastest-growing skill in job descriptions globally in the first half of 2026, according to a WTW analysis of hiring at more than 1,500 organisations, with AI governance also among the top emerging skills.
The firm's Q3 2026 Talent Intelligence Report, published on Monday 2 November, analysed job descriptions from January to June. It identified emerging skills as those showing the largest increase in occurrence compared with the previous six months.
Agentic AI ranked first globally and highly in North America, while generative AI topped the list in WTW's International region. AI governance ranked third globally and second in Europe, where workflow automation came first.
WTW said the rise of AI governance suggested organisations were investing not only in AI capability but also in the controls, oversight and workforce readiness needed to embed it at scale.
"The findings show that AI is not replacing the need for human capability; it is changing where organisations need it most," said Erin Page, talent intelligence lead at WTW.
Banking was among the top three sub-industries by demand for cyber security engineers, software engineers and solution architects, alongside software products and services. Insurance also ranked in the top three for cyber security engineers. Demand for AI engineers was strongest in software products and services, business and technical consulting services and pharmaceuticals.
Technology, product and data roles made up half of the top 20 jobs in demand. AI engineers ranked 19th and financial analysts 20th, while customer service representatives topped the list, followed by software engineers and account managers.
Artificial intelligence has also entered the report's top 20 skills in demand. Compliance management, risk management and documentation and records management featured too, which WTW linked to tightening regulatory expectations across markets.
The report estimated that the project manager role has 28% automation potential. Reasoning-based AI could support tasks such as defining project scope and assessing risks, while organising meetings and managing resources were suited to rules-based automation.
Meanwhile, Ruchi Arora, senior director in WTW's Work & Rewards business, said HR leaders needed to understand how work was changing at task level.
"A structured approach can help organisations target automation effectively, identify adjacent talent pools and focus investment on the skills that will create sustainable value," she added.