More than half of the jobs in India will be affected by AI as per LinkedIn data, and Indian professionals are using AI skills more than anywhere else in the world, said Tomer Cohen, chief product officer at LinkedIn in an exclusive interview with ET.

“We have a lot of data about the world of work. We have over one billion members around the world, and 120 million in India,” said Cohen.

“Every week, 65 million people look for jobs on LinkedIn, and every minute, six people get hired on LinkedIn. This gives us a unique perspective on what’s happening in the job market,” he added.

The number of jobs that mention new AI technologies like GPT or ChatGPT have gone up 21x on LinkedIn, said Cohen.

“That also means we need to upskill our abilities to keep up. Our data shows that more than half of the jobs in India will be affected by AI. That’s why we need to learn new skills and improve our old ones,” he said. “The skills that matter the most in the era of AI are not just AI skills, but also human and soft skills. These are the skills that help us work with others, solve problems, and think critically. The top five skills that employers in India want the most are problem-solving abilities, AI skills, critical thinking, communication skills, and IT and web skills,” he added.

Cohen India is also one of the top five countries with the most AI talent, and Indians are using AI skills three times more than the global average.“One of our customers, UST in India, is a good example of this. They believe that AI can change the way they work for the better. They use AI to analyze data, automate tasks, make decisions, and find insights. They have used AI to dramatically improve their recruitment process,” he said.“But they also know that soft skills are important. Our data shows that tech professionals who have soft skills get promoted faster than those who don’t. The soft skills that are in demand for AI jobs in India are communication, analytical skills, and sales skills,” he added.

Cohen said 88% of Indian professionals are considering moving from their current jobs in 2024 as per LinkedIn data, and globally, 165 million professionals are open to work on the platform.

“The Asia Pacific region did well in 2023. It grew faster than the rest of the world, by close to 5%. This also helped the job market in the region. Hiring got better in the last month of 2023, and it looks like 2024 will be even better,” he said.

“Professionals in India are also more likely to change jobs than in other APAC markets. But the reasons for changing jobs vary in different markets. In Singapore and Australia, the main reason is to get higher wages. In India, the most important thing for professionals is to have a good balance between work and life. And Indian professionals also want to get paid fairly for their work,” he added.

He said the company is starting to roll out new Gen AI powered products to bring ‘more value’ to its members and customers.

“For recruiters and hirers, we have used AI to help them write job descriptions, send messages, and find the best candidates. Our AI can understand natural language and help them express their hiring goals,” he said.

“For example, they can say ‘I want to hire a senior growth marketing leader’ and our AI will find the best matches. Our AI has saved a lot of time for our recruiters. 74% of customers in the U.S. have said so in our tests,” he added.

Cohen said for the premium subscribers, it has launched profile writing suggestions, a new tool that helps members craft ‘engaging’ headline and about sections, which the company claims, can lead to nearly 2x the number of opportunities.

“The tool takes information from the content already in your profile, such as your recent work, to summarize your skills and experience in the best way possible,” he said.

“This means you can spend less time writing and more time networking. We’re also testing new AI powered enhancements for premium subscribers such as personalized insights and advice on every relevant post in the feed, or helping them assess their fit for jobs by looking at how their experience and skills match job requirements, and offering advice to better position them or stand out from the crowd,” he added.

Cohen said in early March, LinkedIn will be launching new career development and internal mobility features within LinkedIn Learning to help guide employees to critical skills, develop skills that matter, and connect to the best-fit opportunity at their organization. “This will be available in English and Hindi,” he added.