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0 Artificial intelligence is a huge domain and it encompasses several lucrative career options. Whether someone is looking just to get started with their AI career in 2025 can begin with job roles like AI Engineer or Data Engineer. In contrast, someone looking to expand their capabilities as an expert AI leader can go for higher-level roles like AI strategist or AI Scientist.
Not just expanding job roles, the opportunities in AI jobs are also increasing rapidly. A recent study by Forbes highlighted that 71% of employers prefer AI skills over experience. And another study by Microsoft stated that 66% of business leaders won’t hire people without AI skills.
These studies show how important AI skills and AI roles are becoming. In this post, we are going to cover the role of AI Strategist in detail and discuss the career roadmap in detail.
What is an AI Strategist?
An AI Strategist holds an important position in the organization and is responsible for the successful implementation of effective AI solutions to solve persistent business problems as well as help innovate trending products and services for their business.
They have a thorough understanding of various kinds of AI solutions and prepare organizations with successful integration of these AI tools and solutions specific to their business problem. They evaluate existing infrastructure and expertise and suggest recommendations to succeed with AI.
AI strategists closely share their role with AI Scientists. Apart from being proficient in technical AI skills, they also have great knowledge about their business and industry.
Key Roles and Responsibilities of an AI Strategist
Here are some important roles and responsibilities and day-to-day tasks the AI Strategists have to perform.
- Strategic Planning
AI strategists are visionary leaders who define clear AI vision aligning with their organization’s overall goals and strategies. They implement the right AI solutions by identifying areas where AI can make a significant impact.
- Technical Outlook
They also take care of AI workflows and have a clear understanding of engineering frameworks. They have to evaluate and address the technical challenges that arise during the designing, building, and implementing AI software into their business.
- Implementation and Management
They are excellent project managers as well as overseeing AI projects from inception to deployment. They need to collaborate with cross-functional teams such as data scientists, engineers, business analysts, etc. to execute and manage the project successfully.
- Communication and Engagement
Communicating complex AI concepts to non-technical stakeholders and decision-makers can be quite difficult. AI strategists ensure they do it most effectively and facilitate change management by leading organizational change. They have to properly address challenges coming in the way of AI adoption.
- Continuous Improvement
Tracking and improving AI initiatives is another critical role of AI strategists. They measure the key performance metrics and work regularly to improve the AI solution’s performance.
Requirements to become an AI Strategist
To become an AI Strategist, you need to possess certain AI skills, expertise, and educational qualifications.
You should have proficiency in data analysis, machine learning, and other advanced AI technologies like computer vision, deep learning, NLP, etc. Apart from these technical expertise, knowledge of industry, high business acumen, and excellent communication are also needed. They must be good at problem-solving and analytical thinking skills as well.
When it comes to education, most of these AI professionals usually hold bachelor’s or master’s degrees in computer science, data science, engineering, mathematics, or related fields. Some of them also hold degrees in business, finance, marketing, or other industry-related courses and gained AI skills in their career.
Roadmap to becoming an AI Strategist
- Gain the relevant educational qualification
- Master the essential skills both, technical and non-technical as well as business acumen
- Get started with beginner-level AI job roles like AI engineer, AI researcher, machine learning engineer, AI engineer, data analyst, business analyst, etc.
- Climb up the ladder to advanced roles like AI Consultant, Data Scientist, and AI Product Manager, and gain relevant experience and expertise.
- Get Certified with relevant AI Strategist certifications like the Certified Artificial Intelligence Scientist (CAIS™) offered by USAII® to learn and validate essential and emerging skills as an AI strategist and AI Scientist.
- Become an AI Strategist. Build a professional network and stay updated with the latest AI technologies and trends to stay relevant in the AI industry.
To sum up!
The role of an AI Strategist is very demanding, challenging, as well as highly rewarding.
In the US, their annual average salary, as reported by Glassdoor is $141,050 which can go as high as $193,989 per annum.
If your current job role allows you to advance to the position of an AI strategist, then enroll in CAIS™ certification to gain the latest AI skills and knowledge needed to excel in this career path, and climb up in your career as a certified AI strategist.
