Zapier survey: 77% of business leaders say AI skills are urgently needed, but most companies still aren’t training their employees

New research shows a growing gap between AI ambition and readiness: Only 7% of companies assign learning and development teams to AI training

SAN FRANCISCO, April 28, 2026–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Zapier, the leading AI orchestration platform, today released results from its AI Skills Crisis survey, showing that 94% of companies are already using AI in some capacity and 77% identify AI skills in their workforce as an urgent need, but most companies have not built the training infrastructure to match this belief.

“The urgency is real and the intentions are good, but the training infrastructure is a work in progress,” said Emily Mabie, senior AI automation engineer at Zapier. “You wouldn’t give someone a commercial kitchen and expect Michelin-starred food without training. It’s the same with AI. Buying tools is not a training strategy. You have to help them develop the AI ​​skills that lead to impact.”

Key findings

• Belief trumps implementation: 63%…