I’ve been saying the same thing over and over again lately: I just want to feel caught up in my life. Not ahead, not on top of everything… just caught up, like there isn’t something waiting the second I finish whatever’s in front of me.

I said this to my boyfriend recently, and he immediately pushed back. There’s always going to be something else, he said—another email, another plan to make, another decision waiting for you at 5 pm. (To be clear, this was not the answer I was hoping for.) The feeling of being caught up isn’t something you arrive at and it stays that way forever. It’s something you keep creating, in small ways, throughout the day—often without realizing it.

That’s what I’ve been paying attention to this spring. A handful of small habits that have changed how I move through my life. I’m showing up differently to my work, my relationships, and even the way I think about things like food and fitness. Everything feels a little more additive and less like something I have to push through.

A More Realistic Way to Feel Better By Summer

We’re in that in-between window right now—the stretch between May and the start of summer—when routines haven’t fully settled and there’s still room to change how things feel. I’m thinking of it as a kind of runway: a few weeks where these shifts have time to build. That way, by the time summer arrives, you’re not starting from scratch. You’re already in it.

The idea of a reset sounds appealing, but it implies starting over, doing things perfectly, and getting everything in place all at once. Right when your energy is already stretched.

10 Spring Habits at a Glance

What’s felt more useful to me this season is a simpler approach. Paying attention to what already makes me feel better, and doing a little more of that.

1. Build one meal a day around color. Let fresh, vibrant ingredients guide what you eat. Everything else tends to follow.
2. Upgrade what you’re already doing. Spring is all about amplifying the romanticize-your-life vibes.
3. Work out at 90%. Leave yourself a little energy so you can come back tomorrow.
4. Create a clear end to your workday. A small transition helps you actually arrive in your evening.
5. Leave one thing undone on purpose. Decide when the day is complete instead of waiting for everything to be finished.
6. Make one decision before your energy dips. Remove one choice from your evening—it’s a huge energy booster.
7. Add a side quest. Follow one small moment of curiosity, just because you can.
8. Take your evening off auto-pilot. A loose plan keeps your night from feeling like an extension of the work day.
9. Build your day around natural light. Let sunlight anchor your routine instead of treating it as extra.
10. Notice what gives you energy. Pay attention to what works and keep that on repeat.

10 Spring Habits to Feel Better by Summer

These are the habits I’ve been returning to. They’re simple, but they’ve changed more than I expected.

1. Build One Meal a Day Around Color

I didn’t set out to change the way I eat this spring. It just… happened? Somewhere between farmer’s market runs and throwing together quick lunches, I started noticing that the meals I actually looked forward to all had one thing in common: they were full of color. Bright greens, spring strawberries, fresh herbs. All the goodness of the season made it’s way to my plate.

That shift alone has made food feel easier. When you start with color, the rest tends to fall into place. You build meals that are more satisfying, more energizing, and a lot less rigid.

Try this: Once a day, start with what looks fresh and vibrant, then add something creamy and something crunchy to round it out.

Some colorful meals to get you inspired:

• Burrata Toast with Blood Orange, Pistachios & Honey
• Cedar Plank Halibut with Salsa Verde
• Cucumber and Crispy Rice Salad
• Sweet Potato Breakfast Bowl with Kale & Jammy Eggs
• Strawberries and Cream Pavlova

2. Upgrade What You’re Already Doing

I’ve stopped waiting for something new to make my days feel better. Most of the shift has come from paying a little more attention to what’s already there and treating it like it matters.

The same coffee, but in a beautiful mug (taken outside instead of standing at the counter). Romantizing my lunch break. An evening walk that isn’t just about steps, but about noticing the light, the air, and the fact that I’m there.

This habit is all about you move through what’s already part of your life. That small shift has made everything feel a little more intentional and a lot more enjoyable.

Try this: Pick one everyday habit and make it feel like something you chose: better ingredients, a different setting, or one small detail that makes you want to be in it.

3. Do Your Workouts at 90% (And Notice What Changes)

For a long time, I thought a good workout had to leave me completely spent. 30 minutes minimum, high intensity, no shortcuts—otherwise it didn’t count. That mindset kept me stuck in a cycle where I’d go all in for a few days, burn out, and then fall off entirely.

What shifted for me was realizing that consistency has a lot less to do with intensity than I thought. Research around “exercise snacks”—short, more frequent bursts of movement throughout the day—shows that even small amounts of activity can have a meaningful impact on your energy and overall well-being.

Pulling back just slightly in my workouts and letting shorter sessions count has made it easier to create a routine. I feel better afterward, not depleted, and that alone has changed how consistently I show up.

Try this: Let your next workout be less intense than you think it should be—or break it into smaller moments throughout the day. Then notice how you feel later, not just when it ends.

4. Create a Transition Ritual Out of Your Workday

I didn’t realize how much my evenings were being shaped by my workday until I started paying attention to how I ended it. Without a clear break, everything just blurred together (flashback to how I spent every weekday during the pandemic, yikes). I’d technically be done, but still carrying the loose ends into the rest of my night.

Instead, I’ve been building in a small transition. A moment that signals to my body that I’m shifting out of one mode and into another. This isn’t a productivity hack. It’s all about giving yourself a chance to actually start your evening feeling restored.

Try this: Choose one consistent action that marks the end of your workday—stepping outside, putting on a different playlist, making a fun beverage—and let that be the signal that you’re done.

5. Practice Leaving One Thing Intentionally Undone

It’s taken me forever to accept this: there will always be something left on the list. That part doesn’t change, no matter how early you start or how efficient you are. What I’ve started experimenting with is deciding where the line is—choosing when the day is complete, instead of waiting for everything to be finished.

Trust me, it cchanges the feeling of your mornings, evenings, and really your life. Instead of carrying that low-level sense of “I should still be doing something,” you give yourself permission to stop. Over time, that starts to feel less like a compromise and more like a choice.

Try this: At the end of the day, choose one thing that can be saved for tomorrow or next week. This isn’t procrastination—it’s prioritization.

6. Stop Making Decisions at Your Lowest Energy Point

By the time late afternoon rolls around, even small decisions can feel heavier than they should. What to make for dinner, whether to work out, how to spend the evening—it all starts to blur together in a way that makes everything feel more draining than it actually is.

I’ve started noticing how much easier my days feel when I make one or two of those decisions earlier, before my energy dips. No full plan, just removing that one moment where everything suddenly feels like too much.

Try this: Decide one thing ahead of time—dinner, your workout, or your evening plan—so you’re not figuring it out when you’re already tired.

7. Add One Side Quest to Your Day

Not everything in your day needs to be efficient to be worthwhile. (Read that back.) I’ve been leaving space for one small, unplanned detour—a side quest, in the loosest sense of the word. Something I didn’t need to do, but wanted to.

We’re not going for drama here. A different route on a walk, stopping for something that caught my eye, lingering a little longer somewhere instead of rushing through. You’ll be shocked: it completely changes how your day feels.

Try this: Leave room for one small, unnecessary decision today—something guided by curiosity instead of efficiency. Follow it without overthinking.

8. Give Your Evening a Plan

Evenings can feel the most chaotic because they’re often the most undefined part of your day. By the time you get there, your energy is low, your patience is thinner, and everything—from dinner to what to do afterward—feels like one more thing to figure out.

What’s helped is giving the evening a loose shape ahead of time. Not a rigid plan, just a general direction so you’re not starting from zero when you’re already tired.

Try this: Earlier in the day, decide what kind of night you’re having—something simple like “easy dinner and a walk” or “catch up and early to bed.”

9. Build Your Day Around Natural Light

This has been one of the simplest shifts with the biggest impact. Instead of treating time outside as something extra, I’ve started building parts of my day around it—moving small, everyday moments into the light whenever I can.

A few minutes in the sun in the morning, a walk before dinner, even taking a call outside… It all adds up! You feel more awake, more present, and more connected to your routine in a way that’s hard to replicate indoors. (You’ll sleep better, too.)

Try this: Take one thing you already do—coffee, a call, a break—and move it into natural light. Let that be the anchor your day builds around.

10. Pay Attention to Your Energy-Givers

This has been a complete game-changer in removing the “should’s” from my day. I’ve started paying closer attention to what actually makes me feel better. More clear, more energized, and more like myself. Some of it is obvious, some of it is surprising. But once you notice it, it becomes easier to come back to. You stop guessing what you need, and start recognizing it in real time.

Try this: At the end of the day, take a minute to notice what gave you energy. Look for one way to repeat it tomorrow.

Change Your Habits, Change Your Summer

The funny thing is, I still don’t feel “caught up” in my life. At least, not in the way I thought I would. There are still emails (there will ALWAYS be emails), still decisions, and still things waiting for me at the end of the day. But I do feel a little more present, a little more energized, and a little more like I’m actually in my life instead of trying to keep up with it.

That’s what these habits have given me. Not a full reset, not a perfect routine—just a series of small shifts that build on each other over time. And that’s the real opportunity this season. You don’t need to change everything before summer gets here. You just need to start paying attention to what makes you feel better and let that lead the way.

The post If You Want to Feel Better by Summer, Start With These 10 Things appeared first on Camille Styles.

PD3. posted a photo:

Amberley Museum, Spring Bus Show.
April 26th 2026
© Copyright PD3

Just over a week after Google added AI-powered "beautification" tools to Google Photos, the company is showing off yet another addition. This time it's a wardrobe feature that will let people virtually try on different outfits in Google Photos on Android later this summer.

[Read More]

Farage was given £5m by the Thai-based billionaire Christopher Harborne shortly before announcing he would stand in the 2024 general election

• Exclusive: Farage was given undisclosed £5m by crypto billionaire in 2024

Here is the running order for PMQs.

Nigel Farage was given £5m by the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne shortly before announcing he would stand in the 2024 British general election, Anna Isaac reports.

PD3. posted a photo:

Amberley Museum, Spring Bus Show.
April 26th 2026
© Copyright PD3

You already sense it. The game has tilted toward collaboration as the new face of competition. A small business competing in isolation is like an individual bringing a knife to a gunfight, especially when big corporations have tanks and missiles.

In market after market, firms that once fought for inches now build lanes together, then race in them. The giants signpost the shift. Apple and Samsung are dueling for smartphone sales, while Samsung’s component arm supplies the OLED displays that make iPhones glow. This summer, they even expanded their partnership, and Samsung now supplies chips from a Texas factory for Apple’s iPhones. Apple and Google wrestle for mobile mindshare, yet Google pays Apple billions each year to be the default search engine on iPhone. The rivals compete in devices and services, while cooperating where both gain reach and revenue.

Automakers offer another lesson. Ford and General Motors jointly developed transmissions to spread costs and accelerate time-to-market, while still going head-to-head in showrooms. BMW and Toyota have partnered on hydrogen systems and even a shared sports car platform, each preserving its identity while pooling the heavy lift.

Even in the entertainment industry (where rivalries are legendary), competitors team up when the infrastructure is heavy and the outside threat is larger than the fight between them. Microsoft and Sony agreed to explore cloud and streaming services together while still slugging it out for players and titles.

This idea has a name with roots in strategy research: coopetition. Coopetition is a blend of "cooperation" and "competition," where competing entities work together toward a common goal while still maintaining competitive interests in other areas. This concept allows businesses to collaborate in certain aspects, such as research and development, while competing in the marketplace for customers and market share.

Small Businesses Can Benefit From Coopetition, Too

If major corporations can alternate between contest and collaboration, what does that mean for the underdog that lives on cash flow and speed? It means advantages. Small firms can trade fixed costs for access and turn local trust into a regional footprint. Crucially, you can do it without dulling your edge. You can protect your absolute advantage and still grow through smart alliances. Think of it like neighbors who decide to share the cost of digging a well. They may still cook their food separately, but sharing water helps both survive.

Big companies embrace this logic because it works. The question is no longer whether cooperation has a place in competitive strategy; the question is how small businesses can use the same playbook to grow faster and reach farther without giving away the crown jewels.

Why Coopetition Should Be a Small Business Default

Why should small businesses embrace coopetition? There are plenty of reasons, the biggest being:

• Because demand wants convenience. Customers prefer bundles, one-stop solutions, and fewer handoffs. A florist and a baker who package wedding day services together remove friction. A design studio and a print shop that quote as one provider save a buyer time. Coopetition aligns with the buyer reality that shoppers now have endless choices and convenient options will often win out.
• Because platforms compress margins. When discovery and delivery run through a few giant rails, the small player who goes solo often pays the toll twice. Multinationals like Amazon, Walmart, Alibaba, and Jumia (in Africa) can cut prices in ways small shops cannot. If small businesses keep fighting one another, they may all lose to the bigger giants.
• Because constraints are real for small businesses. Many small businesses don’t have enough money for marketing, technology, or research. Competing alone drains these scarce resources. Collaboration addresses shortages of cash, capacity, and credibility. For instance, shared kitchens have become an on-ramp for growth companies that need commercial grade space without crushing overhead. Volatility punishes the isolated. Little wonder there are co-working and co-warehousing spaces growing. Companies that might fight for the same shelf space share equipment, know-how, and even suppliers in a neutral space.
• Because the cost of differentiation is moving up the stack. Customer experience, story, taste, and trust are uniquely yours. Everything else is infrastructure. Sharing infrastructure lowers cost and increases speed.
• Because networks reward interoperability. If your category grows because rivals agree on a standard, you sell more to a bigger market. If you insist on going it alone on every input, you pay more and move slower.

The Concept of Loneliness and Friction Tax

The loneliness tax is the hidden cost you pay when you run your business alone. For example, a small restaurant owner can spend all their savings on marketing but still struggles to fill seats. Right down the street, another restaurant is also struggling. If both teamed up to run a joint food festival, they could attract bigger crowds, share costs, and both make more money. In other words, when you refuse to collaborate, you carry all burdens alone, and your growth is slower.

The friction tax is the cost of fighting your competitors unnecessarily. For example, two small grocery stores in the same neighborhood lower prices every week to outdo each other. Customers enjoy the price war, but the stores are bleeding profit. If they agreed to share delivery or other costs, they might save money. Their constant “fight” created friction that drained them.

How to Collaborate While Still Competing

Think like an owner of a portfolio of bets, not a single bet. In practice, that means you decide, at the level of a function, where you will collaborate and where you will compete. For example, you can share the back office and fight for the front office.

• Put your business at the center, then have these 4 partners (your customers, your suppliers, your complementors, and your competitors) surround you. Then, seek opportunities where a joint move could expand the value that flows through the system. Perhaps you and a nearby rival could co-import raw materials to cut freight costs. Perhaps two boutiques could create a shared trunk show calendar that rotates venues and mailing lists. Perhaps three landscaping firms could rotate a specialized machine and collaborate on overflow jobs in peak season. The choice of where to collaborate should be the place where the cost is high or the customer benefit is obvious.
• Decide on what is out of bounds before you shake hands. Fixing prices or wages, dividing up markets, and other agreements that dull rivalry cross legal red lines in the United States. Recent enforcement shifts have removed the old comfort of broad safe harbors, so small businesses should formalize purpose, scope, and information barriers, then get counsel when in doubt.
• Build the smallest possible experiment and measure real outcomes. This might mean testing a one-season joint bundle for wedding vendors, a three-month pooled procurement of packaging with clear savings targets, or a shared pop-up store through the holidays with agreed staffing and revenue splits.
• Choose governance that matches the ambition. For lightweight efforts, a memorandum of understanding and a shared channel will do. For heavier lifts, use a special purpose vehicle, a buying consortium, or even a cooperative with bylaws and member voting.
• Protect your edge without starving the partnership. Keep your brand, your customer data, and your secret sauce on your side of the fence. Share only what advances the joint outcome. When tech is involved, set data minimization rules and define who owns improvements. When services are involved, define service levels and escalation paths. When creative work is involved, set credit conventions up front. A cooperative like Stocksy shows how clear rules can protect individual creators while strengthening the shared platform.

Practical Ways for Small Businesses to Practice Coopetition

1. Bulk Buying Together: Instead of buying stock individually at higher prices, small businesses in the same line (say, salons, retail shops, or farmers) can pool money and buy in bulk at lower prices.
2. Shared Marketing: Competing fashion designers can organize a joint runway show. Competing tour guides can market one travel package together. Competing restaurants can hold a food festival.
3. Joint Training and Learning: Several small businesses can contribute to bringing in an expert for a class or workshop, something they couldn’t afford individually.
4. Cluster Strategy: Just like food trucks, businesses can position themselves close together to attract bigger crowds. A row of bookshops or tech repair shops often brings more customers than one shop standing alone.
5. Collaborating for Big Contracts: Sometimes, a small business cannot fulfill a large order. Instead of rejecting it, competitors can partner to deliver together. This builds credibility and future opportunities.

Guardrails That Keep You Safe

When small businesses come together, the excitement of new opportunities can make them overlook the fine print. But you shouldn’t dive into a collaboration without rules that keep everyone safe and focused. Think of these rules as the guardrails on a highway (they don’t stop you from moving forward, they keep you from crashing).

• Name the purpose in the first sentence of every agreement and read it aloud in the first meeting. If your purpose is to reduce carbon in logistics, you know what information belongs in the room and what does not. If your purpose is to expand access to customers, you will stay far away from pricing talk.
• Keep the collaboration proportional. The smaller and more targeted the scope, the easier it is to govern and the harder it is to drift into forbidden territory. When you do scale up, bring counsel early.
• Agree on how the partnership ends. Sunset dates prevent zombie alliances. Exit clauses that define who owns the work reduce drama. Postmortems capture the learning so your next partnership starts stronger.

A Closing Challenge for Small Businesses

As a small business owner, ask yourself these 2 questions:

1. Where am I paying a loneliness tax?
2. Where am I paying a friction tax?

Every place you answer yes is a candidate for coopetition. If you embrace coopetition with clear eyes and clean boundaries, you will find that collaboration is not the end of competition. It is the way you make competition worth winning.

Over the past decade, compensation for artificial intelligence (AI) professionals has surged at an unprecedented pace, reshaping the talent market and redefining what employers must offer to attract and retain top-tier technical talent. As companies across nearly every sector race to integrate machine learning, automation, and generative AI into their operations, the demand for skilled AI engineers, researchers, and product leaders has vastly outstripped supply. The result is a compensation environment that is not only highly competitive, but increasingly aggressive.

What makes this shift especially striking is how rapidly it has accelerated. Even five years ago, AI roles commanded above-average compensation, but nowhere near the levels seen today. Now, seven-figure packages for senior AI experts are not only possible, they’re becoming increasingly common.

This surge is driven by a unique convergence of market forces: the explosion of generative AI capabilities, a shortage of qualified talent, escalating corporate reliance on AI strategy, and the emergence of new startup and investment ecosystems flush with capital. Together, these factors are pushing AI compensation to historic highs, with no signs of slowing down.

And of course, this article was written with the research assistance of AI.

The Talent Shortage Driving the Compensation Surge

AI is one of the few fields in which global demand massively exceeds global supply of qualified professionals. Only a small subset of software engineers possess the deep expertise required for advanced machine learning, reinforcement learning, natural language processing, and large-scale model development. Even fewer have hands-on experience with cutting-edge deep learning architectures or the ability to integrate foundation models into commercial products.

Companies are discovering that they are effectively competing for the same limited pool of elite talent. And that competition is fierce.

Here are a few key reasons AI talent is scarce:

• AI research and engineering require advanced mathematical, algorithmic, and computational training.
• Top-tier AI expertise is concentrated in a handful of universities and research labs.
• Rapid technological change means experience becomes outdated quickly, raising the premium on continuous learners.
• Many AI professionals gravitate toward startups or independent research labs rather than traditional corporate roles.
• Immigration constraints limit access to global AI expertise in certain regions, especially the U.S.

This scarcity alone would elevate compensation, but the explosive commercial potential of AI has supercharged it.

Generative AI Has Reshaped the Compensation Landscape

The release of large-scale generative AI models has catalyzed a gold rush. Companies of all sizes now recognize that AI will determine competitive advantage in the coming decade. As firms shift from “AI experiments” to “AI strategy,” the urgency to hire expert talent has become acute.

Generative AI has created entirely new job categories, including:

• Large Language Model (LLM) Engineers
  
• Prompt Engineers and Prompt Architects
• AI Product Managers and AI Strategy Leads
• Applied AI Scientists
• Multimodal AI Specialists
• AI Safety and Alignment Researchers
• Model Evaluation and Red Teaming Experts
• AI Video Specialists

In many cases, these roles did not exist 18 months ago. Now, they are some of the highest-paying jobs in the technology sector.

Salaries Are Reaching Historic Highs

Compensation varies widely based on geography, seniority, company size, and specialization. But one trend is clear: AI salaries are increasing across the board, often dramatically.

Typical U.S. salary ranges for AI roles:

• Machine Learning Engineer: $180,000–$350,000+ total compensation
  
• Senior AI Scientist: $300,000–$600,000+
  
• LLM Engineer or Generative AI Engineer: $400,000–$900,000+
  
• AI Product Director: $350,000–$700,000+
  
• Head of AI / VP of AI: $700,000–$2,000,000+
  
• Distinguished AI Researcher at top tech firms: Often over $1 million, with equity packages that can reach multi-millions

And these figures do not account for extreme outliers—most notably the seven-figure offers made by OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, Meta, and specialized hedge funds or trading firms.

Compensation for AI talent is highest in the Silicon Valley/San Francisco area, followed by New York and then Seattle.

Startups Are Offering Massive Equity Packages

AI startup funding is booming. Investors are pouring billions into companies developing foundation models, AI infrastructure, and vertical AI applications. With capital plentiful and competition intense, startups are offering generous equity to lure experienced AI hires away from Big Tech.

What startups are offering:

• Sign-on equity that may exceed 0.5–2% of the company for early senior hires
  
• Better vesting schedules (e.g., no cliff vesting, shorter vest cycles)
• Performance-based equity refreshers
• Access to secondary liquidity opportunities as they become available
• Hybrid cash/equity compensation at levels competitive with major tech companies

For highly specialized engineers, particularly those with LLM or multimodal model experience, equity stakes can be extremely significant.

The big players are stepping up as well. In late 2025, OpenAI’s average stock compensation reportedly reached $1.5 million per employee for its 4000 person workforce.

Non-Tech Companies Are Entering the Bidding War

AI is no longer limited to technology firms. Industries such as healthcare, finance, manufacturing, retail, defense, and media all have aggressive AI build-out strategies. This has expanded the competition for talent beyond Silicon Valley, creating upward pressure on compensation.

For example:

• Financial institutions are recruiting AI specialists for algorithmic trading and risk modeling.
  
• Healthcare companies need AI leaders for diagnostics, drug discovery, and patient management systems.
• Traditional industrial firms are hiring machine learning engineers to optimize robotics, forecasting, and supply chain operations.

These companies often have substantial cash reserves, enabling them to offer compelling salary packages more commonly associated with Big Tech.

Remote Work Has Globalized the AI Salary Market

Remote-first hiring has created a global bidding environment. Companies that once paid lower regional salaries are now forced to match global standards—especially when competing against deep-pocketed AI enterprises and venture-backed startups.

As a result:

• Compensation is rising across Europe, Latin America, India, and Southeast Asia.
  
• Remote AI contractors in lower-cost countries are sometimes commanding Silicon Valley–level pay.
• Employers can no longer rely on geographic arbitrage to meaningfully cut costs.

This globalization has further driven compensation upward.

Retention Packages Are Becoming More Aggressive

As poaching becomes rampant, companies are creating elaborate retention structures, including:

• Annual equity refresh grants
  
• Retention bonuses tied to multi-year milestones
• Stay bonuses during M&A or restructuring
• Accelerated equity vesting for high performers

Companies recognize that replacing a senior AI engineer or researcher is extremely costly, and often impossible in the short term.

What This Means for Employers

Companies should expect:

• Longer search timelines for AI roles
  
• Substantially higher compensation budgets
• The need for flexible, customized packages
• Aggressive competition from startups and Big Tech
• Ongoing retention challenges

Organizations that fail to invest in AI talent will struggle to compete strategically, technologically, and operationally.

What This Means for AI Professionals

For employees, the moment is historic. AI expertise, especially in LLMs, applied machine learning, infrastructure, safety, and AI product design, is one of the most valuable skill sets in the global economy.

Professionals should:

• Negotiate assertively
  
• Evaluate total comp (salary, bonus, equity, benefits)
• Secure severance and change-in-control protections
• Understand equity liquidity options
• Consider both Big Tech stability and startup upside

Those with the right skills can expect strong compensation growth for the foreseeable future.

How AI Employees Can Negotiate High-Value Compensation Packages

This section outlines the most important strategies, components, and negotiation techniques AI employees can use to maximize compensation and secure long-term professional protection.

1. Evaluate Total Compensation, Not Just Salary

A common mistake candidates make is focusing on base salary alone. In AI roles—especially at high-growth startups—base salary may not be the most important part of the package.

AI employees should evaluate:

• Base salary
• Annual bonuses or performance incentives
• Equity grants
• Retention or milestone bonuses
• Equity refresh cycles
• Severance protections
• Change-in-control payments

Total compensation packages in AI can vary by hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on equity and incentives, making it essential to evaluate the full structure.

2. Negotiate Equity—It’s Often the Most Valuable Component

AI startups and AI-first public companies rely heavily on equity to attract top-tier talent. But equity terms are nuanced and highly negotiable.

Key equity terms you should negotiate:

• Size of the grant (expressed as % ownership or # of shares)
• Equity type (options vs. RSUs)
• Vesting schedule (you can ask for shorter vesting schedules and no cliff vesting)
• Acceleration triggers (single- vs. double-trigger vesting)
• Windows to exercise options after leaving the company (traditionally 90 days but you can request one year)
• Ability to participate in secondary sales

A single percentage point of equity at a strong AI startup can be worth millions of dollars in a successful exit. Do not underestimate your ability to negotiate this component.

Pro tip: Ask for your equity in terms of percentage ownership, not number of shares. This forces companies to reveal the fully diluted share count.

3. Push for Clear and Achievable Bonus Structures

AI work is often tied to quantifiable outcomes: model accuracy, latency improvements, deployment milestones, or product releases. This makes it easier to negotiate objective bonus structures, rather than subjective or discretionary ones.

You can negotiate:

• A signing bonus
• A target bonus (often 20–50% of salary for senior roles)
• A guaranteed minimum first-year bonus
• Objective, measurable performance metrics
• A clear timeline for bonus evaluation
• Eligibility for multi-year performance awards

4. Benefits and Perks

Beyond salary and bonuses, benefits protect well-being and support work-life integration—particularly important for senior leaders.

Benefits can include:

• Comprehensive health, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance
• Retirement plans such as 401(k) with employer match and pension enhancements.
• Vacation, sick leave, and paid time off accruals with carry-over provisions on termination.
• Relocation assistance, travel allowances, and technology stipends.
• Parental leave

5. Secure Strong Severance and Termination Protections

Given the velocity of change in AI—funding cycles, pivots, acquisitions, and leadership turnover, severance protections are essential. They are highly negotiable for AI professionals.

Negotiate for:

• 3–12 months of salary severance pay if fired without cause, together with 3-12 months of target bonus
• Continuation of benefits or COBRA during the severance period
• Accelerated vesting of equity upon termination without cause
• Severance triggers if your role changes materially
• Limit the “cause” definition– you want to avoid broad definitions of being terminated for “cause” to avoid losing out on severance
• Mutual releases of liability and mutual non-disparagement clauses in the event of termination without cause

Many AI companies do not offer severance by default, but will add it if asked by a senior or highly valuable hire.

6. Leverage Competing Offers Strategically

AI employees who interview with multiple companies often have dramatically better outcomes. Even one additional offer can significantly increase your negotiation leverage.

Tips for handling competing offers:

• Never bluff—only leverage real offers.
  
• Share general ranges, not exact numbers (“my other offer is in the ~$500K range”).
• Emphasize fit and culture, not financial extraction.
• Allow employers to “revise” offers rather than demanding increases.

Companies expect AI talent to be in high demand. You should expect and encourage competition.

7. Protect Yourself from Liability

AI work often includes high-stakes systems, regulatory exposure, or sensitive data. Professionals should negotiate strong protections.

You can ask for:

• Company-backed D&O insurance (for senior roles)
  
• Indemnification for work done within the scope of your role
• Reasonable limits on personal liability

AI professionals involved in model development, compliance, or safety can insist on explicit liability protection.

8. Remote Work and Flexible Arrangements Are Negotiable

AI talent is global, and many companies are remote-first. If location flexibility matters to you, negotiate it early.

You can request:

• Fully remote work
  
• Hybrid flexibility (e.g., two days in the office each week)
• Home office stipends
• Relocation packages, if required
• Adjustments for time-zone differences

Given how scarce AI talent is, many companies will accommodate flexibility for the right candidate.

9. Consider Other Important Issues

Here are some additional important issues to consider when negotiating an employment contract or offer letter:

• Avoid any non-compete clauses that would hinder you from finding a new AI job. In some states like California, those are for the most part unenforceable anyway
• If there is a dispute with your employer, you will likely want the matter to be resolved by confidential binding arbitration to avoid lengthy and costly litigation
• Make sure you are not taking any documents or confidential information from your old employer– this can lead to expensive and embarrassing litigation
• Get any oral promises made to you in writing as part of your employment agreement or offer letter
• Carefully review the terms of any rights of repurchase on equity, right of first refusal, and company buy-back terms, which could limit the value of your equity

10. Work with an Attorney or Advisor for Complex Packages

AI compensation packages, especially those involving equity, are increasingly complex. Understanding tax implications, vesting schedules, and contract terms often requires professional review.

An attorney or advisor can help you:

• Interpret equity and vesting terms
  
• Understand company cap tables
• Identify red flags in employment contracts
• Strengthen negotiation positions
• Include protective contract terms

A modest legal investment can protect hundreds of thousands—and sometimes millions—of dollars in future compensation. And sometimes you can negotiate for the company to reimburse your reasonable legal fees incurred.

Conclusion on Compensation for AI Employees

AI employees today are in a uniquely powerful negotiating position. Compensation is skyrocketing. Companies are racing to hire scarce talent, and the strategic importance of AI expertise has never been higher. By approaching negotiations with clarity, confidence, and a deep understanding of total compensation, AI professionals can secure packages that reflect both their current value and their long-term contribution.

In an era defined by rapid innovation and intense competition, negotiating well is not just a financial decision, it’s a strategic career move.

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• 16 Key Issues in Negotiating an Employment Severance Package
• 14 Key Issues in Negotiating Employment Agreements
• Key Issues with Confidentiality and Invention Assignment Agreements with Employees
• How Employee Stock Options Work in Startup Companies