Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends Report has been a cornerstone of technology forecasting for nearly three decades. She released her first major analysis in the mid-1990s while at Morgan Stanley, quickly establishing herself as one of the most influential voices in tech. Over time, her annual reports became must-reads, tracking everything from internet adoption and mobile growth to e-commerce, cloud computing, and the rise of social platforms.

After a hiatus since 2019, Meeker returned this year with a sweeping 340-page Trends in Artificial Intelligence report — packed with charts and insights aimed at understanding where AI adoption stands and where it’s headed.

While you were out living your best life, I was hunched over my desk reading every last chart in the report. Here’s what talent acquisition professionals should care about.

Employees say AI isn’t just making them faster — it’s actually improving the quality of their work. According to Meeker’s report, over 72% of workers using AI chatbots report that these tools help them work faster and enhance the quality of their output. That’s a strong signal that AI is augmenting, not just automating.

A Morgan Stanley analysis included in the report shows that reducing hiring costs ranks near the bottom of corporate AI priorities — suggesting that most companies are looking at AI to drive revenue, not just trim expenses.

Meeker highlights a 448% increase in AI-related job postings in IT since 2018, while non-AI IT roles declined by 9%. AI is reshaping what employers need — and talent acquisition isn’t the only function scrambling to keep up.

All of this adds to the growing sense that sweeping change in the white-collar workforce isn’t just coming — it’s already here. As I work with my colleague Josh Jones to shape the agenda for the next ERE Recruiting Innovation Summit, themes like AI’s role in talent acquisition and the shifting landscape of white-collar work are front and center.

We’re looking for a few senior TA leaders willing to speak candidly about the challenges and opportunities facing the profession in 2025.If you’ve got insights to share with the talent acquisition community, we’d love to hear from you.

— David

P.S. If you found this newsletter valuable, chances are your colleagues will too. Feel free to forward it along—and if it landed in your inbox by way of a friend, you can subscribe here to get the next one directly.

Featured Story

Rethinking the Workplace: Innovative Strategies to Lure Employees Back to the Office

As organizations navigate the post-pandemic workplace, free coffee is not going to be enough to bring employees back to the office. In this insightful piece, Jim Stroud explores innovative strategies that prioritize genuine human connection and well-being. From France's tech-enforced "Right to Disconnect" to South Korea's embrace of midday rest periods, the article highlights global approaches that redefine the office as a space for community and collaboration. (ERE)

More Recruiting Insights

How AI Is Reshaping Recruiting in Real Time. President of CareerXroads and longtime friend of ERE, Chris Hoyt, tells it like it is. Talent Acquisition professionals are feeling FOBO — Fear of Becoming Obsolete. As a profession, we need to harness that fear to move up the food chain and shift from transactional hiring to strategic talent management. (CareerXRoads)

LinkedIn lays off 281 workers in California, including slew of Bay Area engineers. The move aligns with broader organizational changes at Microsoft, which recently announced 6,000 global job cuts. Parent company Microsoft’s profits were up 18% in their most recent quarter, but this is another example of the wrenching realignment taking place in IT and engineering workforce. (SFGate)

The Auto-Apply Arms Race and the Mystery of Klaus Grant. The rise in AI-assisted candidate tools like Sonora is leading to a new flood of spammy applications. This is already a problem for many organizations, but it’s going to get much, much worse before it gets better. (Integral Recruiting Design)

The Return of Summer Internships. Internships are making a comeback this year, with more postings at higher compensation, according to ZipRecruiter. HR internships are up 74% year over year. (ZipRecruiter)

Conferences

ERE Recruiting Innovation Summit

San Diego, CA

November 4-5, 2025

The ERE Recruiting Conference is the premier independent practitioner-led recruiting event that provides actionable insights for talent acquisition professionals. Join fellow colleagues to discover practical ideas, best practices, and case study solutions from leaders who share your toughest recruiting challenges — and have experience overcoming them. (ERE Recruiting Innovation Summit)

Webinars

Calibrating Recruiting Swimlanes: Optimizing the Hiring Workflow for Maximum Efficiency

June 5, 2025 | 2:00 PM EDT | 1 Hour

This webinar will explore how to optimize your recruiting workflow, featuring talent acquisition experts who will break down how to calibrate recruiting roles for clarity, efficiency, and collaboration. Our panel will address the challenges of overlapping responsibilities and misaligned expectations, sharing tactics that enhance role definition and reduce process friction. (ERE)

Story-Driven Hiring: How Content and Culture Solve Recruiting and Retention Challenges

June 10, 2025 | 2:00 PM EDT | 1 Hour

God recruiting is sales, and good sales is story-telling. Discover how authentic narratives can effectively communicate your organization's culture, mission, and values, attracting top talent and fostering a sense of belonging among existing team members. This session is essential for talent acquisition leaders and hiring managers aiming to transform their recruitment processes through meaningful, story-driven communication. (ERE)