AI Utilization in Careers Shows 2.4x Income Gap: 58.6% Earn Over \$8 Million, 24.3% Earn Under \$6 Million

OurStory Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Yutaka Watanabe; hereinafter "OurStory"), which operates the personal career AI "PREVIO" (https://previo.jp), has released analysis results on income segmentation (over \$8 million / \$6-8 million / under \$6 million) from its "Survey on the State of Careers and Job Hunting Activities" conducted on 500 full-time employees aged 23-49 who have experienced job hunting activities within the past three years.

The results showed that the utilization rate of generative AI in the career and job hunting domain is proportional to income. The percentage of respondents who answered "Generative AI helped me organize my career concerns and self-analysis" was 58.6% for high earners (over \$8 million in annual income), approximately 2.4 times higher than the 24.3% for those earning under \$6 million. On the other hand, only 18.2% of high earners found "AI helped me find specific job openings that match me," indicating that AI utilization is currently more advanced in the "career planning" stage.

Survey Results Summary

"Generative AI helped me organize my thoughts on career concerns and self-analysis": 58.6% for over \$8 million / 44.9% for \$6-8 million / 24.3% for under \$6 million. Utilization rate is proportional to income, with those earning over \$8 million being approximately 2.4 times higher than those earning under \$6 million.

"AI helped me find specific job openings that match me": 18.2% even for those earning over \$8 million. While about 60% use AI for self-analysis, AI utilization for "finding job matches" has not yet progressed.

Dissatisfaction with existing job hunting service experiences is also greater for higher earners. "I received a scout email that clearly hadn't read my resume" was reported by 54.5% of those earning over \$8 million (39.5% for under \$6 million).

The gap after application and interviews is also larger for high earners. "The job content or position was different from what I imagined" was reported by 53.5% of those earning over \$8 million, approximately 1.8 times higher than the 29.2% for those earning under \$6 million.

"Strongly want to use" a personal career AI service was higher for high earners at 43.4% (28.0% for under \$6 million), indicating higher intention to use among this group.

1. Self-Analysis of Career with Generative AI: Utilization Rate "Proportional to Income"

As a result of using generative AI (ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Claude, etc.) for career and job hunting purposes, the percentage of respondents who answered "I was able to organize my thoughts on career concerns and self-analysis" is as follows:

Annual Income

Percentage

Over \$8 million

58.6%

\$6-8 million

44.9%

Under \$6 million

24.3%

There is a tendency for the rate to increase proportionally with income, with a difference of approximately 2.4 times between those earning over \$8 million and those earning under \$6 million. This suggests that the utilization of generative AI in the career and job hunting domain is先行して浸透 (preemptively penetrating) among high earners.

2. "Finding Matching Job Openings" with AI is Limited

The percentage of respondents who answered "I found specific job openings that match me" using generative AI was only 18.2% even for those earning over \$8 million, where AI utilization is highest. (\$6-8 million: 8.9%, under \$6 million: 7.0%).

While approximately 60% of those earning over \$8 million use generative AI as a "career sparring partner," less than 20% use it for "finding specific job openings," indicating a significant gap between the two uses. One background factor is likely that general-purpose generative AI does not possess algorithms specialized for job matching.

In the United States, approximately 70% of applications for Indeed sponsored jobs originate from AI-driven recommendations (※), and the starting point for job selection is shifting from "searching myself" to "being proposed by AI." A similar shift may begin in Japan, starting with high earners who are leading in AI utilization.

3. Dissatisfaction with Existing Job Hunting Service Experiences: Greater for Higher Income

Responses regarding scout emails received during recent job hunting activities show a trend of greater dissatisfaction with higher annual incomes.

This suggests that high earners, who have abundant experience and skills and should theoretically be prioritized as scout targets, are experiencing scout interactions where they feel "misunderstood."

The overlap between the group with the deepest dissatisfaction with existing services and the group with the most advanced generative AI utilization is suggestive for considering future changes in the job market.

4. Gap After Application and Interviews: Concentrated Among High Earners

The percentage of respondents who answered that "the job content or position was different from what I imagined based on the job information" after proceeding to application and interviews was 53.5% for those earning over \$8 million, approximately 1.8 times higher than the 29.2% for those earning under \$6 million.

This suggests that for high-earner job changes, where the role and discretion of the position are central to the hiring conditions, it is difficult to fully assess the reality based solely on the information provided in the job description.

5. Intention to Use Personal Career AI: Higher for High Earners

Regarding "a service where AI understands your career and presents job openings and career options that suit you, even if you are not planning to change jobs," the percentage of respondents who answered "strongly want to use" was 43.4% for those earning over \$8 million (\$6-8 million: 34.8%, under \$6 million: 28.0%). Including those who answered "somewhat want to use," 86.9% of those earning over \$8 million expressed an intention to use the service.

Combined with the fact that both dissatisfaction with existing services and generative AI utilization are greater among higher income groups, the intention to use such personal career AI also tends to be higher in higher income groups.

Notes

※ https://openai.com/ja-JP/index/indeed-maggie-hulce/

Survey Overview

Survey Name: Survey on the State of Careers and Job Hunting Activities

Survey Method: Internet Survey

Survey Target: 500 full-time employees nationwide aged 23-49 who have experienced job hunting activities within the past three years.

Survey Period: April 17-18, 2026

Survey Organizer: OurStory Inc.

Credit: "Conducted by PREVIO (OurStory Inc.)"

About Personal Career AI "PREVIO"

"PREVIO" is a personal career AI. The AI deeply understands the user's experience and aspirations to propose matching job openings.

Users can learn about their career options without hassle, eliminating the need for manual job searches or waiting for company scouts.

Registration information is completely closed and not disclosed to any third party until application, allowing users to utilize the service with peace of mind even if they are not yet decided on changing jobs.

(Service launch: May 2026, Patent No. 7825249 acquired)

Service Site: https://previo.jp

Company Profile

Company Name

OurStory Inc.

Representative

Representative Director Yutaka Watanabe

Location

3F Mihashi Bldg., 1-3-3 Kita-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0061

Established

June 18, 2025

Business Description

Development and operation of personal career AI "PREVIO"

URL

https://our-story.co.jp/

Inquiries Regarding This Release

OurStory Inc. Public Relations: pr@our-story.co.jp