“While CEO compensation discussions are always a negotiation, when it comes to governance and executive compensation discussions—especially where the CEO has become so tied to the perceived value of the organization—the board is no longer negotiating from a position of equal strength,” explained Jan Koors, senior managing director.

Compensation and leadership consultancy Pearl Meyer found in a survey that the vast majority of companies offering title boosts with no money are smaller ventures, with companies below $3 billion in revenue far more likely to use job titles to reward employees than larger companies.

“We see companies are clearly at different stages of AI evaluation. However, the data show many are actively making leadership decisions and talking with employees about the impact of AI on the company and the workforce,” Susan Sandlund, managing director and leadership practice lead at Pearl Meyer, said in a statement.

“Companies will create more buy-in among employees if they have the education around what company stock programs mean for them,” said Aalap Shah, managing director.