How the Index works

How ads are collected

• Ads are captured manually from SEEK, LinkedIn and Indeed using searches for AI, automation and the operational technology titles that often contain this work.
• The June 2026 baseline contains 45 ads captured on 30 June 2026. The July edition contains 52 captures from 17–27 July, representing 49 distinct roles after three roles seen in June were identified.
• The location filter is Melbourne. Some ads are remote or list Melbourne alongside other cities, so the Index describes ads visible to a Melbourne job seeker rather than every role being based only in Melbourne.
• Search terms can change as employers change how they name the work. Editions are therefore comparable observations, not identical samples or a basis for month-to-month trend claims.
• Each captured ad is preserved and converted into a structured record before the monthly analysis.

How ads are classified

• Employer size comes from public platform bands first, stated headcounts second and structural evidence third. Businesses under 200 staff are SME-flagged. Unverifiable employers stay in a separate bucket.
• Employer type separates direct employers, consultancies, AI vendors and recruiters. This matters because a vendor hiring AI staff is evidence of supply, not necessarily its own AI adoption.
• What the role does is taken from the ad's duties and evidence, not the job title alone. An AI term in a title, tool list or candidate requirement does not by itself establish an AI programme.
• Programme stage and audience are counted only when the ad describes the programme clearly enough to classify. Supply-side roles and ads with no described programme are excluded from those figures.
• Salaries and tools are counted only when the ad states them. Every published figure includes its sample size or disclosed count.

What the Index cannot tell you

• The sample is manual, Melbourne-focused and shaped by the search terms. It is not a random or complete sample of the Australian labour market.
• Job ads show what employers wrote and intended. They do not prove that a system has shipped, works reliably or produced the stated outcome.
• Only employers advertising appear. Businesses using contractors, consultancies or existing staff may not appear at all.
• Employer size is inferred from public evidence and can be wrong in individual cases. Uncertain cases are excluded from size-based findings.
• Small subsamples are reported as counts and worked examples, not population rates. Two editions are not enough to establish a trend.

Cite this index

GraftPoint SME AI Hiring Index, July 2026 edition. Manual sample of 52 Melbourne-area AI and automation job-ad captures from 17–27 July 2026, representing 49 distinct roles. Methodology: graftpoint.com.au/sme-ai-hiring-index/methodology/

Questions about the method, or want the underlying counts for a story? Email june@graftpoint.com.au.