The growing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies has heightened interest in the labour market value of AI-related skills, yet causal evidence on their role in hiring decisions remains scarce. This study examines whether AI skills serve as a positive hiring signal and whether they can offset conventional disadvantages such as older age or lower formal education. We conduct an experimental survey with 1,700 recruiters from the United Kingdom and the United States. Using a paired conjoint design, recruiters evaluated hypothetical candidates represented by synthetically designed resumes. Across three occupations - graphic designer, office assistant, and software engineer - AI skills significantly increase interview invitation probabilities by approximately 8 to 15 percentage points. AI skills also partially or fully offset disadvantages related to age and lower education, with effects strongest for office assistants, where formal AI certification plays an additional compensatory role. Effects are weaker for graphic designers, consistent with more skeptical recruiter attitudes toward AI in creative work. Finally, recruiters' own background and AI usage significantly moderate these effects. Overall, the findings demonstrate that AI skills function as a powerful hiring signal and can mitigate traditional labour market disadvantages, with implications for workers' skill acquisition strategies and firms' recruitment practices.

翻译：人工智能（AI）技术的日益普及提高了人们对AI相关技能在劳动力市场中价值的关注，然而关于这些技能在招聘决策中作用的因果证据仍然匮乏。本研究探讨了AI技能是否作为积极的招聘信号，以及它们能否抵消传统劣势，如年龄较大或正规教育程度较低。我们对来自英国和美国的1,700名招聘人员进行了实验性调查。通过配对联合设计，招聘人员评估了由合成设计的简历所代表的假设候选人。在三个职业——平面设计师、办公室助理和软件工程师——中，AI技能显著提高了面试邀请概率约8至15个百分点。AI技能还部分或完全抵消了与年龄和较低教育程度相关的劣势，其中对办公室助理的影响最强，正式的AI认证在此起到了额外的补偿作用。对平面设计师的影响较弱，这与招聘人员对创意工作中使用AI持更怀疑态度相一致。最后，招聘人员自身的背景和AI使用情况显著调节了这些效应。总体而言，研究结果表明，AI技能作为一种强有力的招聘信号，能够缓解传统的劳动力市场劣势，这对工人的技能获取策略和企业的招聘实践具有启示意义。