Hi Reader,

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We’re often asked, “Do you use AI for client work on negotiations?” (the answer is NO) or “Couldn’t I just use AI to prepare for my negotiations?” (at the current state of AI, we strongly recommend against it).

So this week on Gentle Power (episode here: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts), we decided to put AI to the test. We asked an AI tool some key questions around negotiation strategy and compared its advice to what we’d recommend.

Some of what it said was solid. But we also noticed some pitfalls that could steer you toward a weaker or even risky strategy that could put your offer in danger.

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What AI did well

Several of its arguments were sound: negotiate only after getting the offer, don’t negotiate past the deadline, phrase things professionally.

On that note, we also liked some of the specific ways in which it had phrased things. However, it inherently sounds very AI-like, and we want to caution against using its phrases verbatim. We recommend wording all communications yourself instead, because if the other party can tell that you used AI, it is often a red flag to them and it may jeopardize your offer.

And it’s not only the now famous em dashes that can give away that you used AI to write an email, a text, or a document, but also certain staple sentence structures that are not widely known or obvious (example of this in the episode).

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Where AI fell short

Risky recommendation

The AI tool recommended you share a preferred range. We don’t recommend this for a simple logical/math reason: when you share a range, you’re implying the lowest number in the range is acceptable to you. And of course the company has no incentive to pay more than that. So effectively, you’ve shared a preferred number/salary, which we very much do not recommend.

Strangely, AI does not recommend sharing a number, but somehow it missed the not sharing a range part, likely explained by the fact that AI is known to not be very good at math and logic.

Market data is time consuming and largely useless

The AI tool also recommended anchoring your negotiation around market data. As we explained in this and in previous episodes, market data doesn’t reflect the company’s true budget, compensation philosophy, and internal factors that may have them pay above or below market. So relying on it can make you waste negotiation “chips” or look naive (check out this previous newsletter where we go in depth on how someone doomed their offer by overly relying on market data).

Companies are also prepared to rebut or invalidate your market data, so it wasn’t really worth your time to do all the research anyway.

Lastly, anchoring high sounds good in theory, but if that number is outside of the company’s budget, it can risk making you seem entitled or at minimum that you won’t be happy in the role. This may lead to a rescinded offer or a verbal offer that never materializes into a formal written offer.

Instead, having other offers or even other opportunities you’re considering and tactfully bringing that up throughout the negotiation will much more reliably retain or increase your leverage.

Wording that hurts more than it helps.

AI suggested language like “Would it be okay if I take a day or two to decide…”, which sounds overly deferential and can put you in a weaker position. A small shift in phrasing can change the tone and how you show up during the negotiation, which then translates to a better offer or a more meaningful increase in the compensation package.

The devil is in the details

AI’s advice is too high level, not enough nuance. AI can list the elementary steps (e.g. get the offer in writing, negotiate before you sign) but it didn’t tell us how to adapt based on company culture, the recruiter’s tone, the hidden levers in your specific offer, and more. These details are where negotiations are won or lost.

Side note and self-promotion: the benefit of working with us is that we’ve seen virtually every way a company will respond at any stage of the negotiation process, and we can advise you on how to best respond by looking closely at all your past and ongoing correspondence, read in between the lines, understand the dynamic you've had with the recruiter, etc, which allows us to know when and how to ask for what based on your priorities.

We'd tell you exactly what to do and say throughout your negotiations end-to-end (online application to signing the offer) and make the process as easy and stress-free for you as possible.

(Book a free call with us if you want tips tailored to your situation! You’ll be chatting with Alex or Gerta, not an AI 🙂: https://calendly.com/alexhapki/call)

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Our conclusion

Negotiations are too high-stakes to hand over fully to AI. The risk of poor phrasing, mediocre strategy, or missing nuance is too high. AI can be a helpful brainstorming partner at times, but it can’t quite replace the expert judgment, strategy, and intuition that tough negotiations demand.

🎧 Hear the full breakdown (what we agreed with, what we vetoed, and exact wording to use): YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts​

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Warmly,

Gerta & Alex
​Co-founders, YourNegotiations.com

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P.S. Are you job searching or have upcoming negotiations?

Book a free call with us, where we’ll learn more about your situation, offer some free tips, and explore if we’re a good fit to work together: https://calendly.com/alexhapki/call​

P.P.S. Know someone who could use our help?

Refer them and earn $500.

We’ve paid out thousands to people who just made a simple intro. If your friend becomes a client, we’ll send you $500 - no strings attached; just our way of saying thank you for spreading the word.

Simply send an intro email to alex@yournegotiations.com and your friend.

See all the details of our referral program on our website here.