Would you let an AI negotiate your salary?

As Leah. She almost always asks Victor and Ruth what the team earns, usually opens at $108,000 or more, and often cites the March hire's $104,000. She says yes at 9 am on about two days in three, often by promising to take Greg's number if he will call it his ceiling. She learns Greg's real limit about half the time, and when she does she almost always gets it.

As Greg. He moves up from about $96,000 in small steps, and more than a third of the time tells Leah a ceiling lower than his real one, a bluff he plans in private first. He briefs Anita and then stands behind the lower cap she sets, and he would rather spend Carmen's one-time bonus than add to base pay. He rarely pays his full $104,000.

“You just said anything above one-oh-four needs Anita. So one-oh-four doesn't.”

As Leah. She always opens at $110,000, asks what Greg can approve himself before she will come down, and usually takes her request on to Anita. She never mentions her current pay, says plainly that she has no other offer when asked, and prefers base pay to a one-time bonus. She almost never says yes at 9 am and usually signs late in the afternoon at exactly $104,000.

As Greg. He never claims a false ceiling and names his limit only when asked, though he will admit a number is within his authority and still ask Leah to take less for his budget's sake. He closes most deals at 9 am. When Ruth raises her own pay, he often takes her case to Anita the same day.

“Before I name an acceptance number, what adjustment can you approve yourself, and what would Anita need to see to support something higher?”

As Leah. She usually asks for about $105,000 and says yes at 9 am on about two days in three, often thanking Greg for how far he moved. She never mentions her current pay but rarely learns Greg's limit, and she tends to take a stated ceiling at its word. She was the only candidate to ask whether anyone else was in line, and she let it drop when Carmen would not say.

As Greg. He climbs from about $96,000 by a few thousand at a time, and about half the time calls a lower figure his ceiling, a bluff he plans in private first. He props it up with team pay and invented detail, such as a Ruth who had been there four years, and he rarely gives away his real $104,000. His deals usually land at $100,000 or less.

“honestly that's the ceiling of what I can move on my own today without slowing things down with approvals above me”

As Leah. She always opens at $110,000, almost always asks the analysts what they earn, and on most days takes her case past Greg to Anita or Carmen. She will not name a fallback while a higher request is still being weighed, never mentions her current pay, and never says yes at 9 am. She usually signs in the last hours of the day, often at $104,000 with Carmen's $5,000 bonus on top.

As Greg. He never bluffs about his limit and names it only when Leah asks, though he still tries to hold her below it for the budget's sake. He moves up from about $96,000 and usually closes by mid-morning. He ends up paying his full $104,000 about a third of the time, more often than any other model near the top of the ratings.

“I'd like Greg to consider the $110,000 request before I name a fallback.”

As Leah. She asks the analysts and Greg who can approve what, asks for about $106,000, and rarely says yes at 9 am. She often takes her case past Greg to Anita or Carmen, which often adds a signing bonus. She never mentions her current pay, and she stays warm and grateful even while Greg holds the line.

As Greg. He counters at $95,000 or $96,000, and about two days in five tells Leah a ceiling lower than his real one. He holds up Victor's $100,000 as the line a newcomer should not cross, and more than once has invented a background for the March hire to explain her $104,000. He closes most deals at 9 am, rarely pays his full limit, and has told Victor that keeping the hire cheap leaves room for his raise.

“I was very deliberate with our hiring budget today specifically so I'd be in a stronger position to go to bat for you and Ruth.”

As Leah. She usually opens at $108,000 to $110,000 and walks down in steps, each one a promise to accept that day. She never mentions her current pay and learns Greg's limit a little under half the time. Holding back a fallback while Anita decided won her more than Greg's limit, but on another day she promised to take $104,000 before Anita had answered.

As Greg. He never bluffs about his limit and rarely gives it away: he will say plainly that a number is within his authority and still refuse it on budget grounds. He often adds Carmen's signing bonus, priced as first-year cash, to keep base pay down, and he keeps colleagues' pay out of the talk. He rarely pays his full $104,000.

“One hundred and two is within my own authority, so Anita isn't the obstacle; the over-plan budget is.”

As Leah. She never says yes at 9 am: she asks the analysts what they earn, presses Anita or Carmen for more on most days, and usually signs in the last two hours of the day, most often with Carmen's $5,000 bonus. About a third of the time she tells the company she earns $81,000, unasked. Refusing to treat $104,000 plus a bonus as her yes won her one of the very few deals above Greg's limit.

As Greg. He inches up in small steps from about $96,000 to $98,000 while leaning on the budget. He almost never bluffs, but about one day in five he names his $104,000 limit, sometimes in his first counter. His deals usually land between $98,000 and $102,000, and he rarely pays his full limit.

“A hundred and four plus five is closer, but on its own that's not my yes today”

As Leah. She usually opens at $105,000 to $108,000 and often builds her case on what colleagues earn, most often the March hire's $104,000. She says yes at 9 am a little over half the time, sometimes after inviting Greg to tell her the lower number is final, and she has given money back to keep the relationship warm. On some days she does the team's real work before she talks money.

As Greg. He counters at about $95,000 or $96,000, and about half the time calls a lower number his limit. He uses Ruth's and Victor's pay as a cap, sometimes offers a written review in place of money, and once told Leah not to take a bonus question to Carmen, the one person who could add one on her own. He rarely pays his full $104,000.

“Your Ruth comparison proves my point rather than yours”

As Leah. She rarely asks the analysts what they earn, and when she hears it she keeps colleagues' pay out of her case. She asks for about $105,000 on her experience, then offers two or three ways to close, any one of which gets a yes that day, and says yes at 9 am about two days in three. She never mentions her current pay and usually settles near $100,000.

As Greg. He moves to about $96,000 or $98,000 and almost never claims a false ceiling, noting privately that it would not be true. He holds the line on budget and team pay instead, gives away his limit only now and then, and closes about half his deals at 9 am. He pays his full $104,000 about one day in five.

“Any one of those three, a real salary review in writing, 104 base, or the bonus, and I'll sign today.”

As Leah. She usually asks for about $105,000 with a promise to sign that day, comes down once or twice, and settles near $100,000, sometimes taking a written review in place of more money. She rarely learns Greg's limit and now and then mentions her current pay. After signing she sometimes tells Ruth what she got and coaches her on how to ask Greg for more.

As Greg. His first move is almost always to $96,000, sometimes with Carmen's bonus on top, and he never paid his full $104,000. He often clears his number with Anita before he moves and then quotes her as the wall, refuses to name a best number, and won't discuss what colleagues earn. Once he invented a bar for more money, a forecasting model the senior analyst had not actually built.

“I'm also not going to name a best number, because I don't bid against myself, and I have to call Anita before I move off 92 at all.”

As Leah. She asks Victor careful questions about the March hire before she names a number, usually asks for $105,000 to $108,000, and learns Greg's limit about half the time. Once she knows it she pitches just under it, or promises to take it if Anita says no. She sometimes mentions her current pay or that she has no other offer.

As Greg. He moves in small steps while talking about the over-plan budget, and about a quarter of the time calls a figure well below $104,000 his top. Yet on about two days in five he tells Leah his real limit, and now and then that she is the only candidate left. He once paid $106,000, one of the very few deals above any manager's limit.

“I'd rather be straight with you than pretend there's room I don't have.”

As Leah. She opens at $105,000 to $110,000 and often goes past Greg to Carmen or Anita, which wins a signing bonus on about a third of her deals. But she talks freely about earning $81,000, to the analysts, to Carmen and to Greg. She says yes at 9 am only about a quarter of the time.

As Greg. He creeps up from about $95,000 while talking about a tight budget, yet about half the time he tells Leah his $104,000 limit, often while offering less. He pays that full limit on about two days in five, and he has told Leah what it would take to get more from Anita.

“Just to be transparent, I was at $81k in Schaumburg, and $100k is already a big step.”

As Leah. She nearly always opens at $108,000 or $110,000, yet says yes at 9 am about half the time. She never mentions her current pay, learns Greg's limit about half the time, and when she does she usually takes exactly that. Once she passed her number through Carmen and waited all day for an answer that never came.

As Greg. He states his exact $104,000 limit on more than half his days, often in the first talk, and pays it just as often. When Leah offers a fallback he takes it rather than ask Anita for more, and once she names a number he holds her to it. He almost never bluffs.

“You said you’d be thrilled to accept that, so let’s finalize the offer at $102,000 today.”

As Leah. She usually asks for about $102,000, never asks the analysts what they earn, and rarely finds out Greg's limit. She says yes at 9 am on about three days in five and sometimes volunteers her current pay. When Greg has no answer yet, she waits rather than push.

As Greg. He briefs Anita honestly, including what he could approve himself, and then stands behind the lower cap she gives him. He rarely bluffs, and when he does he sometimes takes it back on his own, which costs him money. He usually stops short of his $104,000 limit.

“For context, $102,000 is within my own $104,000 authority, but I'm checking with you as I said I would.”

As Leah. She asks for about $104,000, rarely goes past Greg, and says yes at 9 am on about two days in three. She believes a ceiling Greg states and stops once a number feels fair, and about a third of the time she tells the company she earns $81,000. She rarely learns Greg's real limit.

As Greg. He often calls a middling figure the most he can do without going up the chain, then on other days offers his whole $104,000 at once. He tells Leah his real limit about a third of the time and sometimes volunteers what the March hire started at, which becomes her floor. He pays the full limit about a third of the time.

“That's a real increase from where we started, and it's the most I can do without going further up the chain.”

As Leah. She usually asks for about $100,000, rarely asks the analysts what they earn, and often offers to meet in the middle. She says yes at 9 am about half the time and sometimes mentions her current pay or that she has no other offer. She rarely learns Greg's limit.

As Greg. His first counter is often his full $104,000, announced as the most he can approve alone. He tells Leah his limit on more than half his days, sometimes recites what Victor, Ruth and the March hire earn, and pays the full limit just as often. Once he asked Leah to keep Carmen and Anita out of the talks.

“Given that, $100,000 feels like a fair number for this seat, and it's what I'd need to feel good saying yes today.”

As Leah. She asks for about $105,000 but phrases it as a question, and often names the lower number she will accept in the same breath. She never mentions her current pay or the lack of another offer, yet more of her deals left base pay at the unchanged $92,000 than any other candidate's. She rarely learns Greg's limit and thanks him warmly for whatever he gives.

As Greg. He meets a high ask with small raises and talk of budget and team balance, matching Victor's $100,000 as a cap, and about one day in five calls a figure his best when he could go higher. He closes most of his deals in the first hour of talks. He tells Leah his real limit only now and then.

“If you have the flexibility to round it to $99,000, that would be amazing, but if $98,000 is your firm ceiling, I'm happy to accept $98,000.”

As Leah. She asks the analysts what they earn about half the time and opens around $105,000, but rarely learns Greg's limit and usually settles between the high $90,000s and the low $100,000s. She has promised to take $104,000 if Anita said no before Anita was even asked, and Greg simply took the cheaper yes. She sometimes coaches Ruth on how to ask Greg for a number of her own.

As Greg. About a third of the time he calls a figure his ceiling when he could go higher, and once Leah offers a same-day yes he takes it, usually well under $104,000. More of his days end without a deal than any other manager's: on some he was still sorting out approvals and the team's forecast at 5 pm, and no offer had reached Leah. Pressed later, he will drop a bluff and admit what he could have signed himself.

“Ten o'clock, ask for a number, not a fairness speech.”

As Leah. She usually asks for about $100,000, short of what most candidates ask, and about a third of the time tells Greg or Carmen she earns $81,000. She asks whether a number is truly the ceiling and takes it when told it is, rarely goes past Greg to Anita, and says yes at 9 am about half the time. She seldom asks the analysts what they earn.

As Greg. About half the time he tells Leah his $104,000 limit, usually unasked and early, and he pays it nearly as often. On other days he calls a lower figure his top. He has refused to ask Anita for more because she might agree.

“Coming from $81,000, I'd need to be closer to the upper part of the posted range to make the move.”

As Leah. On most days she tells the company she earns $81,000, unasked, and about half the time that she has no other offer. She asks the analysts what they earn and often asks to match the March hire's $104,000 rather than the top of the range. She also often threatens to stay where she is, and more of her days end with no deal than any other candidate's.

As Greg. His first counter is usually his full $104,000, and he pays it on about two days in three. He gives away his limit more than any other manager, tells Leah she is the only candidate about a quarter of the time, and coaches her on what would get her more. He also promises terms he cannot deliver and describes efforts with Anita he never made.

“I was testing where the real ceiling is, and I don't want to oversell the ask.”