# Will art directors be replaced by AI? Updated October 2026 Art directors score 50 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 76%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. The other 24% stays with people. - **76%** AI helps - **24%** Needs a person High exposure Higher than 75% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 16 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can't do any of them end to end yet. It speeds up 12 and leaves 4 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Mark up, paste, and complete layouts and write typography instructions to prepare materials for typesetting or printing. AI drafts typography specs and markup; designer reviews output. | 62% AI helps | | Formulate basic layout design or presentation approach and specify material details, such as style and size of type, photographs, graphics, animation, video, and sound. AI generates layout options and type specs; director approves choices. | 60% AI helps | | Research current trends and new technology, such as printing production techniques, computer software, and design trends. Search and summarization tools speed research; judgement still needed. | 60% AI helps | | Create custom illustrations or other graphic elements. Image AI makes draft elements; custom craft still needs artists. | 55% AI helps | | Review illustrative material to determine if it conforms to standards and specifications. Preflight software and AI can check specs; judgement stays human. | 55% AI helps | ## How art directors compare All occupations (923) Arts, design, entertainment, sports and media (40) **Art directors score 50**, marked by the dark line. Each dot is a score, darker where more occupations share it. The short marks show the averages, 37 for all occupations and 44 for arts, design, entertainment, sports and media. ## Pay and outlook in the US Median pay $114,850 a year, May 2025 People employed 53,070 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs +4.2% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Run preflight checks on print files in Adobe InDesign - Set storyboard timing for television in Adobe After Effects - Present final layouts to clients in Microsoft PowerPoint - Negotiate print quotes with printers and estimators - Hire and coach layout staff for print production - Direct custom illustration style in Adobe Illustrator ## Safer roles nearby 5 related occupations with lower scores. - [Music producers45 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/producers/) - [Exhibit designers38 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/exhibit-designers/) - [Media programming directors46 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/media-programming-directors/) - [Broadcast technical directors40 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/broadcast-technical-directors/) - [Artists45 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/artists/) ## Questions about art directors and AI Will AI replace art directors? Partly. About 4 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly marking up layouts, writing typography specs and drafting basic layout options. Client meetings, presentations and final sign-off stay with people because they need live judgement and accountability. Which tasks is AI taking over for art directors? Marking up layouts and writing typography instructions is the most exposed task, scoring 62. AI drafts the typography specs and markup, so the art director mainly reviews the output. Storyboard frames, scoring 55, can be drafted by image AI, while the director still sets the timing. Which art director tasks stay human? Attending photo shoots and press runs scores 5 on exposure because it needs physical presence on set and on press. Hiring and coaching staff, scoring 12, relies on people skills and accountability. Negotiating with printers, scoring 18, is live and relational, so AI only helps compare quotes. How can art directors stay valuable as AI takes over tasks? Use Figma and PowerPoint to build the client brief and presentation approach, then present final layouts yourself. Run preflight checks in Adobe InDesign and sign off each print file. Keep storyboard timing and final typography calls in Adobe After Effects and InDesign, since they need your judgement. Stay on press runs and photo shoots in person. ## Related jobs - [Graphic designers61 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/graphic-designers/) - [Animators55 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/animators/) - [Project managers53 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/project-managers/) - [Writers65 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/writers/) ## Next steps for art directors - ### Check your job Your job title is a rough guide. Your actual tasks decide your score. Paste your job description or CV and see which of your tasks AI can do. [Check your job](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/ai-exposure-checker/) [Check your CV](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/cv-checker/) ### Check which roles in your team AI can take on We map your team's tasks, show what AI can do today and build the automations that pay back first. [Book an AI audit](https://www.aigentcy.com/audit/) ## Related topics - [**Jobs AI can't replace**Cement masons score lowest, at 8.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-ai-cant-replace/) - [**Jobs most at risk from AI**Proofreaders score highest, at 76.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-most-exposed-to-ai/) - [**High-paying jobs with low AI exposure**Radiologists earn a median $420,860 and score 46.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/high-paying-jobs-low-ai-exposure/) - [**Entry-level jobs with low AI exposure**Cement masons need little prior training and score 8.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/entry-level-jobs-low-ai-exposure/) - [**Jobs AI speeds up the most**For natural sciences managers, AI speeds up 96% of task time.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-ai-speeds-up/) - [**AI and jobs in Malta**15 iGaming roles graded task by task.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/malta/) - [**Skills that keep work human**The skills to build in the jobs AI changes least.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/skills/) - [**Jobs A to Z**Every job we publish, by first letter.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs/) - [**AI exposure by industry**Average scores for 22 occupation groups.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/industries/) - [**Write a CV screening software can read**How applicant tracking systems read a CV, and what to change.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/cv-screening-guide/) - [**AI for businesses**The tasks to automate first in each team and industry.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/) - [**How we score AI exposure**The grading, the weights and every source.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/) Occupation data from the O\*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and modified by Aigentcy. O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Wage, employment and projection data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. EU occupation names from ESCO, European Commission. AI usage signals from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY) and Microsoft Research (CC BY 4.0). [Methodology and sources](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/). Scores © Aigentcy. Quote them with a link to the page.