# Will AI replace artists? Updated October 2026 Artists score 45 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 59%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 11% outright, and 30% stays with people. - **11%** AI can do it - **59%** AI helps - **30%** Needs a person Moderate exposure Higher than 63% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 28 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 3 of them today, speeds up 15 and leaves 10 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Market artwork through brochures, mailings, or Web sites. Marketing copy and web pages are routine drafting AI handles. | 70% AI can do it | | Develop project budgets for approval, estimating time lines and material costs. Estimating timelines and costs from specs is structured work AI handles. | 62% AI can do it | | Create finished art work as decoration, or to elucidate or substitute for spoken or written messages. Image generators can produce decorative and illustrative work with light review. | 62% AI can do it | | Submit artwork to shows or galleries. Statements and forms draft easily; venue choice needs artist judgement. | 60% AI helps | | Create and prepare sketches and model drawings of cartoon characters, providing details from memory, live models, manufactured products, or reference materials. Image models can draft character sketches; artist refines style and details. | 60% AI helps | ## How artists compare All occupations (923) Arts, design, entertainment, sports and media (40) **Artists score 45**, 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 $55,490 a year, May 2025 People employed 11,220 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs \-2.9% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Model clay and wax manually with small sculpting tools - Carve and fabricate stone, wood, and metal in the studio - Refine AI character sketches in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator - Frame and mat finished artwork for display and sale - Apply solvent cleaning to paintings and remove deteriorated varnish - Assemble gallery submission portfolios as PDFs in Adobe Acrobat ## Safer roles nearby 5 related occupations with lower scores. - [Craft artists39 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/craft-artists/) - [Engravers19 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/engravers/) - [Exhibit designers38 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/exhibit-designers/) - [Photographers43 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/photographers/) - [Industrial painters16 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/industrial-painters/) ## Questions about artists and AI Will artists be replaced by AI? Partly. About 3 in 10 of an artist's working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly marketing copy and budget estimating. Hands-on making, such as modeling clay and carving stone, stays with the artist. Will AI take over art? AI can already do 11% of the task time in art and speeds up another 59%. People still do 30% of it. The US has 11,220 artist jobs, with a projected change of -2.9% from 2024 to 2034. Which artist tasks is AI taking over? Marketing copy, budget estimates, and decorative illustration are the tasks AI takes over first. Marketing artwork through brochures, mailings, and websites scores 70 on exposure because drafting that copy is routine. Budget estimates built from timelines and material specs score 62, and image generators handle decorative pieces with light review. Which artist tasks stay human? Physical making stays with people, and the lowest exposure scores in this job show why. Modeling clay or wax manually scores 4, and carving stone, wood, or metal scores 5, because both need hands and tools in the studio. Framing and matting finished work also scores 5, and solvent cleaning of paintings scores 6 because it is delicate conservation work. How can artists stay valuable? Keep the making in your hands and let AI handle the paperwork around it. Draft gallery submissions and marketing copy with AI, then choose venues and refine character sketches in Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator yourself. Study techniques with AI, then practice them in the studio, since that practice needs personal making. ## Related jobs - [Animators55 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/animators/) - [Graphic designers61 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/graphic-designers/) - [Art directors50 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/art-directors/) - [Painters18 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/painters/) ## Next steps for artists - ### 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.