Will curators be replaced by AI?
Updated
Curators score 50 of 100 for AI exposure. 44% of their task time still needs a person. AI can do 16% today and speed up another 40%.
- 16% AI can do it
- 40% AI helps
- 44% Needs a person
High exposure
Higher than 75% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 15 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 2 of them today, speeds up 7 and leaves 6 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Develop and maintain an institution's registration, cataloging, and basic record-keeping systems, using computer databases. Cataloging and database entry are highly digital, easy to automate. | 75% AI can do it |
| Write and review grant proposals, journal articles, institutional reports, and publicity materials. AI drafts grant and report text; curator finalizes the content. | 70% AI helps |
| Provide information from the institution's holdings to other curators and to the public. AI can answer routine collection queries from records; experts verify. | 60% AI can do it |
| Plan and conduct special research projects in area of interest or expertise. AI speeds literature review and synthesis; researcher leads the project. | 55% AI helps |
| Arrange insurance coverage for objects on loan or for special exhibits and recommend changes in coverage for the entire collection. AI compares policies and drafts valuations; insurers and staff decide. | 40% AI helps |
| Schedule events and organize details, including refreshment, entertainment, decorations, and the collection of any fees. Scheduling and vendor lists get AI help; setup stays manual. | 40% AI helps |
| Plan and organize the acquisition, storage, and exhibition of collections and related materials, including the selection of exhibition themes and designs, and develop or install exhibit materials. Planning gets AI help; physical installation remains hands-on work. | 35% AI helps |
| Design, organize, or conduct tours, workshops, and instructional or educational sessions to acquaint individuals with an institution's facilities and materials. AI helps build lesson materials; live guiding stays with people. | 30% AI helps |
| Establish specifications for reproductions and oversee their manufacture or select items from commercially available replica sources. AI drafts specifications; physical sourcing and oversight stay human. | 30% AI helps |
| Study, examine, and test acquisitions to authenticate their origin, composition, history, and to assess their current value. Physical testing needs lab work; AI only aids provenance research. | 20% Needs a person |
Show the other 5 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Confer with the board of directors to formulate and interpret policies, to determine budget requirements, and to plan overall operations. AI drafts budget papers; board decisions need human accountability. | 18% Needs a person |
| Negotiate and authorize purchase, sale, exchange, or loan of collections. Deal negotiation and legal authorization need human judgement and accountability. | 15% Needs a person |
| Train and supervise curatorial, fiscal, technical, research, and clerical staff, as well as volunteers or interns. Supervising and coaching people is interpersonal and accountable work. | 12% Needs a person |
| Inspect premises to assess the need for repairs and to ensure that climate and pest control issues are addressed. Premises inspection and pest checks need physical presence on site. | 10% Needs a person |
| Attend meetings, conventions, and civic events to promote use of institution's services, to seek financing, and to maintain community alliances. Networking and civic presence in person; little AI substitution possible. | 8% Needs a person |
How curators compare
All occupations (923)
Educational instruction and library (62)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $63,420 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 12,150 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +4.9% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Build and audit catalog records in Microsoft Access
- Write grant proposals and institutional reports in Microsoft Word
- Run provenance and authentication research on acquisitions
- Negotiate loan and purchase terms for collection objects
- Supervise interns and volunteers on collection and premises work
- Produce exhibit layouts in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about curators and AI
Will AI replace curators?
Partly. About 3 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly cataloging and record-keeping systems and drafting grant proposals and institutional reports. Research, public enquiries that need expert judgement, and supervising staff stay with people.
Which curator tasks is AI taking over?
Cataloging and record-keeping scores 75 out of 100 on exposure, the highest of any curator task. Structured database fields are easy for AI to fill and check. Routine collection queries from the public score 60, and AI can answer them from the records while experts verify the answers.
Which curator tasks stay human?
Negotiating loans and purchases scores just 15 on exposure, because it needs human judgement and legal accountability. Training and supervising staff scores 12, since coaching people is interpersonal work. Premises inspection scores 10, because someone must be physically on site to check repairs, climate and pests.
How can curators stay valuable?
Take responsibility for the physical testing and authentication of acquisitions, which AI only supports through provenance research. Learn Microsoft Access and SAS so you can query and audit the collection database yourself. Lead loan negotiations and insurance valuations, where a named person signs and carries the liability. Check every AI-drafted grant or report against the holdings before it goes out.
Related jobs
Next steps for curators
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.
Related topics
- Jobs AI can't replaceCement masons score lowest, at 8.
- Jobs most at risk from AIProofreaders score highest, at 76.
- High-paying jobs with low AI exposureRadiologists earn a median $420,860 and score 46.
- Entry-level jobs with low AI exposureCement masons need little prior training and score 8.
- Jobs AI speeds up the mostFor natural sciences managers, AI speeds up 96% of task time.
- AI and jobs in Malta15 iGaming roles graded task by task.
- Skills that keep work humanThe skills to build in the jobs AI changes least.
- Jobs A to ZEvery job we publish, by first letter.
- AI exposure by industryAverage scores for 22 occupation groups.
- Write a CV screening software can readHow applicant tracking systems read a CV, and what to change.
- AI for businessesThe tasks to automate first in each team and industry.
- How we score AI exposureThe grading, the weights and every source.