# Will AI replace editors? Updated October 2026 Editors score 59 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 53%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 19% outright, and 28% stays with people. - **19%** AI can do it - **53%** AI helps - **28%** Needs a person High exposure Higher than 89% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 21 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 3 of them today, speeds up 12 and leaves 6 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Read copy or proof to detect and correct errors in spelling, punctuation, and syntax. AI catches spelling, punctuation and syntax errors reliably; person spot checks. | 90% AI can do it | | Prepare, rewrite and edit copy to improve readability, or supervise others who do this work. AI rewrites copy for clarity and readability well; quick review needed. | 75% AI can do it | | Write text, such as stories, articles, editorials, or newsletters. AI drafts articles and newsletters well; editors review and polish. | 70% AI can do it | | Verify facts, dates, and statistics, using standard reference sources. AI speeds fact checks but editors must verify sources. | 60% AI helps | | Select local, state, national, and international news items received from wire services, based on assessment of items' significance and interest value. AI ranks wire items by relevance; significance calls stay human. | 60% AI helps | [See what AI can take on across a marketing team](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/marketing/) ## How editors compare All occupations (923) Arts, design, entertainment, sports and media (40) **Editors score 59**, 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 $77,920 a year, May 2025 People employed 91,690 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs \-1.1% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Proof copy for spelling, punctuation and syntax in Microsoft Word - Verify facts and statistics against primary reference sources - Publish and revise stories in a content management system - Run layout handoffs in Adobe InDesign with artists and production managers - Assign stories to writers and set news placement calls ## Safer roles nearby 5 related occupations with lower scores. - [Video editors49 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/video-editors/) - [Journalists55 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/journalists/) - [Music producers45 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/producers/) - [Art directors50 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/art-directors/) - [Media programming directors46 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/media-programming-directors/) ## Questions about editors and AI Will editors be replaced by AI? Partly. About 4 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly proofreading and rewriting copy. Assigning stories, hiring writers and supervising staff stay with people because they need live judgment and trust. Which editor tasks is AI taking over? Proofreading is the most exposed task, with an exposure score of 90, because AI catches spelling, punctuation and syntax errors reliably. Rewriting copy for readability scores 75, and drafting articles and newsletters scores 70, so editors increasingly review and polish machine drafts. Which editor tasks stay with humans? Directing departments, hiring writers and supervising staff score between 10 and 15 on exposure. These stay with people because they depend on trust, live feedback and editorial judgment about what gets published and where it runs. How can editors stay valuable as AI grows? Move time from proofreading toward verification and judgment. Verify facts against primary sources and log each source for every story. Lead news placement and assignment calls, where the decision stays with people. Run Adobe InDesign and CMS publishing workflows end to end, and use AI first-pass checks in Microsoft Word before a final read. ## Related jobs - [Proofreaders76 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/proofreaders/) - [Novelists63 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/novelists/) - [Writers65 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/writers/) - [Technical writers61 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/technical-writers/) ## Next steps for editors - ### 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/) - ### Flotta for content and SEO Flotta is our SEO and content platform. AI does the research, drafting and publishing steps, and an editor approves what goes live. [See Flotta](https://www.flotta.ai/) ### 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.