# Will AI replace novelists? Updated October 2026 Novelists score 63 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 76%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 16% outright, and 8% stays with people. - **16%** AI can do it - **76%** AI helps - **8%** Needs a person High exposure Higher than 94% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 16 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 2 of them today, speeds up 12 and leaves 2 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Prepare works in appropriate format for publication, and send them to publishers or producers. Formatting and portal submissions are routine tasks AI handles. | 68% AI can do it | | Plan project arrangements or outlines, and organize material accordingly. AI produces outlines and reorganizes material readily; writer approves structure. | 66% AI can do it | | Revise written material to meet personal standards and to satisfy needs of clients, publishers, directors, or producers. AI revises to feedback; writer judges what clients actually need. | 62% AI helps | | Adapt text to accommodate musical requirements of composers and singers. Rhythm and syllable fitting suit AI; singer feedback still needed. | 62% AI helps | | Write fiction or nonfiction prose, such as short stories, novels, biographies, articles, descriptive or critical analyses, and essays. AI drafts articles and essays well; author voice still matters. | 58% AI helps | [See what AI can take on across a marketing team](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/marketing/) ## How novelists compare All occupations (923) Arts, design, entertainment, sports and media (40) **Novelists score 63**, 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 $76,910 a year, May 2025 Projected change in jobs \-0.3% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Format manuscripts to publisher specifications in Adobe InDesign - Export submission-ready proofs and PDFs in Adobe Acrobat - Draft and track chapter revisions in Microsoft Word - Fit lyrics to meter and syllables for composers - Run revision meetings with editors and publishers - Verify research through interviews and firsthand sources ## Safer roles nearby 5 related occupations with lower scores. - [Editors59 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/editors/) - [Journalists55 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/journalists/) - [Music producers45 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/producers/) - [Technical writers61 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/technical-writers/) - [Video editors49 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/video-editors/) ## Questions about novelists and AI Will novelists be replaced by AI? Partly. About 5 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly formatting manuscripts for publication and outlining book structure. Choosing subject, voice and emotional truth stays with the writer, along with live readings and book launches. Which novelist tasks is AI taking over? Preparing manuscripts for publishers, exposure 68, is the most exposed task because layout rules and portal submissions follow fixed steps. Planning outlines and reorganizing material, exposure 66, comes next because AI produces chapter structures quickly, and the writer still approves the final structure. Which novelist tasks stay human? Book launches and public readings, exposure 10, need a person in the room. Choosing subject matter and feeling, exposure 30, stays with the writer because it draws on personal experience that AI has not lived through. How can novelists stay valuable? Put your hours where AI is weakest. Conduct interviews and firsthand checks for research, lead revision calls with editors and publishers, and run readings and launches yourself. Use Adobe InDesign and Acrobat to control final files before submission. ## Related jobs - [Writers65 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/writers/) - [Proofreaders76 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/proofreaders/) - [Artists45 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/artists/) - [English professors53 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/english-professors/) ## Next steps for novelists - ### 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.