# Will AI replace technical writers? Updated October 2026 Technical writers score 61 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 29% outright, and 12% stays with people. - **29%** AI can do it - **59%** AI helps - **12%** Needs a person High exposure Higher than 93% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 15 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 4 of them today, speeds up 9 and leaves 2 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Edit, standardize, or make changes to material prepared by other writers or establishment personnel. LLMs edit, restyle, and standardize text quickly against style guides. | 72% AI can do it | | Maintain records and files of work and revisions. Software handles version logs and file records well. | 70% AI can do it | | Organize material and complete writing assignment according to set standards regarding order, clarity, conciseness, style, and terminology. AI drafts and structures text, writer verifies technical accuracy. | 65% AI can do it | | Develop or maintain online help documentation. LLMs draft and update help topics, writers check accuracy. | 65% AI can do it | | Review manufacturer's and trade catalogs, drawings and other data relative to operation, maintenance, and service of equipment. AI summarizes catalogs and manuals well, diagrams need checking. | 60% AI helps | [See what AI can take on across a marketing team](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/marketing/) ## How technical writers compare All occupations (923) Arts, design, entertainment, sports and media (40) **Technical writers score 61**, 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 $90,390 a year, May 2025 People employed 45,500 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs +0.8% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Observe live production on site before drafting procedures - Verify procedure diagrams against equipment drawings in AutoCAD - Model assembly sequences and checks in Dassault SolidWorks - Build and maintain online help topics in Atlassian Confluence - Track revisions and approvals in Atlassian JIRA - Lay out print-ready manuals in Adobe InDesign ## Safer roles nearby 5 related occupations with lower scores. - [Project managers53 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/project-managers/) - [Editors59 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/editors/) - [Management consultants55 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/management-consultants/) - [Electrical drafters51 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/electrical-drafters/) - [Industrial engineers55 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/industrial-engineers/) ## Questions about technical writers and AI Will technical writers be replaced by AI? Partly. About 5 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, led by editing other writers' material and maintaining revision records. Site observation and customer or vendor negotiations stay with the writer. Will AI take over technical writing? AI can already do 29% of the task time in technical writing and speeds up another 59%. People still do 12% of it. The US has 45,500 technical writer jobs, with a projected change of +0.8% from 2024 to 2034. Which technical writing tasks is AI taking over? Editing other writers' material scores 72 on exposure, the highest in the list, because language models restyle text against a style guide in seconds. Maintaining revision and file records follows at 70, since software keeps version logs well. Online help topics score 65 and get drafted by AI while the writer checks accuracy. Which technical writing tasks stay human? Observing production and experimental activities on site, and conferring with customers, vendors and plant executives on specifications. Observation needs physical presence on the line, and live negotiation decides what the manual must cover. Writers keep both because the facts sit on the production floor and in client meetings. How can technical writers stay valuable? Take responsibility for the site visits that set procedure detail, since they need physical presence. Check every AI-drafted step against drawings in AutoCAD or SolidWorks. Keep revision approvals clean in Atlassian JIRA and publish help topics in Confluence. Use InDesign for final layout, where visual judgment still counts. ## Related jobs - [Proofreaders76 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/proofreaders/) - [Data scientists67 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/data-scientists/) - [Writers65 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/writers/) - [UX designers66 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/ux-designers/) ## Next steps for technical writers - ### 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.