Will tour guides be replaced by AI?
Updated
Tour guides score 39 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 64%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 3% outright, and 33% stays with people.
- 3% AI can do it
- 64% AI helps
- 33% Needs a person
Moderate exposure
Higher than 51% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 19 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 1 of them today, speeds up 12 and leaves 6 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Perform clerical duties, such as filing, typing, operating switchboards, or routing mail and messages. Filing, typing and mail routing are routine digital work. | 80% AI can do it |
| Research various topics, including site history, environmental conditions, and clients' skills and abilities to plan appropriate expeditions, instruction, and commentary. AI compiles site history and conditions; skill checks stay human. | 65% AI helps |
| Provide directions and other pertinent information to visitors. AI answers directions and facts; on-site help remains human. | 55% AI helps |
| Select travel routes and sites to be visited based on knowledge of specific areas. AI can suggest routes; local conditions need current human knowledge. | 50% AI helps |
| Provide information about wildlife varieties and habitats, as well as any relevant regulations, such as those pertaining to hunting and fishing. AI can answer wildlife and regulation questions; field context matters. | 50% AI helps |
| Collect fees and tickets from group members. Ticketing can be automated online; physical fee collection stays manual. | 50% AI helps |
| Speak foreign languages to communicate with foreign visitors. Translation tools help; natural live conversation still needs fluency. | 45% AI helps |
| Describe tour points of interest to group members, and respond to questions. Live narration and fielding questions needs a person present. | 40% AI helps |
| Distribute brochures, show audiovisual presentations, and explain establishment processes and operations at tour sites. AI drafts presentation content; live explanation stays with the guide. | 40% AI helps |
| Train other guides and volunteers. AI drafts training materials; live coaching needs a trainer. | 40% AI helps |
Show the other 9 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Solicit tour patronage and sell souvenirs. AI writes promotional copy; direct selling stays human. | 40% AI helps |
| Greet and register visitors, and issue any required identification badges or safety devices. Registration paperwork is automatable; greeting and badges stay in person. | 35% AI helps |
| Conduct educational activities for school children. Live teaching with kids is human; AI drafts lesson materials. | 30% AI helps |
| Monitor visitors' activities to ensure compliance with establishment or tour regulations and safety practices. Watching crowds and enforcing rules is physical and situational. | 12% Needs a person |
| Assemble and check the required supplies and equipment prior to departure. Physically packing and checking gear needs a person. | 10% Needs a person |
| Escort individuals or groups on cruises, sightseeing tours, or through places of interest, such as industrial establishments, public buildings, or art galleries. Physical escorting of people through sites needs human presence. | 8% Needs a person |
| Teach skills, such as proper climbing methods, and demonstrate and advise on the use of equipment. Demonstrating climbing technique and gear use requires physical skill. | 8% Needs a person |
| Provide for physical safety of groups, performing such activities as providing first aid or directing emergency evacuations. Emergency first aid and evacuations require physical presence and training. | 5% Needs a person |
| Drive motor vehicles to transport visitors to establishments and tour site locations. Driving passengers on routes needs a licensed human driver. | 5% Needs a person |
How tour guides compare
All occupations (923)
Personal care and service (31)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Projected change in jobs
- +6.3% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Run group headcounts and fee collection in Microsoft Excel
- Write itineraries and site briefings in Microsoft Word
- Deliver on-site first aid and evacuation drills with current certification
- Check tour supplies and equipment before each departure
- Monitor group compliance with site safety rules on the walk
- Drive or escort groups through venues in person
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about tour guides and AI
Will AI replace tour guides?
Partly. About 3 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly clerical filing and routing, plus answering visitor questions about directions and facts. Leading groups through sites, keeping people safe and reading the room stay with people.
Which tasks is AI taking over for tour guides?
Clerical work scores highest, with an exposure of 80 for filing, typing and mail routing, since these are routine digital tasks. Research also scores 65, because AI can compile site history and environmental conditions, and it can answer visitor directions at an exposure of 55.
Which tour guide tasks stay human?
Physical safety has an exposure of 5, because first aid and evacuations need a trained person on site. Monitoring visitor behavior scores 12, since watching crowds and enforcing rules is physical and situational. Assembling equipment before departure scores 10 for the same reason.
How can tour guides stay valuable as AI takes on research?
Use AI to draft site histories and route options, then check them against current on-site conditions yourself. Hold a first aid certification, keep your driving or escort licence current, and build skill in leading live groups through galleries, plants and public buildings.
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