Will AI replace instructional designers?
Updated
Instructional designers score 58 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 82%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 16% outright, and 2% stays with people.
- 16% AI can do it
- 82% AI helps
- 2% Needs a person
High exposure
Higher than 88% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 20 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 3 of them today, speeds up 16 and leaves 1 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Obtain, organize, or develop training procedure manuals, guides, or course materials, such as handouts or visual materials. Drafting manuals and course materials is strong AI territory. | 80% AI can do it |
| Schedule classes based on availability of classrooms, equipment, or instructors. Scheduling software handles room and instructor availability well. | 70% AI can do it |
| Monitor training costs and prepare budget reports to justify expenditures. Budget tracking and report drafting are highly automatable. | 65% AI can do it |
| Keep up with developments in area of expertise by reading current journals, books, or magazine articles. AI summarizes articles quickly; the learner still judges relevance. | 62% AI helps |
| Monitor, evaluate, or record training activities or program effectiveness. AI can log and analyze results; person judges effectiveness. | 60% AI helps |
| Evaluate training materials prepared by instructors, such as outlines, text, or handouts. AI can check clarity and accuracy of training text. | 60% AI helps |
| Evaluate modes of training delivery, such as in-person or virtual, to optimize training effectiveness, training costs, or environmental impacts. AI can compare delivery costs and impacts from data. | 50% AI helps |
| Design, plan, organize, or direct orientation and training programs for employees or customers. AI drafts program designs; leaders direct and approve plans. | 50% AI helps |
| Assess training needs through surveys, interviews with employees, focus groups, or consultation with managers, instructors, or customer representatives. AI can draft and analyze surveys; interviews stay human. | 45% AI helps |
| Develop alternative training methods if expected improvements are not seen. AI can suggest alternative methods; choosing needs human judgement. | 45% AI helps |
Show the other 10 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Develop or implement training programs related to efficiency, recycling, or other issues with environmental impacts. AI can draft environmental training content; rollout needs people. | 45% AI helps |
| Coordinate recruitment and placement of training program participants. Outreach and tracking can be automated; coordination needs people. | 40% AI helps |
| Offer specific training programs to help workers maintain or improve job skills. Program delivery is human led; AI assists with content prep. | 35% AI helps |
| Present information with a variety of instructional techniques or formats, such as role playing, simulations, team exercises, group discussions, videos, or lectures. Live facilitation stays human; AI helps prepare materials. | 30% AI helps |
| Devise programs to develop executive potential among employees in lower-level positions. Identifying leadership potential relies on human judgement and context. | 30% AI helps |
| Select and assign instructors to conduct training. Matching instructors to needs involves judgement about people. | 30% AI helps |
| Supervise, evaluate, or refer instructors to skill development classes. AI can summarize instructor feedback; supervision stays human. | 30% AI helps |
| Attend meetings or seminars to obtain information for use in training programs or to inform management of training program status. Attending meetings is human; status reports can be AI drafted. | 25% AI helps |
| Negotiate contracts with clients for desired training outcomes, fees, or expenses. AI can prep contract terms; live negotiation remains human. | 22% AI helps |
| Refer trainees to employer relations representatives, to locations offering job placement assistance, or to appropriate social services agencies, if warranted. Referral judgement about trainees is human; AI lists resources. | 18% Needs a person |
How instructional designers compare
All occupations (923)
Business and financial operations (48)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $69,280 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 458,300 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +10.8% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Run needs analysis interviews with department managers before drafting
- Build training cost reports and ROI models in Microsoft Excel
- Publish and track courses in a learning management system LMS
- Plan project timelines and milestones in Microsoft Project
- Facilitate live sessions with role plays, simulations and group discussions
- Hold the ATD Certified Professional in Learning and Performance credential
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about instructional designers and AI
Will instructional designers be replaced by AI?
Partly. About 5 in 10 working hours of an instructional designer's job go to tasks AI can already do, mostly drafting course materials and scheduling classes. Facilitation, contract negotiation, and choosing which instructors teach stay with people because they need judgement about people in the room.
Which tasks is AI taking over for instructional designers?
Drafting training manuals, handouts and course materials carries the highest exposure at 80, since AI can produce visual materials from an outline. Scheduling classes against room and instructor availability scores 70, and budget tracking with report drafting scores 65.
Which tasks stay human for instructional designers?
Referring trainees to placement or social services scores lowest at 18, because it depends on judgement about a person's circumstances. Negotiating contracts with clients scores 22, since live negotiation remains with the designer. Selecting instructors and devising executive development programs score 30, because matching people to needs takes human judgement.
How can instructional designers stay valuable?
Keep the tasks that need judgement. Run needs analysis interviews before any course is drafted, facilitate live sessions, and measure whether training changed performance. Use the LMS and Excel to track results, and hold the ATD CPLP credential to back your method.
Related jobs
Next steps for instructional designers
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.