# Will AI replace translators? Updated October 2026 Translators score 64 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 60%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 24% outright, and 16% stays with people. - **24%** AI can do it - **60%** AI helps - **16%** Needs a person High exposure Higher than 95% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 17 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 4 of them today, speeds up 10 and leaves 3 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Proofread, edit, and revise translated materials. AI proofreads and revises translations well with light human review. | 82% AI can do it | | Read written materials, such as legal documents, scientific works, or news reports, and rewrite material into specified languages. Machine translation handles written text well, with human review for accuracy. | 78% AI can do it | | Refer to reference materials, such as dictionaries, lexicons, encyclopedias, and computerized terminology banks, as needed to ensure translation accuracy. AI assistants answer lookup questions instantly, though sources need checking. | 75% AI can do it | | Check translations of technical terms and terminology to ensure that they are accurate and remain consistent throughout translation revisions. Consistency checks suit AI and CAT tools well, with expert approval. | 70% AI can do it | | Compile terminology and information to be used in translations, including technical terms such as those for legal or medical material. LLMs draft glossaries quickly, but experts must verify specialized terms. | 65% AI helps | ## How translators compare All occupations (923) Arts, design, entertainment, sports and media (40) **Translators score 64**, 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 $60,170 a year, May 2025 People employed 52,060 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs +2.0% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Post-edit machine translation drafts in Microsoft Word - Build specialist glossaries in Microsoft Excel and verify terms - Hold American Translators Association certification in your language pair - Interpret live consecutive and simultaneous sessions in person - Adapt software strings and HTML files to target culture ## Safer roles nearby 5 related occupations with lower scores. - [Speech-language pathologists39 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/speech-language-pathologists/) - [Foreign language professors53 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/foreign-language-professors/) - [Speech-language pathology assistants43 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/speech-language-pathology-assistants/) - [Adult education teachers45 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/adult-education-teachers/) - [English professors53 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/english-professors/) ## Questions about translators and AI Will translators be replaced by AI? Partly. About 5 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly proofreading and revising translated text and rewriting written material. Live interpreting, cultural judgement and confidentiality duties stay with people. Will AI take over translation jobs? AI can already do 24% of the task time in translation and speeds up another 60%. People still do 16% of it. The US has 52,060 translator jobs, with a projected change of +2.0% from 2024 to 2034. Which translator tasks is AI taking over? Proofreading and revising translated materials is the most exposed task, with an exposure score of 82, because AI now revises text well with light human review. Rewriting legal, scientific or news text into another language follows at 78, since machine translation handles written text well. AI assistants also answer dictionary and terminology lookups instantly, though the sources still need checking. Which translator tasks stay human? Live interpreting stays with people, with an exposure score of 30, because machine speech translation helps but live human interpreting remains essential. Guiding tourists scores 12, since it needs a person physically present with the traveller. Accountability for client confidentiality scores 15, because the duty sits with the professional and a software tool carries no legal responsibility. How can translators stay valuable as AI improves? Post-edit machine output in your CAT tool and take responsibility for the sign-off on legal or medical terms. Build specialist glossaries in Microsoft Excel and check each term with a subject expert. Hold the ATA certification in your language pair, and sell live interpreting, mentoring and cultural adaptation work. ## Related jobs - [Tutors57 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/tutors/) - [Proofreaders76 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/proofreaders/) - [High school teachers41 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/high-school-teachers/) - [Technical writers61 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/technical-writers/) ## Next steps for translators - ### 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/) ### 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.