# AI in media and publishing: which tasks to automate first Updated October 2026 Across the 1.1 million US jobs in media and publishing, the work scores 51 of 100 for AI exposure, weighted by how many people do each job. AI can take on about 811 hours a year per full-time person, 41% of a working year. The task that frees the most hours across the industry is to prepare reports or correspondence concerning project specifications, about 114 hours a year for each person who does it. AI exposure, weighted by employment 51 out of 100 High exposure Hours AI can take on 811 hours a year per full-time person Task time AI can do today 18% AI speeds up another 60% ## Tasks to automate first The 15 tasks where AI can take on the most hours across media and publishing: how exposed each task is, how much of the job it takes and how many people do that job. Hours are per person in the role that does the task. [How we score each task](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/). | Task and who does it | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Prepare reports or correspondence concerning project specifications, activities, or status. Status reports and specification write-ups are routine writing AI handles well. Done by software developers. | 78% AI can do it 114 hours a year for each person in the role | | Develop or direct software system testing or validation procedures, programming, or documentation. AI drafts test cases, validation scripts and docs; engineer directs and approves. Done by software developers. | 65% AI helps 101 hours a year for each person in the role | | Store, retrieve, and manipulate data for analysis of system capabilities and requirements. Querying, transforming and retrieving data is routine digital work AI scripts handle. Done by software developers, software testers, computer hardware engineers. | 68% AI can do it 97 hours a year for each person in the role | | Modify existing software to correct errors, adapt it to new hardware, or upgrade interfaces and improve performance. Coding assistants draft most fixes; developer still verifies hardware and integration. Done by software developers. | 65% AI helps 97 hours a year for each person in the role | | Read copy or proof to detect and correct errors in spelling, punctuation, and syntax. AI catches spelling, punctuation and syntax errors reliably; person spot checks. Done by editors. | 90% AI can do it 120 hours a year for each person in the role | ## What stays with people 22% of the task time across these roles needs a person, and the output of the rest still needs someone to check it. The tasks below take the most of that time. - **18%** AI can do it - **60%** AI helps - **22%** Needs a person - Direct live broadcasts, films and recordings, or non-broadcast programming for public entertainment or education. Music producers, 12% exposed - Supervise and coordinate the work of camera, lighting, design, and sound crew members. Music producers, 12% exposed - Greet patrons attending entertainment events. Ushers, 5% exposed - Sell or collect admission tickets, passes, or facility memberships from patrons at entertainment events. Ushers, 15% exposed - Resolve personnel problems that arise during the production process by acting as liaisons between dissenting parties when necessary. Music producers, 8% exposed ## Adoption path Start with the tasks where AI helps a person, then automate the routine ones, then give whole workflows to agents with a person approving the output. 1. ### Quick wins Editors and producers get research, transcripts, summaries and headline options from an approved assistant. Example: Develop or direct software system testing or validation procedures. AI helps with 65% of the time. [AI governance](https://www.aigentcy.com/services/ai-governance/) 2. ### Workflow automation Transcription, captioning, metadata tagging and syndication run as automations. Example: Prepare reports or correspondence concerning project specifications. AI can do 78% of it. [Process automation](https://www.aigentcy.com/services/process-automation/) 3. ### Agents An agent drafts routine stories from data feeds, and an editor approves each one before it goes out. 9 of the 15 tasks on this page are ones AI can do end to end, the work an agent takes on. [Private AI](https://www.aigentcy.com/services/private-ai/) ## Teams in this industry The business functions in media and publishing, by share of the workforce, with each one's exposure. 1. [Marketing and content, 17.9% of the workforce, score **58**](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/marketing/) 2. [IT and software, 12.6% of the workforce, score **58**](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/it/) 3. [Operations and admin, 10.7% of the workforce, score **52**](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/operations/) 4. [Sales, 10.2% of the workforce, score **60**](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/sales/) 5. [Finance and accounting, 3.3% of the workforce, score **59**](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/finance/) ## Roles in media and publishing The 20 largest roles, each linked to its task-by-task score. Shares come from the BLS industry staffing estimates, May 2025. Of the roles with at least 2% of the jobs, sales representatives of services score highest at 66, ushers lowest at 24. 1. [Music producers, 7.7% of the workforce, score **45** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/producers/) 2. [Software developers, 7.2% of the workforce, score **59** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/software-developers/) 3. [Ushers, 4.8% of the workforce, score **24** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/ushers/) 4. [Editors, 4.7% of the workforce, score **59** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/editors/) 5. [General managers, 3.9% of the workforce, score **44** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/general-managers/) 6. [Sales representatives of services, 3.6% of the workforce, score **66** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/sales-representatives-of-services/) 7. [Digital marketers, 3.5% of the workforce, score **62** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/digital-marketers/) 8. [Journalists, 3.3% of the workforce, score **55** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/journalists/) 9. [Advertising sales agents, 3.3% of the workforce, score **61** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/advertising-sales-agents/) 10. [Actors, 1.8% of the workforce, score **29** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/actors/) 11. [Customer service representatives, 1.7% of the workforce, score **74** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/customer-service-representatives/) 12. [Marketing managers, 1.6% of the workforce, score **55** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/marketing-managers/) 13. [Radio presenters, 1.6% of the workforce, score **56** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/radio-presenters/) 14. [Video editors, 1.6% of the workforce, score **49** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/video-editors/) 15. [Broadcast technicians, 1.5% of the workforce, score **47** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/broadcast-technicians/) 16. [IT managers, 1.5% of the workforce, score **50** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/it-managers/) 17. [Secretaries, 1.4% of the workforce, score **66** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/secretaries/) 18. [Office clerks, 1.3% of the workforce, score **60** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/office-clerks/) 19. [Sales managers, 1.3% of the workforce, score **45** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/sales-managers/) 20. [Graphic designers, 1.3% of the workforce, score **61** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/graphic-designers/) ## Questions about AI in media and publishing Which tasks should a media company automate first? The first task to automate is to prepare reports or correspondence concerning project specifications (78% exposed). Next come the tasks to develop or direct software system testing or validation procedures (65%) and to store, retrieve, and manipulate data for analysis of system capabilities and requirements (68%). Together they free the most hours across the industry. How many hours can AI save a media company? About 811 hours a year per full-time person, 41% of a 2,000-hour working year. For a team of 10 that is about 8,110 hours, the time of 4.1 full-time people. The figure is the share of task time AI can remove today, weighted by how many people do each job. Which roles in a media company are most exposed to AI? Of the roles with at least 2% of the jobs, sales representatives of services score highest, at 66 of 100, and ushers lowest, at 24. Each role's page lists its tasks one by one. Will AI replace jobs in media and publishing? AI can do 18% of the task time across these roles today. Another 60% gets faster with AI while a person stays in charge. 22% needs a person. One task that stays with people is to direct live broadcasts. Where should a media company start with AI? With the quick wins: approved assistants for the tasks AI helps with, under a written AI policy. Then automate the 9 tasks on this page AI can do end to end. An AI audit maps the tasks in your team and ranks them the same way this page does. ## Next steps - [AI content quality at volume: expertise in, drafts out](https://www.aigentcy.com/blog/ai-generated-content-quality/) ### Find the tasks to automate first in your team We map the tasks in your business, score each one the way this page does and build the automations that pay back first. [Book an AI audit](https://www.aigentcy.com/audit/) 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.