Will AI replace editors?

Unlikely, though parts of the work are changing. About 1h 57m of an 8-hour shift goes to tasks touched by AI working on its own. The other 6h 3m (76%) stays with people. Separately, BLS expects about 1.1% fewer of these jobs by 2035 (all jobs: +3.5%).

AI shows up regularly in 4 of 21 tasks, about 1h 57m of a typical shift. The biggest ones:

• Prepare, rewrite and edit copy to improve readability, or supervise others who do this work. (59m a shift, AI mostly does it alone)
• Develop story or content ideas, considering reader or audience appeal. (41m a shift, AI mostly does it alone)
• Review and approve proofs submitted by composing room prior to publication production. (12m a shift, AI mostly does it alone)
• Make manuscript acceptance or revision recommendations to the publisher. (6m a shift, AI mostly does it alone)

6h 3m of a typical shift, or 76%, goes to tasks with no AI or robot evidence yet. No AI usage or robot deployment has shown up for these so far. The biggest:

• Read copy or proof to detect and correct errors in spelling, punctuation, and syntax. (1h 4m a shift)
• Read, evaluate and edit manuscripts or other materials submitted for publication, and confer with authors regarding changes in content, style or organization, or publication. (1h 4m a shift)
• Write text, such as stories, articles, editorials, or newsletters. (35m a shift)
• Supervise and coordinate work of reporters and other editors. (35m a shift)
• Verify facts, dates, and statistics, using standard reference sources. (29m a shift)

Much of it comes down to where and how the work happens. In-person, hands-on and high-stakes work is where AI and robots have made the least headway so far. In the official O*NET survey of people in this job:

• 83% talk face to face with others every day
• 60% are in constant contact with other people
• 59% say dealing with the public is very or extremely important

We track 2 sourced company moves that affect this job, including at least one pullback. Most recent:

• May 29, 2025: Business Insider cuts 21% of staff while fully embracing AI (Rolling out)
• May 20, 2025: Chicago Sun-Times apologizes for AI reading list with fake books (Pulled back)

For the 3 tasks in this job where AI shows up and timing data exists, a typical request takes about 6h 6m for a person alone and about 45m with AI. These are Claude's own estimates from real conversations in April and May 2026 (Anthropic Economic Index). They describe single requests, not whole workdays, and time saved on a task doesn't mean jobs are cut. The biggest gaps:

• Make manuscript acceptance or revision recommendations to the publisher (about 8h 7m alone, 45m with AI)
• Develop story or content ideas, considering reader or audience appeal (about 6h 6m alone, 59m with AI)
• Prepare, rewrite and edit copy to improve readability, or supervise others who do this work (about 3h 4m alone, 35m with AI)

On Indeed, job postings in the Media & Communications sector are at 69% of their February 2020 level (all U.S. postings: 104%), up 6.8% from a year earlier, as of Oct 9, 2026. BLS separately expects about 7,900 openings a year in this job through 2035. Across all U.S. postings, 7.3% now mention AI skills. Sector postings cover more than this one job and move for many reasons besides AI.

The median pay is about $77,920 a year ($37.46 an hour), 53% above the median for all U.S. jobs ($50,980). Most people in this job earn between $41,250 and $153,700 a year; that range covers the middle 80%. Pay figures are from BLS, May 2025, and vary a lot by state and employer. Pick a state to compare:

BLS projects a decline of 1.1% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% growth for all jobs. That's about 104,000 jobs in 2035. Even so, it expects about 7,900 openings a year, mostly from people retiring or changing careers. These projections don't single out AI as a cause.

About 92,000 people in the U.S., roughly 0.06% of all workers (BLS, May 2025). That makes it the 290th largest of the 796 jobs on this site. BLS expects about 104,000 in 2035.

The most common requirement is a bachelor's degree: about 80% of people in the job said so in the official O*NET survey. O*NET rates the job at level 4 of 5 for preparation, which usually means: bachelor's degree. Requirements vary by state and employer, especially for licensed work.

These come from the job's official skill ratings and from the tasks that AI and robots touch least today. Building them keeps you strong in the parts of the work that still need a person:

• Skills that matter more here than in most jobs: Reading Comprehension, Writing, Quality Control Analysis, Time Management
• Get strong at the parts of the job that stay with people (listed above), which take 6h 3m of a typical shift
• Tools employers list: Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Excel
• Learn to use AI well on the tasks where it already shows up in this job (listed above)

Yes. Occupational experts recently added these to the official task list, a sign of how the work itself is shifting. New tasks aren't rated for AI or robots yet:

• Respond to questions from the public.

These use similar skills. Matches come from 109 official ratings of skills, knowledge and work activities, and each needs the same or less preparation unless the official list relates the jobs directly:

• News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists (1h 15m touched, $62k median pay)
• Writers and Authors (2h 36m touched, $77k median pay)
• Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers (2h 5m touched, $77k median pay)
• Film and Video Editors (2h 18m touched, $75k median pay)

Each task carries its own evidence label. For this job: 5 observed in real AI use, 16 with no AI or robot evidence found. The minutes per task are estimates, not measured hours, and "no evidence" doesn't prove a task is safe.