Will AI replace web developers?

Parts of the job are being automated. About 4h 53m of an 8-hour shift goes to tasks that AI or robots already do largely on their own. The rest still needs a person. The breakdown: 6m done by people with AI help, 4h 53m that AI mostly does alone. The other 3h 2m (38%) stays with people. Separately, BLS expects about 3.8% more of these jobs by 2035 (all jobs: +3.5%).

AI shows up regularly in 14 of 29 tasks, about 4h 59m of a typical shift. The biggest ones:

• Design, build, or maintain Web sites, using authoring or scripting languages, content creation tools, management tools, and digital media. (1h 34m a shift, AI mostly does it alone)
• Write supporting code for Web applications or Web sites. (1h 22m a shift, AI mostly does it alone)
• Evaluate code to ensure that it is valid, is properly structured, meets industry standards, and is compatible with browsers, devices, or operating systems. (29m a shift, AI mostly does it alone)
• Develop databases that support Web applications and Web sites. (23m a shift, AI mostly does it alone)
• Maintain understanding of current Web technologies or programming practices through continuing education, reading, or participation in professional conferences, workshops, or groups. (18m a shift, AI mostly does it alone)

3h 2m of a typical shift, or 38%, 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:

• Perform Web site tests according to planned schedules, or after any Web site or product revision. (29m a shift)
• Perform or direct Web site updates. (29m a shift)
• Confer with management or development teams to prioritize needs, resolve conflicts, develop content criteria, or choose solutions. (29m a shift)
• Analyze user needs to determine technical requirements. (18m a shift)
• Recommend and implement performance improvements. (18m a shift)

We track 1 sourced company move that affects this job. Most recent:

• Jun 18, 2025: Wix buys Base44, an AI tool that builds apps from plain language (Announced)

For the 11 tasks in this job where AI shows up and timing data exists, a typical request takes about 7h 11m for a person alone and about 41m 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:

• Develop databases that support Web applications and Web sites (about 19h 14m alone, 1h 16m with AI)
• Write supporting code for Web applications or Web sites (about 11h 26m alone, 46m with AI)
• Design, build, or maintain Web sites, using authoring or scripting languages, content creation tools, management tools, and digital media (about 9h 55m alone, 40m with AI)

On Indeed, job postings in the Software Development sector are at 78% of their February 2020 level (all U.S. postings: 104%), up 21.5% from a year earlier, as of Oct 9, 2026. BLS separately expects about 5,300 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 $92,650 a year ($44.54 an hour), 82% above the median for all U.S. jobs ($50,980). Most people in this job earn between $48,100 and $162,290 a year; that range covers the middle 80%. Pay figures are from BLS, May 2025, and vary a lot by state and employer.

BLS projects growth of 3.8% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% growth for all jobs. That's about 91,000 jobs in 2035. It expects about 5,300 openings a year, mostly from people retiring or changing careers. These projections don't single out AI as a cause.

About 70,000 people in the U.S., roughly 0.05% of all workers (BLS, May 2025). That makes it the 326th largest of the 796 jobs on this site. BLS expects about 91,000 in 2035.

The most common requirement is a bachelor's degree: about 46% of people in the job said so in the official O*NET survey. O*NET rates the job at level 3 of 5 for preparation, which usually means: vocational school or associate'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: Programming, Operations Analysis, Complex Problem Solving, Systems Analysis
• Get strong at the parts of the job that stay with people (listed above), which take 3h 2m of a typical shift
• Tools employers list: WordPress, Vue.js, TypeScript, Structured query language SQL, Spring Framework
• Learn to use AI well on the tasks where it already shows up in this job (listed above)

These use similar skills, with less of a typical shift touched by AI or robots. 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:

• Software Developers (3h 20m touched, $136k median pay)
• Web Administrators (2h 32m touched, $117k median pay)
• Database Administrators (3h 35m touched, $105k median pay)
• Computer Systems Engineers/Architects (3h 8m touched, $117k median pay)

Each task carries its own evidence label. For this job: 14 observed in real AI use, 15 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.