AI tools can now fix grammar, tighten a paragraph, suggest headlines and summarize a long draft in seconds. Editors still decide what gets published, shape a writer's work, check facts and answer for the final version.
The short answer: editing is one of the more exposed jobs to generative AI, but the BLS points to a different pressure: the decline of print. The ILO's 2025 index puts authors and writers (0.55) and journalists (0.54), the closest groups to editors, in gradient 3. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects editor employment to decline 1 percent from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,900 openings a year. Projections are estimates, not guarantees.
How exposed editors are
The International Labour Organization scores occupations' tasks from 0 (cannot be automated with generative AI) to 1 (could be done without a human operator), and groups them into gradients from 1 to 4, with 4 the most exposed; below them sit minimal exposure and not exposed (ILO Working Paper 140, 2025).
| Occupation (ISCO-08) | ILO category | Mean task score (0 to 1) |
|---|---|---|
| Authors and Related Writers | Gradient 3 | 0.55 |
| Journalists | Gradient 3 | 0.54 |
The ILO scores groups of occupations, so these are the closest groups for editors, not a score for the job title itself.
What the BLS projects
| Occupation | Projected change 2025 to 2035 | Openings a year |
|---|---|---|
| Editors | Decline 1% | About 7,900 |
The BLS says demand for reading for pleasure may support demand for book editors. It also says that as print newspapers and magazines lose ground to other media formats, employment of editors at those publications is projected to decline. Its outlook does not mention AI. All of the projected openings come from replacing workers who retire or change jobs.
What AI is taking on
- Spelling, grammar and style checks.
- First-pass line edits and shorter versions of long drafts.
- Headline, summary and metadata suggestions.
- Transcripts and notes from interviews.
What stays with editors
- Judgment: deciding what to publish, what to cut and what a piece is really about.
- Writers: developing ideas and giving feedback people can act on.
- Accountability: fact checks, sourcing and legal review before publication.
- Checking AI help: AI edits can change meaning or invent facts and quotes, which NIST calls confabulation (NIST AI 600-1). See checking AI output.
How the job is changing
Mechanical correction is getting cheap, so more of an editor's value sits in judgment, voice and verification, including checking AI-assisted copy from writers.
In the US, the Copyright Office concluded in 2025 that copyright does not extend to purely AI-generated material, that prompts alone do not currently provide sufficient control, and that human authors can hold copyright in their own expression perceptible in AI outputs, in creative selection, coordination or arrangement, and in creative modifications. Its registration guidance asks applicants to disclose more than a de minimis amount of AI-generated material (US Copyright Office, Copyright and AI Part 2). See AI-generated work and copyright.
See also will AI replace proofreaders?, will AI replace writers? and will AI replace journalists?
Pay and how to get in
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median annual pay for editors at $77,920 in May 2025, against $50,980 for all workers. The typical education needed to enter is: bachelor's degree. See how this job compares in AI exposure by pay and AI exposure by education level.
Questions and answers
Will AI replace editors?
Not entirely, but the work is exposed. The ILO puts the closest groups, writers and journalists, in gradient 3, and the BLS projects editor jobs to decline 1 percent from 2025 to 2035.
Does the BLS blame AI for the decline?
No. It points to print newspapers and magazines losing ground to other media formats, while reading for pleasure may support book editors.
How many editor openings are expected?
The BLS projects about 7,900 openings a year, all from replacing workers who leave.
What editing work stays human?
Deciding what to publish, developing writers, fact checks and accountability, and checking AI edits.