Will AI replace Archivists?
AI reaches a large part of this job’s work.
50/100
High exposure
More exposed to AI than 80% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 14% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 77% of the work
What the job involves
Appraise, edit, and direct safekeeping of permanent records and historically valuable documents. Participate in research activities based on archival materials.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Already happening(2)
- Create and maintain accessible, retrievable computer archives and databases, incorporating current advances in electronic information storage technology.
- Select and edit documents for publication and display, applying knowledge of subject, literary expression, and presentation techniques.
Within reach(8)
- Organize archival records and develop classification systems to facilitate access to archival materials.
- Provide reference services and assistance for users needing archival materials.
- Prepare archival records, such as document descriptions, to allow easy access to information.
- Establish and administer policy guidelines concerning public access and use of materials.
- Research and record the origins and historical significance of archival materials.
and 3 more
Out of reach(3)
- Direct activities of workers who assist in arranging, cataloguing, exhibiting, and maintaining collections of valuable materials.
- Preserve records, documents, and objects, copying records to film, videotape, audiotape, disk, or computer formats as necessary.
- Locate new materials and direct their acquisition and display.
Also called
Archivist · Digital Archivist · Film Archivist · Museum Archivist · Reference Archivist · State Archivist · University Archivist · Image Archivist
Related jobs
What these numbers mean
The score is the share of this job’s work, weighted by how important and frequent each task is, that AI could do in half the time: tasks an AI model could do alone count in full, tasks that need software built on AI count half.
“AI already used” is the share of the work in tasks where people are recorded using AI today. “As AI tools mature” counts every task AI could halve, with or without extra software.
The percentile compares the score with every job’s, weighted by how many people in the US do each one. Exposure means AI could change how the work is done, not that the job goes away. These are estimates for the typical job, not predictions.
Sources
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
- GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs (task labels), Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), OpenAI and University of Pennsylvania
- Anthropic Economic Index: labor market impacts (task penetration), Anthropic
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (national and metropolitan areas), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics