---
title: "Will AI Replace Graphic Designers? (2026)"
description: "BLS rates graphic designers' exposure to AI as very high. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (-1.7% projected)."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-graphic-designers"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Graphic Designers? (2026)

**Short answer:** This is one of the most exposed jobs, and BLS projects it to shrink. Exposure is not a forecast of job loss on its own, but here the two point the same way.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places graphic designers in its very high AI exposure category, among the occupations most exposed to current AI. BLS projects employment to fall by 1.7% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 16,000 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Very high | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 30/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | -1.7% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 16,000 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $62,960 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |

## Exposure categories

| BLS category | Occupations |
| --- | --- |
| Low | 203 |
| Moderate | 194 |
| High | 190 |
| Very high (this job) | 199 |

Exposure means AI could be or has been used to assist with or complete some of the work. BLS says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. Method: https://www.bls.gov/emp/publications/ai-exposure-categories.htm

## What holds up

- Thinking creatively: 4.9/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Face-to-face discussions: 4.3/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships: 4.2/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Making decisions and solving problems: 4.2/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## What AI reaches first

- Working with computers: 4.8/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Time spent sitting: 4.8/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Getting information: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Email: 4.9/5 (O\*NET work context)

## O\*NET tasks

- Key information into computer equipment to create layouts for client or supervisor.
- Review final layouts and suggest improvements, as needed.
- Determine size and arrangement of illustrative material and copy, and select style and size of type.
- Develop graphics and layouts for product illustrations, company logos, and Web sites.
- Create designs, concepts, and sample layouts, based on knowledge of layout principles and esthetic design concepts.
- Use computer software to generate new images.

## Related careers less exposed to AI than graphic designers

- [Audio and Video Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/audio-and-video-technician): BLS exposure High, median $58,100
- [Fine Artist, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators](https://nuecareer.com/careers/fine-artist): BLS exposure High, median $55,490
- [Set and Exhibit Designer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/set-and-exhibit-designer): BLS exposure High, median $75,240
- [Interior Designer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/interior-designer): BLS exposure High, median $67,190; [Will AI replace interior designers?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-interior-designers)
- [Producer and Director](https://nuecareer.com/careers/producer-and-director): BLS exposure High, median $90,360; [Will AI replace producers and directors?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-producers-and-directors)
- [Film and Video Editor](https://nuecareer.com/careers/film-and-video-editor): BLS exposure High, median $75,420

## FAQ

**Will AI replace graphic designers?**

This is one of the most exposed jobs, and BLS projects it to shrink. Exposure is not a forecast of job loss on its own, but here the two point the same way. BLS defines exposure as AI being able to assist with or complete some of the work, and says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains or wage effects. BLS projects employment to fall by 1.7% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 16,000 openings a year.

**How exposed are graphic designers to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Graphic Designers are in the very high category, alongside 198 other occupations. The categories combine five public measures of where AI could be or already is used, and they compare occupations with each other rather than giving an absolute risk.

**What parts of a graphic designer's job can AI do?**

In O\*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are working with computers, time spent sitting and getting information. The parts that hold up best are thinking creatively, face-to-face discussions and establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships. These come from O\*NET ratings of how important each activity is to the job, read through NueCareer's AI-resilience method.

**Is being a graphic designer a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, graphic designers score 30 out of 100, higher than 23% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $62,960 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No job is fully safe from technological change, but the federal exposure category and the projected openings are the two numbers worth weighing.

**What careers similar to graphic designers are less exposed to AI?**

Audio and Video Technician (high exposure, $58,100 median), Fine Artist, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators (high exposure, $55,490 median), Set and Exhibit Designer (high exposure, $75,240 median), Interior Designer (high exposure, $67,190 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than graphic designers, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/graphic-designer.

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology