---
title: "Will AI Replace Producers and Directors? (2026)"
description: "BLS rates producers and directors' exposure to AI as high. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (+4.0%…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-producers-and-directors"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Producers and Directors? (2026)

**Short answer:** Not replaced, but changed. BLS rates the exposure as high, so AI can help with a real share of the work, yet it still projects employment to grow faster than average.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places producers and directors in its high AI exposure category, above the middle of the pack: a substantial share of the work overlaps with what AI can do. BLS projects employment to change by +4.0% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 12,100 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | High | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 36/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | +4.0% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 12,100 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $90,360 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |

## Exposure categories

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

- Face-to-face discussions: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Thinking creatively: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships: 3.9/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Making decisions and solving problems: 4.1/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## What AI reaches first

- Processing information: 4.1/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Working with computers: 4.4/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Getting information: 4.7/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Email: 5.0/5 (O\*NET work context)

## O\*NET tasks

- Research production topics using the internet, video archives, and other informational sources.
- Plan details such as framing, composition, camera movement, sound, and actor movement for each shot or scene.
- Study and research scripts to determine how they should be directed.
- Establish pace of programs and sequences of scenes according to time requirements and cast and set accessibility.
- Conduct meetings with staff to discuss production progress and to ensure production objectives are attained.
- Identify and approve equipment and elements required for productions, such as scenery, lights, props, costumes, choreography, and music.

## Related careers less exposed to AI than producers and directors

- [Sound Engineering Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/sound-engineering-technician): BLS exposure Moderate, median $73,130

## FAQ

**Will AI replace producers and directors?**

Not replaced, but changed. BLS rates the exposure as high, so AI can help with a real share of the work, yet it still projects employment to grow faster than average. 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 change by +4.0% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 12,100 openings a year.

**How exposed are producers and directors to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Producers and Directors are in the high category, alongside 189 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 producer and director's job can AI do?**

In O\*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are processing information, working with computers and getting information. The parts that hold up best are face-to-face discussions, thinking creatively 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 producer and director a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, producers and directors score 36 out of 100, higher than 32% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $90,360 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 producers and directors are less exposed to AI?**

Sound Engineering Technician (moderate exposure, $73,130 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than producers and directors, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/producer-and-director.

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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