Somewhat Resilient
Last Update: 6/19/2026
AI Resilience Score for Archivists:
39.1%
Median Score
Meaningful human contribution
Measures the parts of the occupation that still require a human touch. This score averages data from up to four AI exposure datasets, focusing on the role’s resilience against automation.
Med
Long-term employer demand
Predicts the health of the job market for this role through 2034. Using Bureau of Labor Statistics data, it balances projected annual job openings (60%) with overall employment growth (40%).
Low
Sustained economic opportunity
Measures future earning potential and career flexibility. This score is a blend of total projected labor income (67%) and the role’s inherent ability to adapt to economic and technological shifts (33%).
Med
This reflects the reliability of your score based on the number of data sources available for this career and how closely those sources agree on the outlook. A higher confidence means more consistent evidence from labor experts and AI models.
There are a reasonable number of sources for this result, but there is some disagreement between them.
Contributing sources
AI Resilience Report forArchivists
$61,570 median salary•1,100 annual openings•SOC Code: 25-4011.00
Archivists are somewhat less resilient to AI impacts than most occupations, according to our analysis of 7 sources.
Archivists are labeled "Somewhat Resilient" because AI is already taking over a big chunk of the repetitive, time-consuming tasks in the field, like tagging millions of records, transcribing old handwritten documents, and scanning for private information before files go public. This means the day-to-day workflow is genuinely changing, and archivists who want to stay competitive will need to get comfortable working alongside these tools rather than ignoring them.
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Archivists are labeled "Somewhat Resilient" because AI is already taking over a big chunk of the repetitive, time-consuming tasks in the field, like tagging millions of records, transcribing old handwritten documents, and scanning for private information before files go public. This means the day-to-day workflow is genuinely changing, and archivists who want to stay competitive will need to get comfortable working alongside these tools rather than ignoring them.
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Archivists
Updated Quarterly
How is AI changing Archivists jobs?
If you're worried that AI will replace archivists, here's some reassuring news: the field is largely treating AI as a helper, not a replacement. The U.S. National Archives (NARA) recently published an inventory showing several real, live AI projects — like using Azure OpenAI to automatically generate tags and topics for approximately 2 million digital records, which frees up staff to focus on other priorities, and a pilot that uses AI to auto-fill descriptive metadata and tackle "the descriptive gap" of labor-intensive cataloging [1]. NARA is also piloting AI tools that screen records for personally identifiable information before public release [1].
On the access side, OCLC researchers report that institutions are experimenting with AI for tasks like captions and transcriptions, relying on the strengths of large language models, though most teams still want AI built into the workflow tools they already use rather than as a standalone product [2]. Handwritten-text recognition platforms like Transkribus are widely used to decode old documents, and Penn State just received part of an $11 million Schmidt Sciences grant to build humanities-driven AI tools that expand and support Black digital archives [3]. The clear pattern: AI is automating the slow, repetitive parts (tagging, transcription, PII detection), while archivists keep the judgment-heavy work — appraisal, ethics, outreach, and managing collections.
Sources
How fast is AI adoption growing for Archivists?
Adoption is happening, but carefully. The UK's Archives & Records Association recently warned in its AI Preparedness Guidelines that "AI can support archival work, but only when collections are made 'AI-ready'" and that automation is "a constrained necessity, not a magic solution" [4]. Several factors slow things down: many collections have inconsistent metadata, copyright and privacy rules are complex, and LLMs can hallucinate facts about history — risks the Association of Canadian Archivists highlights when it calls for a "radical empathy" approach with attention to consent, power, inclusivity, and transparency in AI governance [5].
Cost is another brake; OCLC found that using an LLM for full entity reconciliation "would have been prohibitively expensive" [2] at Yale. On the other hand, the profession is organizing itself fast — the Society of American Archivists just launched an AI Task Force charged with helping the archival community "navigate the ethical, technical, accessibility, and organizational impacts of AI technologies" [6] and is drafting core AI competencies for the profession. Job demand remains steady: the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment of archivists, curators, and museum workers to grow 6 percent from 2024 to 2034, faster than the average for all occupations [7].
So the human skills — ethical judgment, community trust, and storytelling through outreach — are exactly what AI can't replicate, and they're what the field is doubling down on.
Sources
Will AI replace Archivists?
Not entirely. We think AI will take over some tasks, but not the whole job.
Archivists earn a 39.1% AI Resilience Score, which tells you this role is feeling real pressure. AI is already handling the slow, repetitive work: the U.S. National Archives is using AI to auto-generate tags for approximately 2 million digital records and to screen documents for personally identifiable information before public release [1]. Tools like these free up archivists' time, but they don't replace the people running them.
What stays human is the judgment-heavy core of the job. Deciding which records matter, navigating copyright and privacy rules, building community trust, and telling stories through outreach are things AI genuinely struggles with. The UK's Archives and Records Association puts it plainly: AI is "a constrained necessity, not a magic solution," and collections have to be made AI-ready before automation can even begin [4]. The Association of Canadian Archivists adds that ethical governance, consent, and inclusivity require human attention that no model can substitute [5].
The job market picture is mixed. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 6 percent employment growth through 2034 [7], but our demand score is low, so we wouldn't count on a flood of new openings. The clearest path forward is building AI fluency alongside the ethical and community skills that keep archivists irreplaceable.
Sources
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Latest AI news for Archivists
These articles highlight how AI is reshaping archivists' careers by enhancing accessibility and preservation efforts. For instance, Weill Cornell Medicine's use of generative AI for transcribing historical medical archives demonstrates how technology can streamline data organization. Similarly, Amsterdam's “Chat with History” project shows AI's potential to engage the public with archival content. As AI continues to evolve, archivists can leverage these tools to improve research capabilities and expand the reach of their collections, fostering a resilient future in the field.
AI in the Archives: How AI is transforming archival research from institutions to content providers
clarivate.com • 5/20/2026
Explore how leading institutions and content providers are harnessing AI to expand new possibilities for discovery. From Vanderbilt University to ProQuest,...
Amsterdam brings 750 years of history to life with AI
www.capgemini.com • 12/17/2025
Amsterdam's city archive, in collaboration with Capgemini and Microsoft, developed “Chat with History,” an AI-driven chatbot that makes 750 years of the...
Weill Cornell Medicine transcribes historical medical archives with generative AI on AWS
aws.amazon.com • 11/10/2025
by Sarah Ben Maamar, Curtis Cole, Amanda Garfunkel, Brittany Leyden, Sandra El Ashry, and Noel Singh on 10 NOV 2025 in Amazon Bedrock, Amazon Textract,...
Saving Cinema: AI’s Starring Role in Preserving Film Archives
pulitzercenter.org • 5/2/2025
This software, with its lengthy name, uses generative artificial intelligence to reconstruct missing frames in damaged film reels.
The Dilemma of Documentary Proof: Archival Producers Alliance Co-founders Discuss How AI Will Change Archival
www.documentary.org • 4/10/2024
An interview with two organizers of the Archival Producers Alliance on how AI will shake up the nature of archival footage.
More Career Info
Career: Archivists
They organize and preserve important documents and records so people can find and use them in the future.
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Employment & Wage Data
Median Wage
$61,570
Jobs (2024)
9,300
Growth (2024-34)
+3.8%
Annual Openings
1,100
Education
Master's degree
Experience
None
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2024-2034
Task-Level AI Resilience Scores
AI-generated estimates of task resilience over the next 3 years
1
Locate new materials and direct their acquisition and display.
2
Direct activities of workers who assist in arranging, cataloguing, exhibiting, and maintaining collections of valuable materials.
3
Coordinate educational and public outreach programs, such as tours, workshops, lectures, and classes.
4
Authenticate and appraise historical documents and archival materials.
5
Select and edit documents for publication and display, applying knowledge of subject, literary expression, and presentation techniques.
6
Specialize in an area of history or technology, researching topics or items relevant to collections to determine what should be retained or acquired.
7
Research and record the origins and historical significance of archival materials.
Tasks are ranked by their AI resilience, with the most resilient tasks shown first. Core tasks are essential functions of this occupation, while supplemental tasks provide additional context.
