Will AI replace Archivist?

More exposed than 46% of the occupations in the index.

Averaged across 14 O*NET tasks, weighted by importance.

AI technologies substantially extend the reach and capability of archivists, particularly through automated metadata generation, advanced optical character recognition (OCR) and handwritten text recognition (HTR), automated classification, and AI-assisted reference research. An AI-fluent archivist can catalog massive backlogs of physical and digital records and synthesize historical contexts in a fraction of the time required by traditional methods. While core tasks such as physical artifact preservation, tactile appraisal, authentication, and policy formulation still require direct human judgment and physical handling, AI tools serve as a major force multiplier for managing, processing, and making archival collections accessible.