Workers at all stages of their careers — from job hunters to job havers — are increasingly anxious about the lightning-fast deployment of AI.
And as artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly reshapes the labor landscape by automating tasks once performed by humans, the radio industry faces significant disruption. A 2025 study by AI automation firm Linkee, analyzing marketing careers’ vulnerability to automation, identifies three critical radio industry roles—copywriters, advertising sales agents, and promotions managers—as among the most at risk.
This transformation, coupled with broader economic shifts and early signs of unease within the industry, signals a challenging future for traditional radio roles.
Here is an expanded analysis of these findings, their implications, and the broader context of AI’s impact on radio, incorporating insights from recent industry trends.
Vulnerable Roles in Radio
Copywriters:
Automation Risk: Linkee’s study assigns copywriters the highest vulnerability, with an 85% chance of AI replacement and a projected job growth rate of –3.4%. This results in an overall risk score of 90, the highest among marketing roles.
Why at Risk?: AI tools like ChatGPT and other natural language processing systems can generate ad copy, scripts, and promotional content rapidly, often matching or surpassing human creativity in speed and cost-efficiency. These tools analyze data to tailor content for specific audiences, reducing the need for human copywriters. For example, AI can produce spec spots or full scripts in minutes, as noted in a 2024 Radio World report.
Impact on Radio: Copywriters are vital for crafting engaging ads and station promos. Their displacement could lower costs but risks diminishing the human touch that resonates with local audiences, a concern raised by Dr. Jennifer Hayden Stokes of Kinship Radio Network, who noted AI’s potential to erode community voices.
Advertising Sales Agents:
Automation Risk: Ranked third most vulnerable, these agents—who solicit ads for radio, TV, publications, and digital platforms—face a 57% AI replacement risk and a –6.6% growth rate, yielding a risk score of 74.
Why at Risk?: AI-driven ad platforms are revolutionizing media buying and selling. Automated systems streamline ad placement, optimize targeting using real-time data, and reduce reliance on human negotiation. Haivision’s 2025 Broadcast Transformation Report notes that 25% of broadcasters already use AI in workflows, with 41% planning adoption within two years, signaling a shift toward automated ad processes.
Impact on Radio: Radio ad revenue, projected at $12.3 billion in 2025, is the fifth-largest advertising medium, with digital radio seeing growth in sectors like finance and restaurants. Automation threatens agents’ roles but could enhance efficiency, allowing stations to focus on digital ad strategies targeting Gen Z and other growing demographics.
Promotions Managers:
Automation Risk: These managers face a 52% replacement rate and a –4% growth rate, resulting in a risk score of 66.
Why at Risk?: AI can automate promotional campaign planning, scheduling, and audience engagement analytics. Tools like AI-generated playlists and real-time mood-based content adjustments, as highlighted by Radioactive Media, reduce the need for human oversight in promotions.
Impact on Radio: Promotions managers drive listener engagement through contests, events, and branding. AI’s ability to personalize content and manage campaigns could streamline operations but may lack the emotional intelligence and creativity that human managers bring, a point emphasized in a LinkedIn analysis of AI’s impact on media roles.
The Linkee study marks one of the first quantifications of AI-related job risk on radio’s sales and marketing side. However, on-air talent has already expressed significant unease. Jacobs Media’s AQ6 survey in 2024 found that 77% of radio air talent fear job loss to AI, particularly with the rise of AI-generated voices and hosts indistinguishable from humans.
The radio industry’s challenges mirror a broader economic shift. According to Challenger, Gray, & Christmas, AI directly eliminated 10,375 U.S. jobs in 2025, with media and creative sectors heavily impacted. This underscores the urgency for radio professionals to adapt to new roles requiring strategic oversight or creative skills less susceptible to automation.
AI’s Dual Role in Radio: While AI threatens jobs, it also offers opportunities. The 2025 Haivision report highlights that 45% of broadcasters see AI improving efficiency and productivity, and 42% value its role in automated translation and closed captioning. Yvonne Carlson of Global Media Outreach notes that AI democratizes radio by lowering barriers like startup costs and technical expertise, enabling smaller stations to compete. For example, AI can manage playlists, schedule broadcasts, and create content, as detailed by Stewart Townsend.
Implications for the Radio Industry
Job Transformation, Not Elimination: As noted in a LinkedIn analysis, AI doesn’t necessarily eliminate jobs but transforms them. Roles requiring emotional intelligence, strategic decision-making, or localized storytelling—such as community-focused promotions or unique on-air personalities—may remain human-driven.
Economic and Cultural Stakes: Radio’s $9.4 billion global market in 2025, with a projected 1.14% CAGR through 2029, faces pressure to evolve. AI’s cost efficiencies could help smaller stations survive consolidation by larger media conglomerates, a concern raised by Stokes. However, over-reliance on automation risks diluting the local flavor that defines radio’s appeal.
Adaptation Strategies: Radio professionals must upskill in AI literacy, data analytics, and digital content creation to stay relevant. Stations could leverage AI for routine tasks (e.g., ad scheduling) while prioritizing human creativity in listener engagement and storytelling.