Jobs · Airline pilot

Will AI replace airline pilots?

Part of the work, not the whole job. AI could take on about 19% of the working time in a typical airline pilot job today. The other 81% still needs a person.

24 responsibilities · a typical airline pilot job

81% of the work still needs a person.

Still needs a person: 81% of the timeAI could take on: 19%

Median pay $232,140 a year in the U.S. (BLS, May 2025).

Still needs a person

  • Watch engine and system gauges in flight
  • Read gauges and manage engine power
  • Fly planned routes using autopilot
  • Talk to control towers by radio
  • Fly the plane on the flight plan
  • Work with the crew on takeoff and landing

AI can do or help with

  • Review weather and dispatch briefings AI helps
  • Brief the crew before the flight AI helps
  • Choose the best route, altitude and speed AI helps
  • Log flight times and fuel use AI can do it
  • Make announcements to passengers in flight AI helps
  • Teach other pilots to fly AI helps

The biggest responsibilities of each kind. "AI helps" means a person still does it, with AI taking on part of the time. See all 24, with the reason for each and the cost of handing them to AI.

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Questions people ask

Will AI replace airline pilots?

Part of the work, not the whole job. AI could take on about 19% of the working time in a typical airline pilot job today. The other 81% still needs a person. That is a split of the work, not a forecast of jobs lost.

Which parts of the job can AI do?

The biggest ones AI can do or help with: review weather and dispatch briefings, brief the crew before the flight, choose the best route, altitude and speed, log flight times and fuel use, make announcements to passengers in flight, teach other pilots to fly.

Which parts still need a person?

The biggest ones: watch engine and system gauges in flight, read gauges and manage engine power, fly planned routes using autopilot, talk to control towers by radio, fly the plane on the flight plan, work with the crew on takeoff and landing.

How is this measured?

Each of the 24 responsibilities the U.S. Department of Labor lists for this job (O*NET 31.0) is scored on 4 questions: can AI do it, does it get it right, must a person sign for it, and do people need to deal with a real person. The split is weighted by how much of the job each responsibility takes up. Scores version 0.4.2, updated September 28, 2026.

Responsibilities from O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor). Pay from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025. Scores are calibrated to published research and updated every month. How it works.

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