Will AI replace IT support specialists?

Much of the work, but not all of it. AI could take on about 61% of the working time in a typical IT support specialist job today. The other 39% still needs a person.

IT support specialist at work

39% of the work still needs a person.

Needs a person: 39%A person checking AI: 19%AI alone: 42%

The bracket under the bar is the evidence range for the share AI could take on: 35 to 61%. One end comes from how well AI did each responsibility in real use, or a second rating where that isn't measured. The other is our figure, which also follows research across the industry.

15 responsibilities in a typical IT support specialist job. Median pay $61,860 a year in the U.S. (BLS, May 2025).

Still needs a person

  • Answer user questions about computers AI helps
  • Set up computers for new staff
  • Diagnose and fix computer problems AI helps
  • Gather needs for new systems AI helps
  • Install and repair hardware and software
  • Keep up with new hardware and software

AI can do or help with

  • Answer user questions about computers AI helps
  • Diagnose and fix computer problems AI helps
  • Watch daily system performance AI can do it
  • Run commands to check systems work AI can do it
  • Log issues, fixes and installs AI can do it
  • Gather needs for new systems AI helps

The biggest responsibilities on each side, ranked by a person's time on the left. "AI helps" means AI takes on part of the work, or most of it with a person checking what it produces, so one can show on both sides. See all 15, with the reason for each and the cost of handing them to AI.

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Questions people ask

Will AI replace IT support specialists?

Much of the work, but not all of it. AI could take on about 61% of the working time in a typical IT support specialist job today. The other 39% 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: answer user questions about computers, diagnose and fix computer problems, watch daily system performance, run commands to check systems work, log issues, fixes and installs, gather needs for new systems.

Which parts still need a person?

The biggest ones: answer user questions about computers, set up computers for new staff, diagnose and fix computer problems, gather needs for new systems, install and repair hardware and software, keep up with new hardware and software.

How is this measured?

The U.S. Department of Labor lists 16 responsibilities for this job (O*NET 31.0), and the split covers the 15 people in it do today. Each 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. The evidence range for the share AI could take on is 35 to 61%. One end comes from how well AI did each responsibility in real use, or a second rating where that isn't measured. The other is our figure, which also follows research across the industry. Scores version 0.8.5, updated November 10, 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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