Jobs · Maintenance worker

Will AI replace maintenance workers?

Part of the work, not the whole job. AI could take on about 23% of the working time in a typical maintenance worker job today. The other 77% still needs a person.

24 responsibilities · a typical maintenance worker job

77% of the work still needs a person.

Still needs a person: 77% of the timeAI could take on: 23%

Evidence range: 23 to 30%. It runs between what has been measured or rated for each responsibility and our figure, which also follows industry-wide research.

Median pay $49,590 a year in the U.S. (BLS, May 2025).

Still needs a person

  • Do routine preventive maintenance checks
  • Adjust device parts with hand tools
  • Repair machines and equipment by hand
  • Test equipment to find what's wrong
  • Clean and lubricate machine parts
  • Assemble and repair wiring, pipes and equipment

AI can do or help with

  • Log repair work and its cost AI helps
  • Order parts and supplies AI helps
  • Diagnose problems using manuals and blueprints AI helps

The biggest responsibilities of each kind. "AI helps" means AI takes on part of the work, or most of it with a person checking what it produces. 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 maintenance workers?

Part of the work, not the whole job. AI could take on about 23% of the working time in a typical maintenance worker job today. The other 77% 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: log repair work and its cost, order parts and supplies, diagnose problems using manuals and blueprints.

Which parts still need a person?

The biggest ones: do routine preventive maintenance checks, adjust device parts with hand tools, repair machines and equipment by hand, test equipment to find what's wrong, clean and lubricate machine parts, assemble and repair wiring, pipes and equipment.

How is this measured?

The U.S. Department of Labor lists 27 responsibilities for this job (O*NET 31.0), and the split covers the 24 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 is 23 to 30%. It runs between what has been measured or rated for each responsibility and our figure, which also follows industry-wide research. Scores version 0.6.4, updated October 6, 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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