Will AI replace security and fire alarm installers?

Part of the work, not the whole job. AI could take on about 22% of the working time in a typical security and fire alarm installer job today. The other 78% still needs a person.

78% of the work still needs a person.

Needs a person: 78%A person checking AI: 8%AI alone: 14%

The bracket under the bar is the evidence range for the share AI could take on: 19 to 22%. 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.

16 responsibilities in a typical security and fire alarm installer job. Median pay $60,070 a year in the U.S. (BLS, May 2025).

Still needs a person

  • Install and repair alarm systems
  • Test and repair circuits and sensors
  • Mount panels, sensors, and cameras
  • Run cables through walls and ceilings
  • Examine systems for loose connections
  • Test alarms, batteries, and sirens

AI can do or help with

  • Plan installs from work orders and plans AI helps
  • Demonstrate systems to customers AI helps
  • Prepare invoices and warranty documents AI can do it
  • Give customers installation cost estimates AI helps
  • Keep up with new products and tech AI helps
  • Order replacement parts 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 16, with the reason for each and the cost of handing them to AI.

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Questions people ask

Will AI replace security and fire alarm installers?

Part of the work, not the whole job. AI could take on about 22% of the working time in a typical security and fire alarm installer job today. The other 78% 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: plan installs from work orders and plans, demonstrate systems to customers, prepare invoices and warranty documents, give customers installation cost estimates, keep up with new products and tech, order replacement parts.

Which parts still need a person?

The biggest ones: install and repair alarm systems, test and repair circuits and sensors, mount panels, sensors, and cameras, run cables through walls and ceilings, examine systems for loose connections, test alarms, batteries, and sirens.

How is this measured?

The U.S. Department of Labor lists 16 responsibilities for this job (O*NET 31.0). 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 19 to 22%. 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 0.8.2, updated November 2, 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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