Occupation baseline · Research consensus
Will AI replace Electricians?
Baseline AI displacement risk for Electricians, aggregated from 10 research sources.
What this score means
Electricians is among the least exposed roles in Construction & Trades. Most of what the job involves still sits outside what current AI can do, even as the tools around it keep changing. At 17 out of 100 it scores 4 points above the Construction & Trades average of 13. Across the 10 sources behind this baseline, individual estimates run from 6 to 33, so the score is a weighted consensus rather than any single figure.
The number is a consensus estimate for the typical version of the role, built from published academic and industry research scored occupation by occupation. It is not a prediction about any individual. How scoring works
What this job actually involves
Exposure follows the work itself rather than the job title, so it is worth seeing what the role is made of. These are the tasks O*NET records for Electricians, most central first, showing 12 of 21.
- 01Prepare sketches or follow blueprints to determine the location of wiring or equipment and to ensure conformance to building and safety codes.
- 02Place conduit, pipes, or tubing, inside designated partitions, walls, or other concealed areas, and pull insulated wires or cables through the conduit to complete circuits between boxes.
- 03Work from ladders, scaffolds, or roofs to install, maintain, or repair electrical wiring, equipment, or fixtures.
- 04Use a variety of tools or equipment, such as power construction equipment, measuring devices, power tools, and testing equipment, such as oscilloscopes, ammeters, or test lamps.
- 05Assemble, install, test, or maintain electrical or electronic wiring, equipment, appliances, apparatus, or fixtures, using hand tools or power tools.
- 06Connect wires to circuit breakers, transformers, or other components.
- 07Maintain current electrician's license or identification card to meet governmental regulations.
- 08Plan layout and installation of electrical wiring, equipment, or fixtures, based on job specifications and local codes.
- 09Direct or train workers to install, maintain, or repair electrical wiring, equipment, or fixtures.
- 10Test electrical systems or continuity of circuits in electrical wiring, equipment, or fixtures, using testing devices, such as ohmmeters, voltmeters, or oscilloscopes, to ensure compatibility and safety of system.
- 11Diagnose malfunctioning systems, apparatus, or components, using test equipment and hand tools to locate the cause of a breakdown and correct the problem.
- 12Inspect electrical systems, equipment, or components to identify hazards, defects, or the need for adjustment or repair, and to ensure compliance with codes.
Task statements from O*NET by the National Center for O*NET Development, used under CC BY 4.0. The tasks are descriptive; the exposure score above is ours.
The research behind this score
This baseline aggregates 10 research sources that scored Electricians for AI and automation exposure. More recent, higher confidence studies carry more weight in the final number.
- 01Anthropic Economic Index 2026 - AI Task Exposure · 2026Anthropic
- 02Crashing Waves vs. Rising Tides: Preliminary Findings on AI Automation from Thousands of Worker Evaluations of Labor Market Tasks · 2026Mertens, Thompson et al., MIT FutureTech (2026)
- 03Global Automation Atlas: Task Substitution Exposure by Occupation · 2026Garg, Crosta, Baier (2026), arXiv:2605.17086
- 04The AI Jobs Transition Framework: Mapping AI's Near-Term Impact on Jobs · 2026OpenAI Economic Research (2026)
- 05Navigating the Workforce Impacts of AI · 2025Deloitte, for the Energy Workforce & Technology Council (2025)
- 06Working with AI: Measuring the Applicability of Generative AI to Occupations · 2025Tomlinson, Jaffe et al., Microsoft Research (2025)
- 07A new future of work: The race to deploy AI and raise skills in Europe and beyond · 2024McKinsey Global Institute (2024)
- 08GPTs are GPTs: Labor Market Impact Potential of LLMs · 2024Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin, Rock (Science, 2024)
- 09AI Occupational Exposure to Language Modeling · 2023Felten, Raj, Seamans (2023)
- 10Generative AI and the Future of Work in America · 2023McKinsey Global Institute (2023)
Common questions
- How likely is AI to replace Electricians?
- Published research puts Electricians at 17 out of 100 for AI displacement risk, in the lower risk band. The number is a weighted consensus of 10 research sources and describes the typical version of the role, not any individual.
- Do researchers agree on the risk for Electricians?
- Only partly. Individual estimates for Electricians run from 6 to 33 out of 100 across the 10 sources behind this score, so the single number smooths over real disagreement. More recent and higher confidence studies carry more weight in it.
- Which construction & trades roles face similar AI exposure?
- The closest published construction & trades roles to Electricians by score are Audiovisual Equipment Installers and Repairers (17/100), Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers (17/100), and Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers (16/100). Each has its own page with the research behind its number.
Also covers
Airport Electrician · Antenna Installer · Antenna Rigger · Commercial Electrician · Conduit Installer · Conduit Mechanic · Construction Electrician · Control Electrician and related titles
Estimated displacement window
The dated estimate for this role is included in the full personalised report.
Your number is not the baseline
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More construction & trades occupations
- Geothermal Technicians19/100
- Audiovisual Equipment Installers and Repairers17/100
- Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers17/100
- Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers16/100
- Roof Bolters, Mining16/100
- Tire Repairers and Changers16/100
- Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door15/100
- Helpers--Painters, Paperhangers, Plasterers, and Stucco Masons15/100
Informational guidance based on published research, not professional career or financial advice. Scores update as new research is ingested.