How likely is AI to replace Robotics Engineers?

Published research puts Robotics Engineers at 36 out of 100 for AI displacement risk, in the lower risk band. The number is a weighted consensus of 5 research sources and describes the typical version of the role, not any individual.

Do researchers agree on the risk for Robotics Engineers?

Only partly. Individual estimates for Robotics Engineers run from 8 to 48 out of 100 across the 5 sources behind this score, so the single number smooths over real disagreement. More recent and higher confidence studies carry more weight in it.

Which engineering roles face similar AI exposure?

The closest published engineering roles to Robotics Engineers by score are Geodetic Surveyors (36/100), Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors (36/100), and Manufacturing Engineers (36/100). Each has its own page with the research behind its number.

Occupation baseline · Research consensus

Will AI replace Robotics Engineers?

Lower risk

Baseline AI displacement risk for Robotics Engineers, aggregated from 5 research sources.

What this score means

Robotics Engineers leans toward the safer end for Engineering. Parts of the role touch tasks AI is getting good at, but the core still depends on hands on work or judgment that resists automation. At 36 out of 100 it sits close to the Engineering average of 36. Across the 5 sources behind this baseline, individual estimates run from 8 to 48, 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 Robotics Engineers, most central first, showing 12 of 24.

01Review or approve designs, calculations, or cost estimates.
02Process or interpret signals or sensor data.
03Debug robotics programs.
04Build, configure, or test robots or robotic applications.
05Create back-ups of robot programs or parameters.
06Provide technical support for robotic systems.
07Design end-of-arm tooling.
08Design robotic systems, such as automatic vehicle control, autonomous vehicles, advanced displays, advanced sensing, robotic platforms, computer vision, or telematics systems.
09Supervise technologists, technicians, or other engineers.
10Design software to control robotic systems for applications, such as military defense or manufacturing.
11Conduct research on robotic technology to create new robotic systems or system capabilities.
12Investigate mechanical failures or unexpected maintenance problems.

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 5 research sources that scored Robotics Engineers 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
02Global Automation Atlas: Task Substitution Exposure by Occupation · 2026Garg, Crosta, Baier (2026), arXiv:2605.17086
03Working with AI: Measuring the Applicability of Generative AI to Occupations · 2025Tomlinson, Jaffe et al., Microsoft Research (2025)
04GPTs are GPTs: Labor Market Impact Potential of LLMs · 2024Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin, Rock (Science, 2024)
05AI Occupational Exposure to Language Modeling · 2023Felten, Raj, Seamans (2023)

Common questions

How likely is AI to replace Robotics Engineers?: Published research puts Robotics Engineers at 36 out of 100 for AI displacement risk, in the lower risk band. The number is a weighted consensus of 5 research sources and describes the typical version of the role, not any individual.
Do researchers agree on the risk for Robotics Engineers?: Only partly. Individual estimates for Robotics Engineers run from 8 to 48 out of 100 across the 5 sources behind this score, so the single number smooths over real disagreement. More recent and higher confidence studies carry more weight in it.
Which engineering roles face similar AI exposure?: The closest published engineering roles to Robotics Engineers by score are Geodetic Surveyors (36/100), Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors (36/100), and Manufacturing Engineers (36/100). Each has its own page with the research behind its number.

Also covers

Algorithm Engineer · Automation Engineer · Autonomous Vehicle Design Engineer · Autonomy Engineer · Controls Engineer · Design Engineer · Factory Automations Engineer · Mechatronics Engineer 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

Seniority, sector, and how much of your day is routine all shift the score. Answer a few questions and get your personal risk score free, no signup.

Get my personal score

Free · No credit card · No signup

More engineering occupations

All engineering occupations

Informational guidance based on published research, not professional career or financial advice. Scores update as new research is ingested.