---
title: "Will AI Replace 911 Dispatchers? (2026)"
description: "BLS rates 911 dispatchers' exposure to AI as very high. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (+3.7% projected)."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-911-dispatchers"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace 911 Dispatchers? (2026)

**Short answer:** AI will reshape this job more than most, but BLS does not forecast it disappearing. The exposure is among the highest BLS measured, yet it still projects employment to grow faster than average.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places 911 dispatchers in its very high AI exposure category, among the occupations most exposed to current AI. BLS projects employment to change by +3.7% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 9,000 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Very high | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 32/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | +3.7% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 9,000 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $53,040 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |

## Exposure categories

| BLS category | Occupations |
| --- | --- |
| Low | 203 |
| Moderate | 194 |
| High | 190 |
| Very high (this job) | 199 |

Exposure means AI could be or has been used to assist with or complete some of the work. BLS says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. Method: https://www.bls.gov/emp/publications/ai-exposure-categories.htm

## What holds up

- Assisting and caring for others: 4.2/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Performing for or working directly with the public: 4.4/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Hands-on work with tools and objects: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Dealing with the public: 5.0/5 (O\*NET work context)

## What AI reaches first

- Documenting/recording information: 4.8/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Processing information: 4.5/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Repeating the same tasks: 4.9/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Working with computers: 4.9/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## O\*NET tasks

- Question callers to determine their locations and the nature of their problems to determine type of response needed.
- Answer routine inquiries, and refer calls not requiring dispatches to appropriate departments and agencies.
- Learn material and pass required tests for certification.
- Determine response requirements and relative priorities of situations, and dispatch units in accordance with established procedures.
- Read and effectively interpret small-scale maps and information from a computer screen to determine locations and provide directions.
- Receive incoming telephone or alarm system calls regarding emergency and non-emergency police and fire service, emergency ambulance service, information, and after-hours calls for departments within a city.

## Related careers less exposed to AI than 911 dispatchers

- [Paramedic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/paramedic): BLS exposure Low, median $60,600; [Will AI replace paramedics?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-paramedics)
- [Ambulance Driver and Attendant, Except Emergency Medical Technicians](https://nuecareer.com/careers/ambulance-driver-and-attendant): BLS exposure Low, median $35,450
- [Transit and Railroad Police](https://nuecareer.com/careers/transit-and-railroad-police): BLS exposure Moderate, median $90,230
- [First-Line Supervisor of Security Workers](https://nuecareer.com/careers/first-line-supervisor-of-security-workers): BLS exposure Moderate, median $55,940
- [Police Officer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/police-officer): BLS exposure High, median $76,210; [Will AI replace police officers?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-police-officers)
- [Airfield Operations Specialist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/airfield-operations-specialist): BLS exposure High, median $56,850

## FAQ

**Will AI replace 911 dispatchers?**

AI will reshape this job more than most, but BLS does not forecast it disappearing. The exposure is among the highest BLS measured, yet it still projects employment to grow faster than average. BLS defines exposure as AI being able to assist with or complete some of the work, and says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains or wage effects. BLS projects employment to change by +3.7% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 9,000 openings a year.

**How exposed are 911 dispatchers to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. 911 Dispatchers are in the very high category, alongside 198 other occupations. The categories combine five public measures of where AI could be or already is used, and they compare occupations with each other rather than giving an absolute risk.

**What parts of a public safety telecommunicator's job can AI do?**

In O\*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are documenting/recording information, processing information and repeating the same tasks. The parts that hold up best are assisting and caring for others, performing for or working directly with the public and hands-on work with tools and objects. These come from O\*NET ratings of how important each activity is to the job, read through NueCareer's AI-resilience method.

**Is being a public safety telecommunicator a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, 911 dispatchers score 32 out of 100, higher than 26% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $53,040 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No job is fully safe from technological change, but the federal exposure category and the projected openings are the two numbers worth weighing.

**What careers similar to 911 dispatchers are less exposed to AI?**

Paramedic (low exposure, $60,600 median), Ambulance Driver and Attendant, Except Emergency Medical Technicians (low exposure, $35,450 median), Transit and Railroad Police (moderate exposure, $90,230 median), First-Line Supervisor of Security Workers (moderate exposure, $55,940 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than 911 dispatchers, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/public-safety-telecommunicator.

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This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology