--- title: "Will AI Replace Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants?" description: "BLS rates automotive and watercraft service attendants' exposure to AI as low. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035…" canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-automotive-and-watercraft-service-attendants" last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z" --- # Will AI Replace Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants? (2026) **Short answer:** Very unlikely. BLS rates automotive and watercraft service attendants among the occupations least exposed to AI, and most of the work is the kind current AI tools cannot do. The Bureau of Labor Statistics places automotive and watercraft service attendants in its low AI exposure category, among the occupations least exposed to current AI. BLS projects employment to change by +3.8% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 12,900 openings a year. | Measure | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | BLS relative AI exposure | Low | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories | | NueCareer AI-resilience score | 64/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database | | Projected employment change | +3.8% | BLS EP 2025–2035 | | Openings a year | 12,900 | BLS EP 2025–2035 | | Median annual wage | $35,670 | BLS OEWS May 2025 | ## Exposure categories | BLS category | Occupations | | --- | --- | | Low (this job) | 203 | | Moderate | 194 | | High | 190 | | Very high | 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 - Face-to-face discussions: 5.0/5 (O\*NET work context) - Hands-on work with tools and objects: 4.7/5 (O\*NET work context) - Working outdoors in all weather: 4.5/5 (O\*NET work context) - Performing for or working directly with the public: 3.8/5 (O\*NET work activity importance) ## What AI reaches first - Getting information: 4.2/5 (O\*NET work activity importance) - Processing information: 3.5/5 (O\*NET work activity importance) - Repetitive motions: 3.8/5 (O\*NET work context) - Being exact or highly accurate: 4.5/5 (O\*NET work context) ## O\*NET tasks - Check tire pressure and levels of fuel, motor oil, transmission, radiator, battery, or other fluids, adding air or fluids as required. - Grease and lubricate vehicles or specified units, such as springs, universal joints, or steering knuckles, using grease guns or spray lubricants. - Sell and install accessories, such as batteries, windshield wiper blades, fan belts, bulbs, or headlamps. - Rotate, test, and repair or replace tires. - Perform minor repairs, such as adjusting brakes, replacing spark plugs, or changing engine oil or filters. - Collect cash payments from customers, and make change or charge purchases to customers' credit cards, providing customers with receipts. ## Related careers that are also low-exposure - [Crane and Tower Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/crane-and-tower-operator): BLS exposure Low, median $68,080; [Will AI replace crane operators?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-crane-operators) - [Ambulance Driver and Attendant, Except Emergency Medical Technicians](https://nuecareer.com/careers/ambulance-driver-and-attendant): BLS exposure Low, median $35,450 ## FAQ **Will AI replace automotive and watercraft service attendants?** Very unlikely. BLS rates automotive and watercraft service attendants among the occupations least exposed to AI, and most of the work is the kind current AI tools cannot do. 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 +3.8% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 12,900 openings a year. **How exposed are automotive and watercraft service attendants to AI?** BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants are in the low category, alongside 202 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 an automotive and watercraft service attendant's job can AI do?** In O\*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are getting information, processing information and repetitive motions. The parts that hold up best are face-to-face discussions, hands-on work with tools and objects and working outdoors in all weather. These come from O\*NET ratings of how important each activity is to the job, read through NueCareer's AI-resilience method. **Is being an automotive and watercraft service attendant a safe career from AI?** On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, automotive and watercraft service attendants score 64 out of 100, higher than 92% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $35,670 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 automotive and watercraft service attendants are less exposed to AI?** Crane and Tower Operator (low exposure, $68,080 median), Ambulance Driver and Attendant, Except Emergency Medical Technicians (low exposure, $35,450 median). Each is also in the low category, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work. Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/automotive-and-watercraft-service-attendant. --- 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