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Will AI Replace Business Continuity Planners? (2026)

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places business continuity planners in its very high AI exposure category, among the occupations most exposed to current AI. BLS projects employment to change by +3.9% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 98,700 openings a year.

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.

BLS AI exposure
Very highBLS EP supplemental table
AI-resilience score
16/100Higher than 7% of jobs · NueCareer
Projected change
+3.9%BLS EP 2025–2035; all jobs 3.5%
Openings a year
98,700BLS EP 2025–2035

The federal measure

How exposed business continuity planners are to AI

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a relative AI exposure category for each occupation it projects, built from five public measures of where AI could be, or already is, used to assist with or complete the work. Business Continuity Planners land in the very high category: among the occupations most exposed to current AI.

Where this job sits on the BLS scale

786 occupations in the NueCareer bank, in BLS's four relative categories; width shows how many fall in each

  1. Low203 occupations · 26%
  2. Moderate194 occupations · 25%
  3. High190 occupations · 24%
  4. Very high · this job199 occupations · 25%

Source: BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories supplemental table.

  1. Exposure is relative. The categories rank occupations against each other; they are not a probability that a job is automated.
  2. BLS says exposure does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. A highly exposed job can still grow if AI makes the people in it more productive.
  3. The classification reflects AI capabilities as the underlying studies measured them. Read the BLS method and limitations.

Inside the work

What AI can and cannot do in this job

O*NET rates how important each work activity is to an occupation and how often each working condition comes up. The ratings below are the ones that move the job's NueCareer AI-resilience score the most: the ones that pull it up, and the ones that pull it down. Only ratings clearly above the midpoint count.

What holds up

Physical, hands-on and person-to-person work

  • Establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships4.2/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Face-to-face discussions3.9/5
    O*NET work context, frequency or level
  • Training and teaching others3.8/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Making decisions and solving problems4.2/5
    O*NET work activity, importance

What AI reaches first

Routine, repeatable and screen-based work

  • Documenting/recording information4.2/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Processing information3.9/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Working with computers4.5/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Time spent sitting4.5/5
    O*NET work context, frequency or level

The tasks O*NET lists for business continuity planners

  • Develop emergency management plans for recovery decision making and communications, continuity of critical departmental processes, or temporary shut-down of non-critical departments to ensure continuity of operation and governance.
  • Establish, maintain, or test call trees to ensure appropriate communication during disaster.
  • Identify opportunities for strategic improvement or mitigation of business interruption and other risks caused by business, regulatory, or industry-specific change initiatives.
  • Review existing disaster recovery, crisis management, or business continuity plans.
  • Analyze impact on, and risk to, essential business functions or information systems to identify acceptable recovery time periods and resource requirements.
  • Write reports to summarize testing activities, including descriptions of goals, planning, scheduling, execution, results, analysis, conclusions, and recommendations.

O*NET 31.0 Database task statements, most important first.

The jobs

Will there still be jobs?

Exposure says where AI meets the work. The BLS projection says what the labor market is expected to do over 2025–2035. BLS projects +3.9% change in employment over the decade, against 3.5% across all occupations, and about 98,700 openings a year once retirements and career changes are counted. About 1,087,090 people work in the job today, at a median of $83,050 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Full business continuity planner profile: pay by state, entry route and skills

Options

Related careers less exposed to AI than business continuity planners

Careers O*NET lists as related to the work, or in the same field at similar pay, that BLS places in a lower exposure category.

  1. Median pay
    $93,330median a year
    Growth
    +3.9%
    Openings / yr
    1,100
    Education
    Bachelor's
    High
    BLS AI exposure
    53/100
    resilience

    Plan and direct disaster response or crisis management activities, provide disaster preparedness training, and prepare emergency plans and procedures for natural (e.g., hurricanes, floods, earthquakes), wartime, or te…

  2. Median pay
    $106,660median a year
    Growth
    +4.6%
    Openings / yr
    14,200
    Education
    Bachelor's
    High
    BLS AI exposure
    51/100
    resilience

    Direct an organization's security functions, including physical security and safety of employees and facilities.

  3. Insurance Appraiser, Auto Damage

    Business and Financial Operations

    Median pay
    $78,240median a year
    Growth
    −8.7%
    Openings / yr
    700
    Education
    Certificate
    High
    BLS AI exposure
    38/100
    resilience

    Appraise automobile or other vehicle damage to determine repair costs for insurance claim settlement.

  4. Fundraiser

    Business and Financial Operations

    Median pay
    $72,550median a year
    Growth
    +5.5%
    Openings / yr
    10,000
    Education
    Bachelor's
    High
    BLS AI exposure
    37/100
    resilience

    Organize activities to raise funds or otherwise solicit and gather monetary donations or other gifts for an organization.

  5. Median pay
    $141,900median a year
    Growth
    +4.9%
    Openings / yr
    100,900
    Education
    Bachelor's
    High
    BLS AI exposure
    32/100
    resilience

    Plan, direct, or coordinate activities of an organization to ensure compliance with ethical or regulatory standards.

  6. Labor Relations Specialist

    Business and Financial Operations

    Median pay
    $95,420median a year
    Growth
    +2.1%
    Openings / yr
    4,800
    Education
    Bachelor's
    High
    BLS AI exposure
    28/100
    resilience

    Resolve disputes between workers and managers, negotiate collective bargaining agreements, or coordinate grievance procedures to handle employee complaints.

Questions

Will AI Replace Business Continuity Planners? FAQ

Will AI replace business continuity planners?

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 +3.9% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 98,700 openings a year.

How exposed are business continuity planners to AI?

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Business Continuity Planners 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 business continuity planner'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 working with computers. The parts that hold up best are establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships, face-to-face discussions and training and teaching others. 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 business continuity planner a safe career from AI?

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O*NET work activities, business continuity planners score 16 out of 100, higher than 7% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $83,050 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 business continuity planners are less exposed to AI?

Emergency Management Director (high exposure, $93,330 median), Security Manager (high exposure, $106,660 median), Insurance Appraiser, Auto Damage (high exposure, $78,240 median), Fundraiser (high exposure, $72,550 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than business continuity planners, and most are listed by O*NET as related to the work.

The AI exposure category is the Bureau of Labor Statistics'. The AI-resilience score and the activity breakdown are NueCareer's analysis of O*NET 31.0 Database data (method), not a federal figure. More: jobs most exposed to AI, jobs least exposed to AI, or check any job.