Short answer
Unlikely. BLS rates the work's exposure to AI as moderate, below the middle of the pack, and still projects employment to grow faster than average.
AI and jobs
Will AI Replace Preschool Teachers? (2026)
The Bureau of Labor Statistics places preschool teachers in its moderate AI exposure category, below the middle of the pack: some of the work overlaps with what AI can do, much of it does not. BLS projects employment to change by +4.5% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 66,700 openings a year.
- BLS AI exposure
- ModerateBLS EP supplemental table
- AI-resilience score
- 58/100Higher than 81% of jobs · NueCareer
- Projected change
- +4.5%BLS EP 2025–2035; all jobs 3.5%
- Openings a year
- 66,700BLS EP 2025–2035
The federal measure
How exposed preschool teachers 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. Preschool Teachers land in the moderate category: below the middle of the pack: some of the work overlaps with what AI can do, much of it does not.
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
- Low203 occupations · 26%
- Moderate · this job194 occupations · 25%
- High190 occupations · 24%
- Very high199 occupations · 25%
Source: BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories supplemental table.
- Exposure is relative. The categories rank occupations against each other; they are not a probability that a job is automated.
- 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.
- 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
- Assisting and caring for others4.2/5O*NET work activity, importance
- Face-to-face discussions4.3/5O*NET work context, frequency or level
- Establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships4.0/5O*NET work activity, importance
- Training and teaching others3.8/5O*NET work activity, importance
What AI reaches first
Routine, repeatable and screen-based work
- Getting information4.0/5O*NET work activity, importance
- Communicating with supervisors, peers, or subordinates3.5/5O*NET work activity, importance
The tasks O*NET lists for preschool teachers
- Read books to entire classes or to small groups.
- Demonstrate activities to children.
- Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
- Organize and label materials and display students' work in a manner appropriate for their ages and perceptual skills.
- Teach basic skills, such as color, shape, number and letter recognition, personal hygiene, and social skills.
- Assimilate arriving children to the school environment by greeting them, helping them remove outerwear, and selecting activities of interest to them.
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 +4.5% change in employment over the decade, against 3.5% across all occupations, and about 66,700 openings a year once retirements and career changes are counted. About 478,780 people work in the job today, at a median of $38,140 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Full preschool teacher, except special education profile: pay by state, entry route and skills
Questions
Will AI Replace Preschool Teachers? FAQ
Will AI replace preschool teachers?
Unlikely. BLS rates the work's exposure to AI as moderate, below the middle of the pack, and 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 +4.5% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 66,700 openings a year.
How exposed are preschool teachers to AI?
BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Preschool Teachers are in the moderate category, alongside 193 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 preschool teacher, except special education'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 and communicating with supervisors, peers, or subordinates. The parts that hold up best are assisting and caring for others, face-to-face discussions and establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships. 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 preschool teacher, except special education a safe career from AI?
On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O*NET work activities, preschool teachers score 58 out of 100, higher than 81% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $38,140 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.
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.