---
title: "Will AI Replace Security Guards? (2026)"
description: "BLS rates security guards' exposure to AI as moderate. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (+0.9% projected)."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-security-guards"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Security Guards? (2026)

**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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places security guards 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 +0.9% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 156,000 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Moderate | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 54/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | +0.9% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 156,000 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $38,020 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |

## Exposure categories

| BLS category | Occupations |
| --- | --- |
| Low | 203 |
| Moderate (this job) | 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

- 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)
- Resolving conflicts and negotiating with others: 4.2/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships: 4.5/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## What AI reaches first

- Documenting/recording information: 4.5/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Processing information: 4.1/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Repeating the same tasks: 4.4/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Getting information: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## O\*NET tasks

- Monitor and authorize entrance and departure of employees, visitors, and other persons to guard against theft and maintain security of premises.
- Call police or fire departments in cases of emergency, such as fire or presence of unauthorized persons.
- Write reports of daily activities and irregularities, such as equipment or property damage, theft, presence of unauthorized persons, or unusual occurrences.
- Lock doors and gates of entrances and exits to secure buildings.
- Circulate among visitors, patrons, or employees to preserve order and protect property.
- Warn persons of rule infractions or violations, and apprehend or evict violators from premises, using force when necessary.

## Related careers less exposed to AI than security guards

- [Lifeguard, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/lifeguard-ski-patrol-and-other-recreational-protective-service-worker): BLS exposure Low, median $33,580; [Will AI replace lifeguards?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-lifeguards)
- [Firefighter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/firefighter): BLS exposure Low, median $59,280; [Will AI replace firefighters?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-firefighters)
- [First-Line Supervisor of Firefighting and Prevention Workers](https://nuecareer.com/careers/first-line-supervisor-of-firefighting-and-prevention-workers): BLS exposure Low, median $93,530

## FAQ

**Will AI replace security guards?**

Unlikely. BLS rates the work's exposure to AI as moderate, below the middle of the pack, and still projects employment to grow. 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 +0.9% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 156,000 openings a year.

**How exposed are security guards to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Security Guards 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 security guard'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 resolving conflicts and negotiating with 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 security guard a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, security guards score 54 out of 100, higher than 72% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $38,020 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 security guards are less exposed to AI?**

Lifeguard, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Worker (low exposure, $33,580 median), Firefighter (low exposure, $59,280 median), First-Line Supervisor of Firefighting and Prevention Workers (low exposure, $93,530 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than security guards, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/security-guard.

---

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