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.
AI and jobs
Will AI Replace Team Assemblers? (2026)
The Bureau of Labor Statistics places team assemblers 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 +1.1% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 138,700 openings a year.
- BLS AI exposure
- ModerateBLS EP supplemental table
- AI-resilience score
- 50/100Higher than 61% of jobs · NueCareer
- Projected change
- +1.1%BLS EP 2025–2035; all jobs 3.5%
- Openings a year
- 138,700BLS EP 2025–2035
The federal measure
How exposed team assemblers 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. Team Assemblers 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
- Face-to-face discussions4.8/5O*NET work context, frequency or level
- Handling and moving objects4.4/5O*NET work activity, importance
- Hands-on work with tools and objects4.7/5O*NET work context, frequency or level
- Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials4.2/5O*NET work activity, importance
What AI reaches first
Routine, repeatable and screen-based work
- Getting information4.4/5O*NET work activity, importance
- Repetitive motions3.9/5O*NET work context, frequency or level
- Being exact or highly accurate4.7/5O*NET work context, frequency or level
- Estimating the quantifiable characteristics of products, events, or information3.5/5O*NET work activity, importance
The tasks O*NET lists for team assemblers
- Perform quality checks on products and parts.
- Shovel, sweep, or otherwise clean work areas.
- Review work orders and blueprints to ensure work is performed according to specifications.
- Rotate through all the tasks required in a particular production process.
- Supervise assemblers and train employees on job procedures.
- Determine work assignments and procedures.
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 +1.1% change in employment over the decade, against 3.5% across all occupations, and about 138,700 openings a year once retirements and career changes are counted. About 1,405,030 people work in the job today, at a median of $44,650 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Full team assembler profile: pay by state, entry route and skills
Options
Related careers less exposed to AI than team assemblers
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.
Millwright
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair
- Median pay
- $65,700median a year
- Growth
- +0.9%
- Openings / yr
- 3,200
- Education
- High school
- Low
- BLS AI exposure
- 67/100
- resilience
Install, dismantle, or move machinery and heavy equipment according to layout plans, blueprints, or other drawings.
Engine and Other Machine Assembler
Production
- Median pay
- $53,710median a year
- Growth
- −17.0%
- Openings / yr
- 2,100
- Education
- High school
- Low
- BLS AI exposure
- 58/100
- resilience
Construct, assemble, or rebuild machines, such as engines, turbines, and similar equipment used in such industries as construction, extraction, textiles, and paper manufacturing.
Helpers--Production Worker
Production
- Median pay
- $39,070median a year
- Growth
- −8.2%
- Openings / yr
- 20,900
- Education
- High school
- Low
- BLS AI exposure
- 57/100
- resilience
Help production workers by performing duties requiring less skill.
- Median pay
- $47,920median a year
- Growth
- −8.9%
- Openings / yr
- 2,500
- Education
- High school
- Low
- BLS AI exposure
- 53/100
- resilience
Set up, operate, or tend welding, soldering, or brazing machines or robots that weld, braze, solder, or heat treat metal products, components, or assemblies.
- Median pay
- $48,250median a year
- Growth
- +2.5%
- Openings / yr
- 15,300
- Education
- High school
- Low
- BLS AI exposure
- 52/100
- resilience
Set up, operate, or tend spraying or rolling machines to coat or paint any of a wide variety of products, including glassware, cloth, ceramics, metal, plastic, paper, or wood, with lacquer, silver, copper, rubber, var…
- Median pay
- $60,020median a year
- Growth
- −5.7%
- Openings / yr
- 10,000
- Education
- High school
- Low
- BLS AI exposure
- 52/100
- resilience
Operate or control an entire process or system of machines, often through the use of control boards, to transfer or treat water or wastewater.
Questions
Will AI Replace Team Assemblers? FAQ
Will AI replace team assemblers?
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 +1.1% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 138,700 openings a year.
How exposed are team assemblers to AI?
BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Team Assemblers 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 team assembler'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, repetitive motions and being exact or highly accurate. The parts that hold up best are face-to-face discussions, handling and moving objects 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 team assembler a safe career from AI?
On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O*NET work activities, team assemblers score 50 out of 100, higher than 61% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $44,650 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 team assemblers are less exposed to AI?
Millwright (low exposure, $65,700 median), Engine and Other Machine Assembler (low exposure, $53,710 median), Helpers--Production Worker (low exposure, $39,070 median), Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender (low exposure, $47,920 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than team assemblers, 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.