Short answer
This is one of the most exposed jobs, and BLS projects it to shrink. Exposure is not a forecast of job loss on its own, but here the two point the same way.
AI and jobs
Will AI Replace Tutors? (2026)
The Bureau of Labor Statistics places tutors in its very high AI exposure category, among the occupations most exposed to current AI. BLS projects employment to fall by 0.2% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 34,200 openings a year.
- BLS AI exposure
- Very highBLS EP supplemental table
- AI-resilience score
- 38/100Higher than 36% of jobs · NueCareer
- Projected change
- -0.2%BLS EP 2025–2035; all jobs 3.5%
- Openings a year
- 34,200BLS EP 2025–2035
The federal measure
How exposed tutors 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. Tutors 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
- Low203 occupations · 26%
- Moderate194 occupations · 25%
- High190 occupations · 24%
- Very high · this job199 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
- Coaching and developing others4.5/5O*NET work activity, importance
- Establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships4.6/5O*NET work activity, importance
- Training and teaching others4.7/5O*NET work activity, importance
What AI reaches first
Routine, repeatable and screen-based work
- Time spent sitting4.9/5O*NET work context, frequency or level
- Documenting/recording information3.8/5O*NET work activity, importance
- Email4.5/5O*NET work context, frequency or level
- Getting information3.9/5O*NET work activity, importance
The tasks O*NET lists for tutors
- Provide feedback to students, using positive reinforcement techniques to encourage, motivate, or build confidence in students.
- Review class material with students by discussing text, working solutions to problems, or reviewing worksheets or other assignments.
- Assess students' progress throughout tutoring sessions.
- Teach students study skills, note-taking skills, and test-taking strategies.
- Provide private instruction to individual or small groups of students to improve academic performance, improve occupational skills, or prepare for academic or occupational tests.
- Participate in training and development sessions to improve tutoring practices or learn new tutoring techniques.
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 -0.2% change in employment over the decade, against 3.5% across all occupations, and about 34,200 openings a year once retirements and career changes are counted. About 175,070 people work in the job today, at a median of $43,350 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Options
Related careers less exposed to AI than tutors
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.
Elementary School Teacher
Educational Instruction and Library
- Median pay
- $63,970median a year
- Growth
- −0.4%
- Openings / yr
- 87,500
- Education
- Bachelor's
- High
- BLS AI exposure
- 51/100
- resilience
Teach academic and social skills to students at the elementary school level.
High School Teacher
Educational Instruction and Library
- Median pay
- $72,040median a year
- Growth
- −0.2%
- Openings / yr
- 63,500
- Education
- Bachelor's
- High
- BLS AI exposure
- 49/100
- resilience
Teach one or more subjects to students at the secondary school level.
Middle School Teacher
Educational Instruction and Library
- Median pay
- $64,370median a year
- Growth
- −0.4%
- Openings / yr
- 38,800
- Education
- Bachelor's
- High
- BLS AI exposure
- 46/100
- resilience
Teach one or more subjects to students at the middle, intermediate, or junior high school level.
Special Education Teacher, Secondary School
Educational Instruction and Library
- Median pay
- $74,260median a year
- Growth
- −0.2%
- Openings / yr
- 10,400
- Education
- Bachelor's
- High
- BLS AI exposure
- 41/100
- resilience
Teach academic, social, and life skills to secondary school students with learning, emotional, or physical disabilities.
Questions
Will AI Replace Tutors? FAQ
Will AI replace tutors?
This is one of the most exposed jobs, and BLS projects it to shrink. Exposure is not a forecast of job loss on its own, but here the two point the same way. 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 fall by 0.2% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 34,200 openings a year.
How exposed are tutors to AI?
BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Tutors 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 tutor's job can AI do?
In O*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are time spent sitting, documenting/recording information and email. The parts that hold up best are face-to-face discussions, coaching and developing others 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 tutor a safe career from AI?
On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O*NET work activities, tutors score 38 out of 100, higher than 36% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $43,350 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 tutors are less exposed to AI?
Elementary School Teacher (high exposure, $63,970 median), High School Teacher (high exposure, $72,040 median), Middle School Teacher (high exposure, $64,370 median), Special Education Teacher, Secondary School (high exposure, $74,260 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than tutors, 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.