Will AI replace manufacturing potters?

Not on current evidence. Less than 30 minutes of a typical shift goes to tasks that AI or robots are doing today. The other 7h 48m (98%) stays with people. Separately, BLS expects about 5.8% more of these jobs by 2035 (all jobs: +3.5%).

None of this job's tasks show regular AI use yet. That can mean the work is hands-on or in person, or simply that it rarely comes up in AI usage data.

For some tasks, yes. Robots have done 1 of this job's tasks in workplaces like this one, about 12m of a typical shift. 19 more tasks have only been done in factory setups built around the machine, so they stay with people here. For 2 physical tasks, no robot has shown it can do the work yet.

• Start machine units and conveyors and observe lights and gauges on panel board to verify operational efficiency. (12m a shift; e.g. ANYmal (ANYbotics), in use)

7h 48m of a typical shift, or 98%, goes to tasks with no AI or robot evidence yet. No AI usage or robot deployment has shown up for these so far. The biggest:

• Raise and shape clay into wares, such as vases and pitchers, on revolving wheels, using hands, fingers, and thumbs. (1h a shift)
• Mix and apply glazes to pottery pieces, using tools, such as spray guns. (48m a shift)
• Operate gas or electric kilns to fire pottery pieces. (36m a shift)
• Press thumbs into centers of revolving clay to form hollows, and press on the inside and outside of emerging clay cylinders with hands and fingers, gradually raising and shaping clay to desired forms and sizes. (36m a shift)
• Smooth surfaces of finished pieces, using rubber scrapers and wet sponges. (30m a shift)

Much of it comes down to where and how the work happens. In-person, hands-on and high-stakes work is where AI and robots have made the least headway so far. In the official O*NET survey of people in this job:

• 81% use their hands on tools, objects or controls more than half the time
• 74% say dealing with the public is very or extremely important
• 60% talk face to face with others every day

On Indeed, job postings in the Production & Manufacturing sector are at 124% of their February 2020 level (all U.S. postings: 104%), up 12.6% from a year earlier, as of Oct 9, 2026. BLS separately expects about 5,100 openings a year in this job through 2035. Across all U.S. postings, 7.3% now mention AI skills. Sector postings cover more than this one job and move for many reasons besides AI.

The median pay is about $46,170 a year ($22.20 an hour), 9% below the median for all U.S. jobs ($50,980). Most people in this job earn between $35,850 and $61,530 a year; that range covers the middle 80%. Pay figures are from BLS, May 2025, and vary a lot by state and employer. Pick a state to compare:

BLS projects growth of 5.8% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% growth for all jobs. That's about 46,000 jobs in 2035. It expects about 5,100 openings a year, mostly from people retiring or changing careers. These projections don't single out AI as a cause.

About 33,000 people in the U.S., roughly 0.02% of all workers (BLS, May 2025). That makes it the 459th largest of the 796 jobs on this site. BLS expects about 46,000 in 2035.

The most common requirement is some college: about 31% of people in the job said so in the official O*NET survey. O*NET rates the job at level 3 of 5 for preparation, which usually means: vocational school or associate's degree. Requirements vary by state and employer, especially for licensed work.

These come from the job's official skill ratings and from the tasks that AI and robots touch least today. Building them keeps you strong in the parts of the work that still need a person:

• Skills that matter more here than in most jobs: Operation and Control, Operations Monitoring, Monitoring, Critical Thinking
• Get strong at the parts of the job that stay with people (listed above), which take 7h 48m of a typical shift
• Tools employers list: Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook

Yes. Occupational experts recently added these to the official task list, a sign of how the work itself is shifting. New tasks aren't rated for AI or robots yet:

• Decorate pottery using tools such as brushes.
• Load and unload pottery from kilns.

These use similar skills. Matches come from 109 official ratings of skills, knowledge and work activities, and each needs the same or less preparation unless the official list relates the jobs directly:

• Craft Artists (26m touched, $46k median pay)
• Gem and Diamond Workers (0m touched, $53k median pay)
• Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers (20m touched, $42k median pay)
• Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers (0m touched, $53k median pay)
• Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials (40m touched, $35k median pay)

Each task carries its own evidence label. For this job: 1 with robots in real deployments, 22 with no AI or robot evidence found. The minutes per task are estimates, not measured hours, and "no evidence" doesn't prove a task is safe.