Will AI replace tutors?

Some tasks are already being done by AI or machines; the rest still needs a person. About 3h 46m of a typical shift is made up of tasks that AI or robots have done on their own in real use somewhere. That doesn't mean those hours are automated in a typical workplace. The breakdown: 3h 36m that AI mostly does alone, 10m that robots have done in real workplaces. The other 4h 14m (53%) stays with people. Separately, BLS expects about 0.2% fewer of these jobs by 2035 (all jobs: +3.5%).

AI shows up regularly in 5 of 19 tasks, about 3h 36m of a typical shift. The biggest ones:

• Provide private instruction to individual or small groups of students to improve academic performance, improve occupational skills, or prepare for academic or occupational tests. (1h 44m a shift, AI mostly does it alone)
• Review class material with students by discussing text, working solutions to problems, or reviewing worksheets or other assignments. (1h 15m a shift, AI mostly does it alone)
• Develop teaching or training materials, such as handouts, study materials, or quizzes. (19m a shift, AI mostly does it alone)
• Administer, proctor, or score academic or diagnostic assessments. (9m a shift, AI mostly does it alone)
• Research or recommend textbooks, software, equipment, or other learning materials to complement tutoring. (9m a shift, AI mostly does it alone)

For some tasks, yes. Robots have done 1 of this job's tasks in workplaces like this one, about 10m of a typical shift. For 1 physical task, no robot has shown it can do the work yet.

• Organize tutoring environment to promote productivity and learning. (9m a shift; e.g. Avidbots Neo / Neo 2, in use)

4h 14m of a typical shift, or 53%, 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:

• Prepare lesson plans or learning modules for tutoring sessions according to students' needs and goals. (38m a shift)
• Provide feedback to students, using positive reinforcement techniques to encourage, motivate, or build confidence in students. (28m a shift)
• Prepare and facilitate tutoring workshops, collaborative projects, or academic support sessions for small groups of students. (28m a shift)
• Assess students' progress throughout tutoring sessions. (19m a shift)
• Teach students study skills, note-taking skills, and test-taking strategies. (19m 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:

• 100% work at arm's length or closer to other people
• 77% are in constant contact with other people
• 71% say dealing with the public is very or extremely important

We track 2 sourced company moves that affect this job. Most recent:

• Oct 28, 2025: Chegg cuts 45% of staff, citing AI and lost Google traffic (Rolling out)
• Jun 12, 2024: New Hampshire offers Khanmigo AI tutor to schools statewide (Rolling out)

For the 5 tasks in this job where AI shows up and timing data exists, a typical request takes about 4h 20m for a person alone and about 38m with AI. These are Claude's own estimates from real conversations in April and May 2026 (Anthropic Economic Index). They describe single requests, not whole workdays, and time saved on a task doesn't mean jobs are cut. The biggest gaps:

• Develop teaching or training materials, such as handouts, study materials, or quizzes (about 7h 59m alone, 28m with AI)
• Provide private instruction to individual or small groups of students to improve academic performance, improve occupational skills, or prepare for academic or occupational tests (about 4h 49m alone, 1h 8m with AI)
• Research or recommend textbooks, software, equipment, or other learning materials to complement tutoring (about 4h 20m alone, 43m with AI)

On Indeed, job postings in the Education & Instruction sector are at 107% of their February 2020 level (all U.S. postings: 104%), down 9.5% from a year earlier, as of Oct 9, 2026. BLS separately expects about 34,000 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 $43,350 a year ($20.84 an hour), 15% below the median for all U.S. jobs ($50,980). Most people in this job earn between $29,430 and $75,990 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 a decline of 0.2% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% growth for all jobs. That's about 208,000 jobs in 2035. Even so, it expects about 34,000 openings a year, mostly from people retiring or changing careers. These projections don't single out AI as a cause.

About 175,000 people in the U.S., roughly 0.11% of all workers (BLS, May 2025). That makes it the 189th largest of the 796 jobs on this site. BLS expects about 208,000 in 2035.

The most common requirement is a bachelor's degree: about 41% 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: Instructing, Learning Strategies, Social Perceptiveness, Reading Comprehension
• Get strong at the parts of the job that stay with people (listed above), which take 4h 14m of a typical shift
• Tools employers list: Facebook, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word
• Learn to use AI well on the tasks where it already shows up in this job (listed above)

These use similar skills, with less of a typical shift touched by AI or robots. 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:

• Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors (1h 39m touched, $62k median pay)
• Elementary School Teachers (1h 29m touched, $64k median pay)
• Postsecondary Teaching Assistants (1h 2m touched, $43k median pay)

Each task carries its own evidence label. For this job: 5 observed in real AI use, 1 with robots in real deployments, 13 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.