Will boiler operators be replaced by AI?
Updated
Boiler operators score 26 of 100 for AI exposure. 53% of their task time still needs a person. AI can do 9% today and speed up another 38%.
- 9% AI can do it
- 38% AI helps
- 53% Needs a person
Low exposure
Lower than 69% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 25 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 2 of them today, speeds up 9 and leaves 14 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Maintain daily logs of operation, maintenance, and safety activities, including test results, instrument readings, and details of equipment malfunctions and maintenance work. AI can draft logs from sensor and maintenance data. | 70% AI can do it |
| Develop operation, safety, and maintenance procedures or assist in their development. AI can draft procedures well; engineer reviews and approves. | 65% AI can do it |
| Weigh, measure, and record fuel used. Meter data can auto-log; physical weighing still needed. | 50% AI helps |
| Contact equipment manufacturers or appropriate specialists when necessary to resolve equipment problems. AI can draft correspondence and identify specialists; person contacts them. | 45% AI helps |
| Observe and interpret readings on gauges, meters, and charts registering various aspects of boiler operation to ensure that boilers are operating properly. AI can read digital gauges and charts; person verifies safety status. | 40% AI helps |
| Investigate and report on accidents. Site investigation stays human; AI can help draft reports. | 40% AI helps |
| Monitor boiler water, chemical, and fuel levels, and make adjustments to maintain required levels. AI can flag water and fuel level drift; adjustments stay manual. | 35% AI helps |
| Analyze problems and take appropriate action to ensure continuous and reliable operation of equipment and systems. AI aids diagnosis; corrective physical action still needs a person. | 35% AI helps |
| Adjust controls and/or valves on equipment to provide power, and to regulate and set operations of system or industrial processes. Automated control loops help; manual setpoint and valve work persists. | 35% AI helps |
| Check the air quality of ventilation systems and make adjustments to ensure compliance with mandated safety codes. AI can analyze air sensor data; physical checks stay on site. | 35% AI helps |
Show the other 15 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Monitor and inspect equipment, computer terminals, switches, valves, gauges, alarms, safety devices, and meters to detect leaks or malfunctions and to ensure that equipment is operating efficiently and safely. Alarm and sensor triage aided by AI; physical inspection stays human. | 30% AI helps |
| Test boiler water quality or arrange for testing and take necessary corrective action, such as adding chemicals to prevent corrosion and harmful deposits. Water sampling and chemical dosing are physical; AI interprets results. | 20% Needs a person |
| Activate valves to maintain required amounts of water in boilers, to adjust supplies of combustion air, and to control the flow of fuel into burners. Control loops already automate most valve and fuel adjustments. | 18% Needs a person |
| Operate or tend stationary engines, boilers, and auxiliary equipment, such as pumps, compressors, or air-conditioning equipment, to supply and maintain steam or heat for buildings, marine vessels, or pneumatic tools. Mostly physical equipment operation; AI helps only with monitoring. | 15% Needs a person |
| Receive instructions from steam engineers regarding steam plant and air compressor operations. Live verbal exchange on plant operations with engineers on site. | 15% Needs a person |
| Supervise the work of assistant stationary engineers, turbine operators, boiler tenders, or air conditioning and refrigeration operators and mechanics. Supervising people requires live judgment and accountability. | 15% Needs a person |
| Switch from automatic to manual controls and isolate equipment mechanically and electrically to allow for safe inspection and repair work. Lockout isolation is physical and safety critical; person must act. | 10% Needs a person |
| Perform or arrange for repairs, such as complete overhauls, replacement of defective valves, gaskets, or bearings, or fabrication of new parts. Overhauls and part replacement are physical, on-equipment work. | 8% Needs a person |
| Test electrical systems to determine voltages, using voltage meters. Voltage measurement needs physical meters and on-site presence. | 8% Needs a person |
| Fire coal furnaces by hand or with stokers and gas- or oil-fed boilers, using automatic gas feeds or oil pumps. Hand firing and stoker work is physical and hands-on. | 8% Needs a person |
| Clean and lubricate boilers and auxiliary equipment and make minor adjustments as needed, using hand tools. Cleaning and lubricating with hand tools is physical work. | 5% Needs a person |
| Operate mechanical hoppers and provide assistance in their adjustment and repair. Operating hoppers and repairing them are physical equipment tasks. | 5% Needs a person |
| Ignite fuel in burners, using torches or flames. Igniting burners with torches is physical and safety critical. | 5% Needs a person |
| Install burners and auxiliary equipment, using hand tools. Installing burners with hand tools is physical on-site work. | 4% Needs a person |
| Provide assistance to plumbers in repairing or replacing water, sewer, or waste lines, and in daily maintenance activities. Pipe repair assistance requires physical presence on site. | 4% Needs a person |
How boiler operators compare
All occupations (923)
Production (107)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $78,620 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 28,250 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +3.1% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Keep a state stationary engineer license current
- Verify gauge and chart readings before signing off logs
- Check meter fuel logs against weighed records in Excel
- Lead on-site accident investigations and finalize reports in Word
- Contact equipment manufacturers to resolve burner and valve faults
- Query maintenance history in SAP software
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about boiler operators and AI
Will AI replace boiler operators?
Partly. About 3 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly drafting daily operation logs and writing operation, safety, and maintenance procedures. Hands-on equipment work and safety checks stay with people, and an engineer still reviews and approves every procedure.
Which tasks are AI taking over for boiler operators?
AI is taking over daily logs, with an exposure score of 70, because it can draft entries from sensor and maintenance data. Procedure writing scores 65, since AI can draft the text while an engineer reviews it. Fuel recording at 50 moves toward meter data auto-logging, though someone still weighs fuel manually.
Which tasks stay human for boiler operators?
Repairs, burner ignition, and cleaning stay with boiler operators, with exposure scores between 4 and 8, because they require a person physically on the equipment. Igniting burners with a torch, installing burners, and replacing valves, gaskets, or bearings all need hands-on work where the equipment sits.
How can boiler operators stay valuable?
Keep the state stationary engineer or boiler operator license current and use it to sign off on any AI-drafted log or procedure. Read gauges and charts yourself to verify safety status, since AI can read them but a licensed person confirms them. Lead accident site investigations, and use Excel and SAP to check fuel records against meter data.
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