Will AI replace bricklayers?
Updated
Bricklayers score 15 of 100 for AI exposure. 77% of their task time still needs a person. AI speeds up the other 23%.
- 23% AI helps
- 77% Needs a person
Low exposure
Lower than 89% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 14 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can't do any of them end to end yet. It speeds up 3 and leaves 11 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Interpret blueprints and drawings to determine specifications and to calculate the materials required. AI can read drawings and estimate materials, but errors need checking. | 50% AI helps |
| Calculate angles and courses and determine vertical and horizontal alignment of courses. AI can help calculate angles and courses, but alignment checks are physical. | 35% AI helps |
| Examine brickwork or structure to determine need for repair. Photo analysis and report drafting help, but inspection needs presence. | 20% AI helps |
| Measure distance from reference points and mark guidelines to lay out work, using plumb bobs and levels. Site layout with plumb bobs and levels is hands-on physical work. | 12% Needs a person |
| Mix specified amounts of sand, clay, dirt, or mortar powder with water to form refractory mixtures. Mixing materials with water is physical; recipe math is trivial. | 10% Needs a person |
| Construct corners by fastening in plumb position a corner pole or building a corner pyramid of bricks, and filling in between the corners using a line from corner to corner to guide each course, or layer, of brick. Setting corner poles and building corner pyramids is physical work. | 8% Needs a person |
| Apply and smooth mortar or other mixture over work surface. Spreading and smoothing mortar is hands-on physical work. | 5% Needs a person |
| Fasten or fuse brick or other building material to structure with wire clamps, anchor holes, torch, or cement. Fastening brick with clamps, torch, or cement is physical work. | 5% Needs a person |
| Spray or spread refractory material over brickwork to protect against deterioration. Spraying or spreading refractory over brickwork is physical work. | 5% Needs a person |
| Break or cut bricks, tiles, or blocks to size, using trowel edge, hammer, or power saw. Cutting bricks and blocks with hammer or saw is physical work. | 4% Needs a person |
Show the other 4 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Remove excess mortar with trowels and hand tools, and finish mortar joints with jointing tools, for a sealed, uniform appearance. Tooling mortar joints is hands-on finishing work. | 4% Needs a person |
| Clean working surface to remove scale, dust, soot, or chips of brick and mortar, using broom, wire brush, or scraper. Sweeping and scraping the work surface is physical cleanup. | 3% Needs a person |
| Remove burned or damaged brick or mortar, using sledgehammer, crowbar, chipping gun, or chisel. Demolishing damaged brick with sledgehammer and chisel is physical. | 3% Needs a person |
| Lay and align bricks, blocks, or tiles to build or repair structures or high temperature equipment, such as cupola, kilns, ovens, or furnaces. Replaced 'manually' with 'with hands'. | 3% Needs a person |
How bricklayers compare
All occupations (923)
Construction and extraction (61)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $62,120 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 52,550 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +1.1% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Check material takeoffs against drawings in Microsoft Excel
- Run estimates and bids in ProEst or Tradesman's Master Estimator
- Read structural loads in RISA-3D or Daystar iStructural
- Examine brickwork on site to set repair scope
- Complete a registered masonry apprenticeship through a JATC
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about bricklayers and AI
Will bricklayers be replaced by AI?
Partly. About 1 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly reading blueprints and calculating angles and courses. Laying brick, cutting units, tooling joints and checking alignment by eye stay with people because they need hands on the wall.
Which bricklayer tasks is AI taking over?
Interpreting blueprints scores 50 on exposure, the highest in this job, because AI can read drawings and total materials quickly. Calculating angles and courses scores 35, since AI can run the geometry while a person still checks the result on site.
Which bricklayer tasks stay human?
Laying and aligning brick scores 3 on exposure because it takes hands on the wall. Cutting units and tooling mortar joints score 4 each, since a saw, trowel and eye do the work. Site layout with plumb bobs and levels also stays with people, scoring 12.
How can bricklayers stay valuable as AI spreads?
Check AI material takeoffs against the drawings in Microsoft Excel before ordering. Learn ProEst or Tradesman's Master Estimator so you can price jobs from the output. Read load paths in RISA-3D or Daystar iStructural for repair work. Finish a registered masonry apprenticeship and keep your state contractor license.
Related jobs
Next steps for bricklayers
Check which roles in your team AI can take on
We map your team's tasks, show what AI can do today and build the automations that pay back first.
Related topics
- Jobs AI can't replaceCement masons score lowest, at 8.
- Jobs most at risk from AIProofreaders score highest, at 76.
- High-paying jobs with low AI exposureRadiologists earn a median $420,860 and score 46.
- Entry-level jobs with low AI exposureCement masons need little prior training and score 8.
- Jobs AI speeds up the mostFor natural sciences managers, AI speeds up 96% of task time.
- AI and jobs in Malta15 iGaming roles graded task by task.
- Skills that keep work humanThe skills to build in the jobs AI changes least.
- Jobs A to ZEvery job we publish, by first letter.
- AI exposure by industryAverage scores for 22 occupation groups.
- Write a CV screening software can readHow applicant tracking systems read a CV, and what to change.
- AI for businessesThe tasks to automate first in each team and industry.
- How we score AI exposureThe grading, the weights and every source.