# Will crossing guards be replaced by AI? Updated October 2026 Crossing guards score 24 of 100 for AI exposure. 60% of their task time still needs a person. AI speeds up the other 40%. - **40%** AI helps - **60%** Needs a person Low exposure Lower than 73% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 12 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can't do any of them end to end yet. It speeds up 5 and leaves 7 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Learn the location and purpose of street traffic signs within assigned patrol areas. AI can quiz and summarize sign meanings and patrol maps for learning. | 40% AI helps | | Report unsafe behavior of children to school officials. AI can structure written incident reports from notes, but observation is human. | 35% AI helps | | Communicate traffic and crossing rules and other information to students and adults. AI can draft rules handouts and talking points, but delivery is in person. | 30% AI helps | | Record license numbers of vehicles disregarding traffic signals, and report infractions to appropriate authorities. Plate capture is on-site work, while infraction paperwork can be drafted by AI. | 30% AI helps | | Discuss traffic routing plans and control-point locations with superiors. AI can help draft routing plans and summaries, but meetings stay human-led. | 25% AI helps | ## How crossing guards compare All occupations (923) Protective service (26) **Crossing guards score 24**, marked by the dark line. Each dot is a score, darker where more occupations share it. The short marks show the averages, 37 for all occupations and 31 for protective service. ## Pay and outlook in the US Median pay $38,100 a year, May 2025 People employed 94,360 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs +3.5% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Read traffic gaps from the curb at assigned crossings - Direct traffic with stop paddles, flags, and hand signals - Schedule shift coverage in Visual Computer Solutions Crossing Guard Scheduling - Write incident reports with exact times in Microsoft Word - Process guard hours and pay in payroll software ## Safer roles nearby 5 related occupations with lower scores. - [Locomotive engineers22 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/locomotive-engineers/) - [Railroad brakemen12 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/railroad-brakemen/) - [Highway maintenance workers8 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/highway-maintenance-workers/) - [Rail yard engineers19 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/rail-yard-engineers/) - [Lifeguards19 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/lifeguards/) ## Questions about crossing guards and AI Will AI replace crossing guards? Partly. About 2 in 10 working hours of a crossing guard's day go to tasks AI can already do, mostly learning traffic sign meanings and patrol maps, and drafting incident reports from notes. Standing at the curb, stopping traffic, and judging safe gaps stay with people. Which tasks is AI taking over for crossing guards? Learning traffic sign meanings and patrol maps has the highest exposure score at 40, because AI can quiz you and summarize the material. Reporting unsafe child behavior scores 35, since AI can structure a written report from your notes, while the observation itself still comes from you on site. Which tasks stay human for crossing guards? Stopping speeding vehicles and directing traffic with hand signals, flags, and lanterns both score 3 on exposure. Both need a person physically in the street. Escorting pedestrians across streets scores 5 because it means walking people through live traffic. How can crossing guards stay valuable? Learn the patrol map on foot, then apply it at the curb where gap judgment stays with you. Write incident reports in Microsoft Word with exact times and what you saw. Keep hours current in payroll software and shift coverage in Visual Computer Solutions Crossing Guard Scheduling. ## Related jobs - [Security guards26 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/security-guards/) - [Transportation security screeners26 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/transportation-security-screeners/) - [Bus drivers28 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/bus-drivers/) - [Police officers31 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/police-officers/) ## Next steps for crossing guards - ### Check your job Your job title is a rough guide. Your actual tasks decide your score. Paste your job description or CV and see which of your tasks AI can do. [Check your job](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/ai-exposure-checker/) [Check your CV](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/cv-checker/) ### 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. [Book an AI audit](https://www.aigentcy.com/audit/) ## Related topics - [**Jobs AI can't replace**Cement masons score lowest, at 8.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-ai-cant-replace/) - [**Jobs most at risk from AI**Proofreaders score highest, at 76.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-most-exposed-to-ai/) - [**High-paying jobs with low AI exposure**Radiologists earn a median $420,860 and score 46.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/high-paying-jobs-low-ai-exposure/) - [**Entry-level jobs with low AI exposure**Cement masons need little prior training and score 8.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/entry-level-jobs-low-ai-exposure/) - [**Jobs AI speeds up the most**For natural sciences managers, AI speeds up 96% of task time.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-ai-speeds-up/) - [**AI and jobs in Malta**15 iGaming roles graded task by task.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/malta/) - [**Skills that keep work human**The skills to build in the jobs AI changes least.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/skills/) - [**Jobs A to Z**Every job we publish, by first letter.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs/) - [**AI exposure by industry**Average scores for 22 occupation groups.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/industries/) - [**Write a CV screening software can read**How applicant tracking systems read a CV, and what to change.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/cv-screening-guide/) - [**AI for businesses**The tasks to automate first in each team and industry.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/) - [**How we score AI exposure**The grading, the weights and every source.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/) Occupation data from the O\*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and modified by Aigentcy. O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Wage, employment and projection data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. EU occupation names from ESCO, European Commission. AI usage signals from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY) and Microsoft Research (CC BY 4.0). [Methodology and sources](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/). Scores © Aigentcy. Quote them with a link to the page.