# Will AI replace IT jobs? Updated October 2026 IT support specialists score 59 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 54%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 14% outright, and 32% stays with people. - **14%** AI can do it - **54%** AI helps - **32%** Needs a person High exposure Higher than 89% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 16 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 2 of them today, speeds up 9 and leaves 5 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Maintain records of daily data communication transactions, problems and remedial actions taken, or installation activities. Logging transactions and remedial actions is largely templated and automatable. | 72% AI can do it | | Answer user inquiries regarding computer software or hardware operation to resolve problems. LLM assistants answer most routine software and hardware questions. | 65% AI can do it | | Modify and customize commercial programs for internal needs. Coding assistants speed customization; developers still test and take responsibility for results. | 60% AI helps | | Read technical manuals, confer with users, or conduct computer diagnostics to investigate and resolve problems or to provide technical assistance and support. AI speeds troubleshooting and manual lookup; live user contact remains. | 55% AI helps | | Refer major hardware or software problems or defective products to vendors or technicians for service. AI drafts vendor escalations and tickets; staff choose and send. | 55% AI helps | [See what AI can take on across an IT team](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/it/) ## How IT support specialists compare All occupations (923) Computer and mathematical (36) **IT support specialists score 59**, 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 60 for computer and mathematical. ## Pay and outlook in the US Median pay $61,860 a year, May 2025 People employed 717,190 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs \-3.5% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Run hands-on cabling, hardware repairs and workstation setup - Administer user accounts and permissions in Microsoft Active Directory - Take responsibility for vendor escalations and ticket sign-off in ServiceNow - Hold the CompTIA A+ certification for hardware and software support - Write SQL queries to trace data faults behind user access problems - Deliver live training on Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Office software ## Safer roles nearby 5 related occupations with lower scores. - [Systems administrators58 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/systems-administrators/) - [Computer repair technicians38 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/computer-repair-technicians/) - [Computer network architects55 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/computer-network-architects/) - [Electrical engineering technicians45 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/electrical-engineering-technicians/) - [Telecommunications engineering specialists57 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/telecommunications-engineering-specialists/) ## Questions about IT support specialists and AI Will IT jobs be replaced by AI? Partly. About 4 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly logging transactions and remedial actions and answering routine user questions about software and hardware. Hands-on repairs and equipment setup stay with the specialist. Will AI take over IT? AI can already do 14% of the task time in IT and speeds up another 54%. People still do 32% of it. The US has 717,190 IT support specialist jobs, with a projected change of -3.5% from 2024 to 2034. Which IT support tasks is AI taking over? Logging and routine answers come first. Maintaining records of transactions and remedial actions has an exposure score of 72, so AI can write entries from ticket details. Answering routine software and hardware questions scores 65, since LLM assistants already handle most of them. Vendor escalation drafts follow, with staff still choosing and sending them. Which IT support tasks stay with people? Hands-on setup and repairs stay with people. Setting up equipment means running cables, installing operating systems and checking the workstation, which requires physical presence. Inspecting equipment before delivery and making minor hardware repairs follow the same pattern. Supervising and hiring staff is interpersonal and accountable work, and requirements gathering relies on live conversation with users and management. How can IT support specialists stay valuable? Keep the hands-on and judgment-heavy work, and use AI for the templated parts. Run cabling, hardware repairs and workstation setup yourself. Review every AI-drafted vendor escalation and ServiceNow ticket before it goes out. Use Microsoft Active Directory to manage accounts, and lead live training on Outlook and Office, since AI drafts guides and people deliver the session. ## Related jobs - [Network engineers59 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/computer-network-support-specialists/) - [Systems analysts59 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/systems-analysts/) - [Software developers59 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/software-developers/) - [Database administrators60 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/database-administrators/) ## Next steps for IT support specialists - ### 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.