# Will lifeguards be replaced by AI? Updated October 2026 Lifeguards score 19 of 100 for AI exposure. 67% of their task time still needs a person. AI can do 8% today and speed up another 25%. - **8%** AI can do it - **25%** AI helps - **67%** Needs a person Low exposure Lower than 82% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 15 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 1 of them today, speeds up 4 and leaves 10 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Complete and maintain records of weather and beach conditions, emergency medical treatments performed, and other relevant incident information. Logging conditions and incident reports is mostly text work. | 78% AI can do it | | Warn recreational participants of inclement weather, unsafe areas, or illegal conduct. Signs and alerts help, but live warnings need a person. | 35% AI helps | | Observe activities in assigned areas, using binoculars, to detect hazards, disturbances, or safety infractions. Camera analytics can flag hazards, but watching stays human led. | 35% AI helps | | Provide assistance with staff selection, training, and supervision. AI helps with schedules and materials; supervising people stays human. | 35% AI helps | | Contact emergency medical personnel in case of serious injury. Dispatch scripts help, but a person makes the call. | 30% AI helps | ## How lifeguards compare All occupations (923) Protective service (26) **Lifeguards score 19**, 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 $33,580 a year, May 2025 People employed 157,550 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs +5.5% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Rescue distressed swimmers and skiers with hands-on equipment - Give first aid and CPR during medical emergencies - Review and sign off AI-drafted incident reports in Word - Lead staff training and supervision on every shift - Coordinate serious injuries with EMS dispatch by radio and phone - Send live hazard alerts to guests through GroupMe and Outlook ## Safer roles nearby 5 related occupations with lower scores. - [Firefighters15 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/firefighters/) - [Ambulance drivers13 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/ambulance-drivers/) - [Emergency medical technicians17 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/emergency-medical-technicians/) - [Orderlies10 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/orderlies/) - [Commercial divers16 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/commercial-divers/) ## Questions about lifeguards and AI Will AI replace lifeguards? Partly. About 2 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly logging conditions and incident records and issuing weather warnings. Rescues, first aid and supervision stay with people on duty, because they need a person physically present at the water or on the slope. Which lifeguard tasks is AI taking over? Recording weather, beach conditions and incident reports is the most exposed task, with an exposure score of 78, because it is mostly text work. Warning participants about weather or unsafe areas and observing zones with binoculars, both scored 35, are partly automated through signs, alerts and camera analytics. Which lifeguard tasks stay human? Rescuing distressed people, with an exposure score of 3, stays with lifeguards because it needs physical presence and hands-on skill. First aid and CPR, scored 4, and helping guests onto ski lifts, scored 8, also need a trained person on site. How can lifeguards stay valuable as AI spreads? Keep current CPR, first aid and rescue certifications, since hands-on rescue carries the lowest exposure. Review AI-drafted incident reports in Word and Excel before sign-off, lead staff training and supervision, and send live hazard alerts through GroupMe and Outlook. ## Related jobs - [Recreation workers34 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/recreation-workers/) - [Security guards26 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/security-guards/) - [Fire supervisors29 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/fire-supervisors/) - [Health and safety specialists38 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/health-and-safety-specialists/) ## Next steps for lifeguards - ### 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.