# Will substitute teachers be replaced by AI? Updated October 2026 Substitute teachers score 31 of 100 for AI exposure. 57% of their task time still needs a person. AI can do 3% today and speed up another 40%. - **3%** AI can do it - **40%** AI helps - **57%** Needs a person Moderate exposure Lower than 60% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 18 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 1 of them today, speeds up 6 and leaves 11 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Grade students' assignments and exams. AI can grade most objective and written work with review. | 70% AI can do it | | Take class attendance and maintain attendance records. Digital rosters automate records, but calling names is in person. | 50% AI helps | | Answer students' questions. AI can suggest answers, but sub still responds to students live. | 40% AI helps | | Tutor or assist students individually or in small groups. AI tutors can support content, but assistance is in person. | 35% AI helps | | Operate equipment such as computers or audio-visual aids to supplement presentations. AI can guide setup, but operating hardware stays hands on. | 35% AI helps | ## How substitute teachers compare All occupations (923) Educational instruction and library (62) **Substitute teachers score 31**, 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 45 for educational instruction and library. ## Pay and outlook in the US Median pay $41,670 a year, May 2025 People employed 524,770 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs +2.0% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Follow posted lesson plans in Google Classroom and Schoology - Run Seesaw and Flipgrid activities for students in class - Keep attendance and roster records in Microsoft Excel - Hold a state substitute teaching license or permit - Supervise recess, lunch, and field trips in person - Handle assistive device and accessibility help for students with disabilities ## Safer roles nearby 4 related occupations with lower scores. - [Kindergarten teachers29 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/kindergarten-teachers/) - [Special education assistants30 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/special-education-assistants/) - [Teaching assistants30 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/teaching-assistants/) - [Preschool teachers29 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/preschool-teachers/) ## Questions about substitute teachers and AI Will AI replace substitute teachers? Partly. About 2 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly grading assignments and keeping attendance records. Teaching live, calling names, answering students in the room, and supervising children on site stay with the person in front of the class. Which tasks is AI taking over for substitute teachers? Grading assignments and exams has the highest exposure at 70, and AI can grade most objective and written work with review. Attendance records follow at 50, since digital rosters fill them automatically. Answering student questions at 40 is partly automated, with AI suggesting answers that the substitute still delivers live. Which tasks stay human for substitute teachers? Supervising recess, lunch, and field trips scores 5 on exposure because it needs physical presence and safety. Helping students with disabilities scores 4 because hands-on device help and restroom access need a person on site. Restocking supplies scores 6 and stays hands on in the classroom. How do substitute teachers stay valuable? Work fluently in Google Classroom, Schoology, and Moodle to follow the regular teacher's plans. Run Seesaw or Flipgrid activities the absent teacher set up. Keep clean attendance and roster notes in Microsoft Excel. Spend your time on in-person supervision, student questions, and small-group help. ## Related jobs - [High school special education teachers42 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/high-school-special-education-teachers/) - [Elementary school teachers41 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/elementary-school-teachers/) - [High school teachers41 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/high-school-teachers/) - [Middle school teachers42 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/middle-school-teachers/) ## Next steps for substitute teachers - ### 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.