Will AI replace welders?
Updated
Welders score 19 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 82% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 30 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can't do any of them end to end yet. It speeds up 6 and leaves 24 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Analyze engineering drawings, blueprints, specifications, sketches, work orders, and material safety data sheets to plan layout, assembly, and operations. AI can read drawings and specs to draft layout plans. | 61% AI helps |
| Develop templates and models for welding projects, using mathematical calculations based on blueprint information. AI can do geometry and layout math from blueprints. | 57% AI helps |
| Determine required equipment and welding methods, applying knowledge of metallurgy, geometry, and welding techniques. AI can reason over welding codes and metallurgy; welder decides. | 56% AI helps |
| Mark or tag material with proper job number, piece marks, and other identifying marks as required. Job records can generate tag text; physical marking stays manual. | 42% AI helps |
| Select and install torches, torch tips, filler rods, and flux, according to welding chart specifications or types and thicknesses of metals. AI can look up chart specs; worker installs torches and rods. | 31% AI helps |
| Examine workpieces for defects and measure workpieces with straightedges or templates to ensure conformance with specifications. Physical part inspection; vision tools help, gauges stay manual. | 28% AI helps |
| Operate metal shaping, straightening, and bending machines, such as brakes and shears. Operator runs shaping and bending machines on the floor. | 20% Needs a person |
| Clean or degrease parts, using wire brushes, portable grinders, or chemical baths. Physical cleaning with brushes, grinders, and chemical baths. | 19% Needs a person |
| Detect faulty operation of equipment or defective materials and notify supervisors. On-site observation of equipment; AI can only draft reports. | 18% Needs a person |
| Weld separately or in combination, using aluminum, stainless steel, cast iron, and other alloys. Hands-on alloy welding; AI helps with procedure notes only. | 17% Needs a person |
Show the other 20 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Check grooves, angles, or gap allowances, using micrometers, calipers, and precision measuring instruments. Manual measuring with calipers and micrometers on parts. | 16% Needs a person |
| Monitor the fitting, burning, and welding processes to avoid overheating of parts or warping, shrinking, distortion, or expansion of material. Live monitoring of heat and distortion during physical work. | 15% Needs a person |
| Repair products by dismantling, straightening, reshaping, and reassembling parts, using cutting torches, straightening presses, and hand tools. Physical dismantling, straightening, and reassembly of products. | 14% Needs a person |
| Connect and turn regulator valves to activate and adjust gas flow and pressure so that desired flames are obtained. Hands-on adjustment of regulators and gas flow. | 13% Needs a person |
| Operate safety equipment and use safe work habits. Hands-on safety practice on the job site; AI only informs. | 12% Needs a person |
| Chip or grind off excess weld, slag, or spatter, using hand scrapers or power chippers, portable grinders, or arc-cutting equipment. Physical chipping and grinding of weld residue. | 11% Needs a person |
| Prepare all material surfaces to be welded, ensuring that there is no loose or thick scale, slag, rust, moisture, grease, or other foreign matter. Physical removal of scale, rust, grease from surfaces. | 10% Needs a person |
| Grind, cut, buff, or bend edges of workpieces to be joined to ensure snug fit, using power grinders and hand tools. Physical grinding and bending of edges to fit. | 9% Needs a person |
| Align and clamp workpieces together, using rules, squares, or hand tools, or position items in fixtures, jigs, or vises. Physically aligning and clamping parts manually or fixture. | 8% Needs a person |
| Preheat workpieces prior to welding or bending, using torches or heating furnaces. Physical preheating with torches or furnaces. | 8% Needs a person |
| Recognize, set up, and operate hand and power tools common to the welding trade, such as shielded metal arc and gas metal arc welding equipment. Physical setup and operation of welding tools. | 7% Needs a person |
| Position and secure workpieces, using hoists, cranes, wire, and banding machines or hand tools. Physical positioning with hoists, cranes, and banding tools. | 6% Needs a person |
| Melt and apply solder along adjoining edges of workpieces to solder joints, using soldering irons, gas torches, or electric-ultrasonic equipment. Hands-on soldering of physical joints. | 5% Needs a person |
| Weld components in flat, vertical, or overhead positions. Physical welding in position requires skilled hands on metal. | 4% Needs a person |
| Melt and apply solder to fill holes, indentations, or seams of fabricated metal products, using soldering equipment. Hands-on solder application to fill seams. | 4% Needs a person |
| Guide and direct flames or electrodes on or across workpieces to straighten, bend, melt, or build up metal. Hands-on guiding of flame or electrode along metal. | 4% Needs a person |
| Ignite torches or start power supplies and strike arcs by touching electrodes to metals being welded, completing electrical circuits. Physical ignition and arc striking at the workpiece. | 3% Needs a person |
| Use fire suppression methods in industrial emergencies. Emergency physical response to fires on site. | 3% Needs a person |
| Hammer out bulges or bends in metal workpieces. Physical hammering to remove bulges in metal. | 2% Needs a person |
| Set up and use ladders and scaffolding as necessary to complete work. Physical setup and climbing of ladders and scaffolds. | 1% Needs a person |
How welders compare
All occupations (923)
Production (107)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $53,750 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 416,210 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +2.4% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Weld in flat, vertical, and overhead positions to code
- Pass AWS D1.1 welder performance qualification tests
- Select torch tips and filler rods using Fred's Tip Cartridge Picker
- Log weld records and maintenance in OmniFleet Equipment Maintenance Management
- Inspect joints against drawings with straightedges and gauges
- Run pipe joint layouts in EZ Pipe
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about welders and AI
Will welders be replaced by AI?
Partly. About 2 in 10 of a welder's working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly reading engineering drawings and calculating layout geometry. Striking the arc, welding in position, and filling seams on the metal stay with welders because they need hands on the workpiece.
Which welding tasks is AI taking over?
Reading engineering drawings and specifications to plan layout carries the highest exposure score of any task, 61. AI can also draft the geometry and math behind templates, scoring 57, so the welder reviews a finished plan before cutting metal. Marking piece tags from job records scores 42, since software can generate the tag text.
Which welding tasks stay human?
Welding in flat, vertical, or overhead positions scores 4 on exposure, the same as hand soldering seams. Hammering out bulges scores 2, and striking arcs scores 3. These tasks need a person's hands on hot metal at the workpiece, where heat and position are judged by feel.
How can welders stay valuable as AI grows?
Pass the AWS D1.1 structural welding test in the positions your employer uses. Check every AI-drafted layout against the blueprint in Microsoft Excel before cutting. Keep OmniFleet maintenance logs and weld records current, so you can show which equipment and procedures you ran on each job.
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Next steps for welders
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