Will AI replace Barbers?
AI reaches little of this job’s work.
8/100
Low exposure
More exposed to AI than 17% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 0% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 16% of the work
What the job involves
Provide barbering services, such as cutting, trimming, shampooing, and styling hair; trimming beards; or giving shaves.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Within reach(3)
- Record services provided on cashiers' tickets or receive payment from customers.
- Perform clerical and administrative duties such as keeping records, paying bills, and hiring and supervising personnel.
- Keep card files on clientele, recording notes of work done, products used and fees charged after each visit.
Out of reach(17)
- Clean and sterilize scissors, combs, clippers, and other instruments.
- Cut and trim hair according to clients' instructions or current hairstyles, using clippers, combs, hand-held blow driers, and scissors.
- Question patrons regarding desired services and haircut styles.
- Clean work stations and sweep floors.
- Drape and pin protective cloths around customers' shoulders.
and 12 more
Also called
Barber Stylist · Stylist · Hair Cutter · Tonsorial Artist · Barber Shop Operator · Hair Stylist · Licensed Barber
Related jobs
What these numbers mean
The score is the share of this job’s work, weighted by how important and frequent each task is, that AI could do in half the time: tasks an AI model could do alone count in full, tasks that need software built on AI count half.
“AI already used” is the share of the work in tasks where people are recorded using AI today. “As AI tools mature” counts every task AI could halve, with or without extra software.
The percentile compares the score with every job’s, weighted by how many people in the US do each one. Exposure means AI could change how the work is done, not that the job goes away. These are estimates for the typical job, not predictions.
Sources
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
- GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs (task labels), Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), OpenAI and University of Pennsylvania
- Anthropic Economic Index: labor market impacts (task penetration), Anthropic
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (national and metropolitan areas), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics