Will AI replace Motorboat Operators?
AI reaches little of this job’s work.
14/100
Low exposure
More exposed to AI than 26% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 0% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 28% of the work
What the job involves
Operate small motor-driven boats. May assist in navigational activities.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Within reach(4)
- Organize and direct the activities of crew members.
- Report any observed navigational hazards to authorities.
- Oversee operation of vessels used for carrying passengers, motor vehicles, or goods across rivers, harbors, lakes, and coastal waters.
- Issue directions for loading, unloading, and seating in boats.
Out of reach(12)
- Follow safety procedures to ensure the protection of passengers, cargo, and vessels.
- Operate engine throttles and steering mechanisms to guide boats on desired courses.
- Secure boats to docks with mooring lines, and cast off lines to enable departure.
- Maintain desired courses, using compasses or electronic navigational aids.
- Direct safety operations in emergency situations.
and 7 more
Also called
Boat Operator · Launch Operator · Motorboat Operator · Water Taxi Operator · Boat Driver · Boatman · Speedboat Operator · Crew Boat Operator
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