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Audiovisual Equipment Installers and Repairers

installing service, calibrating and testing equipment and positioning or mounting speakers and wiring speakers to consoles. If that's your week, this page is about your job.

The honest answer

AI changes the edges of this job, not the middle: installing service and repairing electronic equipment or instruments, televisions, radios and videocassette recorders is work software can't reach.

Your move: what you can actually do about this ↓

What shifts is keeping records of work orders and testing and maintenance reports. This page scores what today's tools actually do, not headlines.

Your week, as this page understands it

Install, repair, or adjust audio or television receivers, stereo systems, camcorders, video systems, or other electronic entertainment equipment in homes or other venues. May perform routine maintenance. The job title says “audiovisual equipment installers” or “repairers”: officially one job, two names. The real job is the part underneath: installing service and repairing electronic equipment or instruments, televisions, radios and videocassette recorders. That is the thing someone has to be right about.

The exposed part of this job is specific, and we won’t pretend it is coming back. But audiovisual equipment installers and repairers is not one task. It is 11 scored ones, and they are nowhere near equally exposed. The most durable of them, on this evidence, is installing service and repairing electronic equipment or instruments, televisions, radios and videocassette recorders, and the ledger below shows exactly why.

Where the work sits, by task weight

shifting to AI
14%
changing shape
10%
staying human
76%

These bars are tasks changing hands, not people being counted out. The ledger below shows which.

Whole-job exposure score 24 out of 100 (20–30 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, across 11 scored tasks. The number is the support for the sentence above it, not a headline about anyone’s future.

How we know this

What is measured: Every published task statement for audiovisual equipment installers and repairers is rated on five dimensions: can a model produce the output, does the work need a body in a room, does it need a legally accountable person, does it depend on a person being trusted in the moment, and how much data exists. A published formula turns those five ratings into the score; the model never writes the number.

How the bar is built: Each task’s share of the bar is its published importance weight, so a task you do all day counts for more than one you do twice a year.

Release: 2026-q4.1, scores computed 2026-08-05. Read the full method.

Your job, task by task

These are the official task statements for this occupation, in plain English, sorted by what the evidence says is happening to each one. The official wording sits under every line so you can check the rewrite against it.

Shifting to AI

2 tasks

Tasks today’s tools can already do most of. This is the part we will not soften: where these rows are the bulk of your week, the week changes.

  • Keeping records of work orders and testing and maintenance reports

    This is reading one thing and writing another: records of work orders in, a record out. That is the shape today's tools are built for.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source: “Keep records of work orders and test and maintenance reports.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 75 out of 100 (68–82 allowing for uncertainty): high exposure, medium confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.

    The rating behind it: Writing up work orders and maintenance reports is routine paperwork software drafts well once the technician says what was done.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 0/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

  • Computing cost estimates for labor and materials

    This is reading one thing and writing another: cost estimates in, a record out. That is the shape today's tools are built for.

    importance 4 · Supplemental
    Source: “Compute cost estimates for labor and materials.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 75 out of 100 (68–82 allowing for uncertainty): high exposure, medium confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.

    The rating behind it: Working out labor and parts costs is arithmetic against price lists, which software handles quickly.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 0/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

Changing shape

1 task

Tasks where the machine takes the producing and a person keeps the checking, the deciding, or the answering-for-it. For most jobs this is the biggest group, and it is where "transformation, not termination" is literally visible.

  • Reading and interpreting electronic circuit diagrams

    The software now makes the first pass at electronic circuit diagrams, but the deciding part still needs a person. So the job becomes checking and deciding rather than producing.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source: “Read and interpret electronic circuit diagrams, function block diagrams, specifications, engineering drawings, and service manuals.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 58 out of 100 (51–65 allowing for uncertainty): partial exposure, medium confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.

    The rating behind it: Reading manuals and specifications suits software well, though interpreting a detailed circuit drawing still often needs an experienced technician.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 0/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

Staying human

8 tasks

Tasks that stay with a person, because they happen in the physical world, because the rules need someone accountable, or because the value is that a specific person does them.

  • Installing service and repairing electronic equipment or instruments, televisions, radios and videocassette recorders

    This work happens in the physical world: service, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source: “Install, service, and repair electronic equipment or instruments such as televisions, radios, and videocassette recorders.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Installing and repairing a television or radio means physically opening the unit and working inside it.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.

  • Conferring with customers to determine the nature of problems or to explain repairs

    The value here is that a specific person handles customers and stands behind it. That is earned, not computed.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source: “Confer with customers to determine the nature of problems or to explain repairs.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 30 out of 100 (23–37 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; the value is that a specific person does it.

    The rating behind it: Much of this is a conversation, and customers usually want a person they can question about their own equipment.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 2/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

  • Instructing customers on the safe and proper use of equipment

    This work happens in the physical world: customers, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source: “Instruct customers on the safe and proper use of equipment.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 32 out of 100 (25–39 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Written and video guides are easy to generate, but showing someone how to use gear usually happens beside the equipment.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 2/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

  • Making service calls to repair units in customers' homes

    This work happens in the physical world: service calls, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source: “Make service calls to repair units in customers' homes, or return units to shops for major repairs.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Service calls mean traveling to a home and physically working on the unit, which cannot be done from a screen.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.

  • Positioning or mounting speakers and wiring speakers to consoles

    This work happens in the physical world: speakers, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source: “Position or mount speakers, and wire speakers to consoles.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Mounting and wiring speakers is hands-on work in a room, so someone has to be there.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.

  • Tuning or adjusting equipment and instruments to obtain optimum visual or auditory reception

    This work happens in the physical world: equipment, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source: “Tune or adjust equipment and instruments to obtain optimum visual or auditory reception, according to specifications, manuals, and drawings.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 8 out of 100 (1–15 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Tuning for the best picture or sound means adjusting the actual equipment while watching and listening to it.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.

  • Calibrating and testing equipment and locating circuit and component faults

    This work happens in the physical world: equipment, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source: “Calibrate and test equipment, and locate circuit and component faults, using hand and power tools and measuring and testing instruments such as resistance meters and oscilloscopes.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 8 out of 100 (1–15 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Fault-finding needs meters and tools held against the actual circuit board, though software can suggest what to check.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.

Show the other 1 task

  • Disassembling entertainment equipment and repairing or replacing loose

    staying human

    This work happens in the physical world: entertainment equipment, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source: “Disassemble entertainment equipment and repair or replace loose, worn, or defective components and wiring, using hand tools and soldering irons.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Taking equipment apart and soldering in new parts is hands-on work with tools.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.

What this job pays, and how many people do it

Median pay
$52,600a year, the middle of the range, so half earn more and half earn less.bls-oews, 2025 · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
How we know this

Source: bls-oews

Reference period: May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)

Rounding: Shown as published.

People doing this job
19,780in the US, 2025.bls-oews · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)

What is deliberately not here: a forecast of how many of these jobs exist in ten years. Where an official projection exists for a market we publish it with its vintage; where it does not, we leave the space empty rather than borrow the other country’s number.

Why this is shifting

The reason is boringly specific. Most of what is shifting here is reading one thing and writing another: records of work orders in, a record out. The rows above are exactly that shape: keeping records of work orders and testing and maintenance reports and computing cost estimates for labor and materials. What it cannot do is be there in the room, and that is still where service gets done. Which is why this page talks about your tasks changing, not your job ending.

Your move

Over a pint: what I’d tell you if you were my friend

Start with what does not change: installing service and repairing electronic equipment or instruments, televisions, radios and videocassette recorders is the middle of this job, and the evidence on this page says it stays with a person.

So, given all that: 14% of this job's task weight sits in rows the software is already learning, 10% in rows that change shape rather than disappear, and 76% in rows it is nowhere near. That is the position, measured across 11 scored tasks. It is not a forecast about you.

So the thing worth your attention is not the job going away. It is the layer around it. Keeping records of work orders and testing and maintenance reports is the part turning into software, and being the person who understands that layer is worth money.

This week: one thing

Ask the one question. Find whoever is bringing new software into your workplace (the manager, the office, whoever runs the system) and ask them what it is meant to do to records of work orders, and what it is not meant to touch. Ten minutes, this week, before anyone decides it for you.

What you end up holding
a straight answer about what is actually being rolled out, and when
How long it takes
ten minutes

If there’s nobody obvious to ask, or you’d rather not ask your manager: Put the same question to your union rep, your shift lead or the person who has been there longest, in person, over a break. Same ten minutes, same answer, and you will usually get a straighter one. Write down what they say. The note is the artifact, and it tells you whether service is in scope or not. Nothing to log into, no license needed.

Over the next 90 days

Get inside the tool rollout rather than waiting for it. Over the next ninety days, ask to be in the group that tests, checks or signs off whatever new system arrives near reading and interpreting electronic circuit diagrams. It is usually an unglamorous seat that nobody fights for, and it is the one that decides how the software is used on your job rather than to it.

Over the next 12 months

On this evidence I would not retrain out of this job, and I will say that plainly rather than hedge it. The task list here is dominated by work that stays with a person. What I would do with a year is get formally recognised for the layer around it (the systems, the compliance, the planning), so you are the one who understands the software instead of the one it is done to. Before you pay for anything, use CareerOneStop - Find local training. It is free, it is the Labor Department's own service, and it is listed below with the rest of the free routes.

The roads out of here, and why I am not sending you down them

I looked at the obvious moves out of this job, and here is what I found.

I checked the 12 nearest US occupations to audiovisual equipment installers and repairers (nearest by the work that AI is not taking, not by job title), and none of them survived. The closest was avionics technicians: only about 15% of its durable work is work you already do. And on the numbers you do not need one. This job scores 24/100 here, with only 14% of the task list in the top band, and “install, service, and repair electronic equipment or instruments” is not work that hands over cleanly. None of them beats deepening what you already have.

How that was checked: this job was compared against all 830 US occupations in this release on their official task statements, and the 12 nearest were examined one by one. A move that turns on an industry, an employer or a qualification rather than on the work itself will not show up in a check like that. And this release carries no licence register, so anything you are weighing needs that looked up separately.

3 moves I checked and rejected

These are the obvious-looking jumps. They are here with their reasons rather than quietly dropped, because the ones that fail are worth knowing about. It is one less thing to turn over at night.

  • Avionics Technicians

    Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already disassemble entertainment equipment and repair or replace loose, worn, or defective components and…, and their equivalent is to adjust, repair, or replace malfunctioning components or assemblies, using hand tools or soldering…. Across both published task lists that is about 15% of the durable work in that job.

    Why I am not recommending it: You would be starting most of it from nothing: about 15% of the durable work in that job is work you do today, and the rest you would be learning while the bills carried on.

    Look at that job’s page anyway →

  • Electronic Equipment Installers and Repairers, Motor Vehicles

    Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already confer with customers to determine the nature of problems or to explain repairs, and their equivalent is to confer with customers to determine the nature of malfunctions. Across both published task lists that is about 10% of the durable work in that job.

    Why I am not recommending it: You would be starting most of it from nothing: about 10% of the durable work in that job is work you do today, and the rest you would be learning while the bills carried on.

    Look at that job’s page anyway →

  • Medical Equipment Repairers

    Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already calibrate and test equipment, and locate circuit and component faults, using hand and…, and their equivalent is to test or calibrate components or equipment, following manufacturers' manuals and troubleshooting techniques, using…. Across both published task lists that is about 7% of the durable work in that job.

    Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 7% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step.

    Look at that job’s page anyway →

What I’d stop worrying about

A friend tells you what not to spend fear on. This is that list.

  • The headline number you read somewhere

    The big “X% of jobs” figures are about the whole economy, not about you. The number that describes your job is on this page: 14% of its task weight, across 11 scored tasks. Every row behind it is printed above with the source. Check ours; ignore theirs.

  • The headlines about your trade disappearing

    They are usually about the technology, not the timetable. Changes to work like installing service and repairing electronic equipment or instruments, televisions, radios and videocassette recorders arrive through rules, insurance and money, slowly and visibly. This page tracks the task evidence and will move when it moves.

  • Retraining out of a job that is holding up

    On this evidence I would not spend money leaving. Spend it on the layer around the job instead: the tools, the paperwork, the planning. That is where the change actually is.

  • The “obvious” next job everyone suggests

    I checked the obvious moves and most of them did not survive. The reasons are printed with the routes above, including the pay and the gate. A move that fails on the numbers is worth knowing about so you can stop turning it over at night.

You are reading the United States figures

The United Kingdom splits this work across more than one official group, of which Computer system and equipment installers and servicers is the closest. The pay and employment figures are not directly comparable, and we do not average them together.

Switch to the United Kingdom page →partial match

The other groups this work is counted across:

In UK official statistics this job is counted as Computer system and equipment installers and servicers and Tv, video and audio servicers and repairers. Pay is shown separately for each of those groups (medians cannot be averaged together), while the task list and the scores on this page are for this group only.

Your route through this

Where to go next, and what it costs

Free, and complete

The moves above cost nothing. These are the real services that go with them: public, government-funded, and free at the point of use. Nothing on this page is behind an email address or a payment.

No Space for this job, but one for what is happening to it

Nothing Collab365 runs is built for audiovisual equipment installers / repairers, and we are not going to point you at the nearest one and call it a fit.

There is one that is not about a job title at all. The AI Authority is about being the person who directs these tools at work rather than the person they get compared to. That is worth saying here, because 14% of the work on this page is already inside what they can do.

Try The AI Authority free →

7 days free, no card needed. Explore up to 2 Spaces before you choose a plan: you pick a plan later, not now.

The AI Authority is a general community about working with AI, not a course for audiovisual equipment installers / repairers. You do not need it to act on anything here: the moves above cost nothing and stand on their own. The data on this page is the same either way.

Noted, and thank you. We’ll email you if a Space for audiovisual equipment installers / repairers launches. Nothing else.

That did not look like an email address, so nothing was saved. Have another go below.

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No Space for audiovisual equipment installers / repairers yet. Should there be one?

Collab365 Spaces is built by the same people as this site. We find the problems that AI and automation are creating inside one kind of work, then solve them as short courses, briefings and Blueprints. Each Space is the community too, so the research and the people doing your job are in the same place.

What a Space actually is, in full

Collab365 launches new communities where the need is real. If one for audiovisual equipment installers / repairers existed, with researched problems, courses and people in the same boat, would you want in?

We use your email address for one thing: to tell you if a Space for audiovisual equipment installers / repairers launches. We never sell it, never use it for unrelated marketing, and every email has a one-click unsubscribe. Our privacy policy has the full version.

This unlocks nothing. Every figure, every row and every step on this page is already yours, whether you fill this in or not.

No deadline on any of this. The page will still be here, and the data is refreshed on a published schedule rather than when someone wants a headline.

Questions people ask about this job

Will AI replace Audiovisual Equipment Installers and Repairers?
Not as a job, but it is already doing parts of the work. Across the 11 official task statements scored for Audiovisual Equipment Installers and Repairers (United States, SOC 49-2097), 14% of the importance-weighted core work is made of tasks today's AI could already do most of. The overall exposure score is 24 out of 100 (range 20–30, band: low). That is a statement about tasks, not about headcount: this measures what AI could do, not whether any employer adopts it, whether the law allows it, or whether doing the routine parts faster creates more demand for the human parts. Figures are from release 2026-q4.1.
Which tasks in “Audiovisual Equipment Installers and Repairers” can AI already do?
The highest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Compute cost estimates for labor and materials” (75/100, high); “Keep records of work orders and test and maintenance reports” (75/100, high); “Read and interpret electronic circuit diagrams, function block diagrams, specifications, engineering drawings, and service manuals” (58/100, partial). Each score comes from five published 0–4 ratings turned into a number by a published formula, and each carries the model's one-sentence reason on the page.
Which tasks in “Audiovisual Equipment Installers and Repairers” stay human?
About 76% of this job's task weight sits in work that scores low for AI exposure. The lowest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Position or mount speakers, and wire speakers to consoles” (0/100, minimal); “Make service calls to repair units in customers' homes, or return units to shops for major repairs” (0/100, minimal); “Install, service, and repair electronic equipment or instruments such as televisions, radios, and videocassette recorders” (0/100, minimal). Low scores usually mean the task needs a body in a room, a legally accountable human, or trust built in real time. Those are the three things the scoring rubric treats as gates rather than obstacles.
What should someone working in “Audiovisual Equipment Installers and Repairers” do about AI?
Start from the ledger rather than the headline: 14% of this job's weighted core work is exposed, and roughly 76% is not. The practical move is to spend more of your week on the tasks that score low, the ones above, and to get fluent at directing AI through the tasks that score high, because those are the parts that change whether or not you are ready for them. This page does not predict your job, and nothing here is career advice tailored to you: the score describes the occupation, not the person.
How is the AI exposure score for Audiovisual Equipment Installers and Repairers calculated?
Each official task statement for the occupation is rated on five published 0–4 dimensions (output replicability, physical embodiment, licensed accountability, real-time human trust, and data availability) by claude-opus-5 using scoring prompt task_scoring_v1.0. The model never writes the score; a published formula turns the five ratings into a 0–100 number, so every score can be recomputed by hand. The occupation figure is the importance-weighted mean across 11 scored tasks. The prompt, the rubric, the formula and the full dataset are published at https://futureproof.collab365.com/method and https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1 under CC BY 4.0.

Where these numbers come from

Worth knowing about these figures

  • The match between this job and its counterpart in the other country is partial, so the two pages count slightly different groups of people.
  • Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.
Task statements
onet-dbProcessing: catalogue-bridge → onet-im-rt-weighting → task-scoring → score-aggregation
Task weights
onet-db (im-rt)
Scores
Rubric task_scoring_v1.0, model claude-opus-5, computed 2026-08-05.
Pay and employment
bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))

Figures on this page come from release 2026-q4.1, published 2026-08-05. Every release keeps its own permanent address, so a figure you cite in March is still there, unchanged, in November.

The plain-English wording on this page is assembled directly from the task statements and the published ratings, not written by hand for this occupation. That is why it is specific, and it is also why we say so.

The routes and free resources further up are today’s, not the release’s (last reviewed 2026-08-05). A route is an offer, not a historical fact, so it moves on its own clock.

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Using these figures?

Cite this

Everything on this site is published under CC BY 4.0. Quote it, chart it, sell something built on it. Just say where it came from, and cite the dated release rather than the site, so the figure you quote stays checkable.

Plain text

Collab365 (2026). Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1 (methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0). https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Built with O*NET data (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); ONS data (Open Government Licence v3.0); GAISI task framework (arXiv:2507.22748, MIT); BLS data (public domain).

BibTeX

@misc{collab365futureproof2026q41,
  title        = {Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1},
  author       = {{Collab365}},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1},
  note         = {Release 2026-q4.1, methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0, CC BY 4.0}
}

Permalink

https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1

Data as of release 2026-q4.1, published . Releases never change after publication; when the figures move, a new dated release is published beside this one and this one stays exactly where it is.