Home Appliance Repairers
In short: today's best AI models could do about 16% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about the same by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The people and hands-on work, about 84% of the time, stays with people.
Repair, adjust, or install all types of electric or gas household appliances, such as refrigerators, washers, dryers, and ovens.
32,150 people do this job in the US. $50,990 a year.
A typical 40-hour week
Not yet reviewed task by task- AI could take on6 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people34 h
Home Appliance Repairers, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 6 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 34 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Provide repair cost estimates, and recommend whether appliance repair or replacement is a better choice (about 2 h); Refer to schematic drawings, product manuals, and troubleshooting guides to diagnose and repair problems (about 2 h); Bill customers for repair work, and collect payment (about 1 h).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 16%
- 2%
- 83%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 2%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 16%. Today's estimate: 16%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, no reportable share went to this job's tasks in May 2026; 0 of its 29 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.0067% to 0.0047% (released February and March 2025); 0.0024% to 0.0071% (August 2025 to February 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.0067% | 575 of 708 | 2 of 29 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.0047% | 591 of 703 | 1 of 29 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.0024% | 614 of 655 | 1 of 29 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.0052% | 570 of 672 | 2 of 29 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.0071% | 537 of 677 | 3 of 29 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 29 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 29 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 77% of this job's working time as physical work. For 44% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 44% in a purpose-built cell. 0.44 of 3, the 330th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 23%
- No robot shown 33%
- In a purpose-built cell 44%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
The tasks
Sorted by . 29 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service and repair domestic electrical or gas appliances, such as clothes washers, refrigerators, stoves, and dryers.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 21% | 2.1 h50 min to 4.2 h | Stays with people | |
| Replace worn and defective parts such as switches, bearings, transmissions, belts, gears, circuit boards, or defective wiring.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 13% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Reassemble units after repairs are made, making adjustments and cleaning and lubricating parts as needed.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, KUKA KR Agilus robotic screwdriving cell (integrator Qbig) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 50 min17 min to 2.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Disassemble appliances so that problems can be diagnosed and repairs can be made.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Panasonic automatic dismantling system for air-conditioner outdoor unit covers (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Install appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, and stoves.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, KUKA LBR iiwa in appliance (dishwasher/washing machine) assembly cells (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 1.7 h38 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Trace electrical circuits, following diagrams, and conduct tests with circuit testers and other equipment to locate shorts and grounds.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, SPEA 4050 S2 Flying Probe Tester (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Observe and examine appliances during operation to detect specific malfunctions such as loose parts or leaking fluid.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Cosmo Instruments LS-R902 differential-pressure leak tester (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Provide repair cost estimates, and recommend whether appliance repair or replacement is a better choice.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Refer to schematic drawings, product manuals, and troubleshooting guides to diagnose and repair problems.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 33 min17 min to 1.3 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Bill customers for repair work, and collect payment.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 17 min8 min to 33 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Observe and test operation of appliances following installation, and make any initial installation adjustments that are necessary.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 2% | 25 min13 min to 1.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Talk to customers or refer to work orders to establish the nature of appliance malfunctions.Done daily by most who do it. | 2% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | 100%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers9% now, 9% by 2028
- Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers3% now, 3% by 2028
- Industrial Machinery Mechanics13% now, 13% by 2028
- Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment1% now, 1% by 2028
- Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door1% now, 1% by 2028
- Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics8% now, 8% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
- Personal and Household Goods Repair and Maintenance12,630 people
- Electronics and Appliance Retailers7,820 people
- Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods (4232, 4233, 4235, 4236, 4237, and 4239 only)1,720 people
- Professional and Commercial Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers960 people
- Drycleaning and Laundry Services720 people
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Home Appliance Repairers is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 16% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 16% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Home Appliance Repairers come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Provide repair cost estimates, and recommend whether appliance repair or replacement is a better choice (100% of the task's time now); Refer to schematic drawings, product manuals, and troubleshooting guides to diagnose and repair problems (100% of the task's time now); and Bill customers for repair work, and collect payment (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Home Appliance Repairers stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Service and repair domestic electrical or gas appliances, such as clothes washers, refrigerators, stoves, and dryers; Replace worn and defective parts such as switches, bearings, transmissions, belts, gears, circuit boards, or defective wiring; and Reassemble units after repairs are made, making adjustments and cleaning and lubricating parts as needed. Together such tasks are about 84% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Home Appliance Repairers?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026, no reportable share went to this job's tasks. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 0%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Home Appliance Repairers?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 77% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 44% of the working time. Its index is 0.44 of 3. One example: KUKA KR Agilus robotic screwdriving cell (integrator Qbig) for "reassemble units after repairs are made, making adjustments and cleaning and lubricating parts as needed". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 29 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, each classed as desk, people or body work, and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
This job in your state or metro area
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.
Your own version of this job
The page above is the occupation. Your job is your title and what you actually do: give both, and they are read against these tasks in your browser, nothing sent anywhere. The headline is free: how much of your working time is within reach now and by the end of 2028, and how many of the tasks your description names.
This occupation has not been reviewed task by task yet, so the full personal report is not offered for it; 402 of 923 occupations are reviewed so far, largest first.