AI Job Worry Index / Engineers
AI Job Worry Index · Trades & physical · Google Trends, November 2020 to October 2026

Will AI replace engineers?

Search data can't predict that, but it shows how worried people are: engineers rank #1 of 56 jobs for searches asking whether AI will replace them. Those searches rose 62% in the last 12 months. For every one of them there are about 20 searches for “AI for engineers”. Searches for “how to become an engineer” are up 25% since the year before ChatGPT.

Worry rank
#1
of 56 jobs
Worry index
208
programmers = 100
Worried searches, last 12 months
+62%
vs the 12 months before
“AI for” searches per worried search
20
since November 2022
“How to become an engineer”
+25%
vs the year before ChatGPT

How often people ask whether AI will replace engineers

Worried searches peaked in March 2026. The grey line is programmers, the job most associated with AI, for scale.

Will AI replace engineers

Monthly. Programmers' average since November 2022 = 100. Hover or use the arrow keys for values.

Source: Google Trends, worldwide.

Curiosity vs worry

For every search asking whether AI will replace engineers, there are about 20 searches for “AI for engineers” or “ChatGPT for engineers”.

“AI for engineers” vs “will AI replace engineers”

Monthly, same scale (programmers' worried searches = 100).

Source: Google Trends, worldwide.

Are fewer people trying to become engineers?

Searches for “how to become an engineer” are up 25% on the year before ChatGPT. It's a rough signal of how many people want to get into the job, not of hiring.

“how to become an engineer”

Monthly average of weekly data, highest week = 100.

Source: Google Trends, worldwide.

What people ask

Top related searches, since November 2020.

  • will ai replace engineers
  • ai replace software engineers
  • will engineers be replaced by ai
  • software engineer ai
  • can ai replace engineers
  • will software engineers be replaced by ai
  • can ai replace software engineers

The AI they look for

Top searches related to “AI for engineers”.

  • ai software engineer
  • ai engineer jobs
  • ai engineering
  • ai ml engineer
  • ai engineer course
  • ai prompt engineer

Similar jobs

Will AI replace mechanics?#24 · worry 15Will AI replace electricians?#26 · worry 12Will AI replace plumbers?#33 · worry 9.7Will AI replace truck drivers?#49 · worry 3.1 · few searchesWill AI replace teachers?#2 · worry 131Will AI replace doctors?#3 · worry 106
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Questions

Will AI replace engineers?

Search data can't predict that, but it shows how worried people are: engineers rank #1 of 56 jobs for searches asking whether AI will replace them. Those searches rose 62% in the last 12 months. For every one of them there are about 20 searches for “AI for engineers”. Searches for “how to become an engineer” are up 25% since the year before ChatGPT. Search interest measures worry, not the actual risk to the job.

When did people worry most about AI replacing engineers?

Searches asking whether AI will replace engineers were highest in March 2026 (Google Trends, November 2020 to October 2026).

Are fewer people becoming engineers?

Searches for “how to become an engineer” in the last 12 months are +25% compared with November 2021 – October 2022, the year before ChatGPT. That's interest in getting in, not actual hiring or enrolment.

How do engineers compare with other jobs?

Engineers rank #1 of 56 jobs in the AI Job Worry Index, with a worry index of 208 where programmers = 100. The full ranking is on the index page.