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AI exposure Personal care and service

Will AI replace hairdressers?

Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists. US occupation 39-5012.

3.0%

of the time hairdressers spend on their work goes on tasks where AI is already being used to do that work.of hairdressers' working hours go on tasks AI has already started taking off their plate.

Ranked 299 of 756 US occupations. More exposed than 59% of them.Further along than 59% of them.

Average US job 7.7%

Around the middle of the pack.Keeping pace with the average job.

What AI already does for hairdressersWhat hairdressers no longer do alone

O*NET lists 20 tasks for hairdressers. AI use at work shows up in 1 of them. Each score runs from 0.5, where every observed use helps a person with the task, to 1, where every use does the task outright.

  1. Schedule client appointments.Core task mostly automated 1.00

What it does not touch, yetWhat still needs a human

19 of the 20 tasks show no AI use at work in the data.

  • Analyze patrons' hair and other physical features to determine and recommend beauty treatment or suggest hair styles.Core task
  • Apply water or setting, straightening or waving solutions to hair, and use curlers, rollers, hot combs and curling irons to press and curl hair.Core task
  • Bleach, dye, or tint hair, using applicator or brush.Core task
  • Comb, brush, and spray hair or wigs to set style.Core task
  • Cut, trim and shape hair or hairpieces, based on customers' instructions, hair type, and facial features, using clippers, scissors, trimmers and razors.Core task
  • Demonstrate and sell hair care products and cosmetics.Core task
Show the other 13
  • Develop new styles and techniques.Core task
  • Keep work stations clean and sanitize tools, such as scissors and combs.Core task
  • Massage and treat scalp for hygienic and remedial purposes, using hands, fingers, or vibrating equipment.Core task
  • Order, display, and maintain supplies.Core task
  • Shampoo, rinse, condition, and dry hair and scalp or hairpieces with water, liquid soap, or other solutions.Core task
  • Shave, trim, and shape beards and moustaches.Core task
  • Update and maintain customer information records, such as beauty services provided.Core task
  • Administer therapeutic medication and advise patron to seek medical treatment for chronic or contagious scalp conditions.
  • Attach wigs or hairpieces to model heads and dress wigs and hairpieces according to instructions, samples, sketches or photographs.
  • Operate cash registers to receive payments from patrons.
  • Recommend and explain the use of cosmetics, lotions, and creams to soften and lubricate skin and enhance and restore natural appearance.
  • Shape eyebrows and remove facial hair, using depilatory cream, tweezers, electrolysis or wax.
  • Train or supervise other hairstylists, hairdressers, and assistants.

How that compares

Among the 27 personal care and service occupations, hairdressers rank 7. The group averages 1.9%, and its most exposed job is Concierges at 18.8%. The average US occupation sits at 7.7%.

All 756 occupations, ranked

Just above in the ranking

  1. 297Architectural and Engineering Managers 3.1%
  2. 297Dentists, General 3.1%
  3. 299First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers 3.0%

Just below

  1. 304Construction Laborers 2.8%
  2. 304Driver/Sales Workers 2.8%
  3. 304Historians 2.8%

What this does and does not mean

Exposure is observed use, not a forecast. Anthropic maps work conversations with Claude onto the tasks O*NET lists for each job and asks, of the tasks AI could speed up, which are actually being used for at work. A use that does the task outright counts in full and a use that assists a person counts half. The task scores are averaged into the occupation figure by the share of time spent on each task.

A high figure means AI is already part of how this work gets done. It does not mean anyone has been replaced. Anthropic's own reading of the labour market finds no systematic rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting exposed jobs.No measurable rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting these jobs. Gap years for everyone. Labor market impacts, 5 March 2026.

Task list and titles from O*NET 31.0 by the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Scores from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY). Checked 1 November 2026. How the ranking works.