← All 785 jobsFile 33-9021
Private Detectives and Investigators
Mostly untouched
AI barely touches this work so far. The BLS expects 5.5% more of these jobs by 2035, faster than the 3.5% average.
- Rank
- #529 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- +5.5% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $51,220 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 39,500 in the US, with about 3,200 openings a year
The work, 10 activities
The job description, marked up.
Every activity in this job, the biggest first. Tap a line for the evidence.
- deleAI does this
- +AIAI helps
- stetStill yours
AI helps with this: Investigate criminal or legal matters26%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,075 conversations, and it got them there 83% of the time.
AI helps with this: Investigate individuals' background, behavior, or activities25%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 135 conversations, and it got them there 78% of the time. In this job the work is hands-on, so AI can only assist.
Still yours: Record information about legal matters12%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Gather information from physical or electronic sources9%
AI performed this in about 1 in 28 Copilot conversations and completed it 87% of the time.
Still yours: Present information in legal proceedings8%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Interview people to obtain information6%
People try AI for this, but it seldom finishes the work in full.
Still yours: Record images with photographic or audiovisual equipment6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Coordinate activities with clients, agencies, or organizations4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Notify others of emergencies or problems3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Reconcile financial data2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 106 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
About 3,200 openings a year, from growth and from people who retire or move on.
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
The jobs closest to this one. None of them is much less exposed.
- Shares 60% of the workDetectives and Criminal Investigators13% AI does, against 9% here+0.2% by 2035 · $93,790 · High school diploma
- Shares 31% of the workPolice and Sheriff's Patrol Officers10% AI does, against 9% here+3.5% by 2035 · $76,210 · High school diploma
- Shares 29% of the workFish and Game Wardens11% AI does, against 9% here-5.7% by 2035 · $74,060 · Bachelor’s degree
The wire
On the wire.
Nothing filed about this job yet. The latest from the War front:
How to read this file.
deleAI does this. In US Bing Copilot conversations from January to September 2024, AI itself performed the activity, completed it and made a real difference often enough to count.
+AIAI helps. People brought the activity to AI as their own goal, and it usually got them there.
stetStill yours. It barely shows up in AI use, AI rarely finishes it, or in this job it needs hands.
Shares are weighted by how much each activity matters in the job, using O*NET. Microsoft’s own AI applicability score for this job is 0.17, higher than 60% of jobs.
Doing an activity is not doing a job. The researchers behind this data warn against reading it as job loss, and so do we. It is US data; the shape of the work travels.
Sources: Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025) · O*NET OnLine, 33-9021 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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