AI Humanoid Robots Are Coming for Australian Jobs – And Sooner Than You Think

Getting your first job often meant standing behind a counter – saying hi to customers, answering questions and learning how to deal with people. For millions of Aussies, it was where they got their start. Now, one carmaker wants a robot doing those jobs instead.

Chinese electric vehicle giant XPeng has unveiled Iron, an eerily human-looking robot it plans to roll out across showrooms, offices and factories before eventually making it available to other businesses globally.

Iron was designed to look and move like a person because it needed to work and engage with humans, in spaces built for humans. Standing 173cm tall, it is powered by the same artificial intelligence behind XPeng's self-driving technology, allowing it to hold natural conversations and interact with people.

XPeng Vice Chairman and President Brian Gu said Iron had been designed to act as a sales assistant. "It can greet customers, it can introduce the product, answer questions, take a walk with the customer around the vehicle, hand over a bottle of water, open the door and explain the inside. It can do all these jobs, for hours if needed."

XPeng plans to deploy around 1,000 robots across its stores, offices and factories before expanding into commercial, retail and office settings from 2027. "Iron is not a distant vision. It will become a reality very soon, and hopefully very soon in Australia as well," he said.

But the humanoid robot is only one part of XPeng's broader artificial intelligence push. The same AI foundation model that powers Iron also underpins the company's autonomous driving technology and Robotaxi program, which Gu describes as "robots on wheels". XPeng hopes to eventually bring that technology to Australia, partnering with local businesses as driverless vehicles become commercially viable.

The prospect of autonomous vehicles has drawn a strong response from the Transport Workers' Union, which argues Australians should have a say in how emerging technologies are introduced and regulated. National Secretary Michael Kaine said, "it is the job of our policymakers to determine if or when this type of technology reaches our streets, and most importantly – under what regulatory conditions."

Those same questions are now being asked of humanoid robots. If they can greet customers, answer questions and never clock off, what happens to the people who would have done those jobs?

Mr Gu said Iron was designed to handle "routine, repeatable, mundane jobs," freeing up staff to focus on higher-value work. "They can have more people focus on other aspects of the sales process that add more value – that needs more human interactions or intuitive human judgement. Those things are not going to be replaced by robots yet."

When we pointed out the significance of that final word "yet" – Mr Gu laughed. He argued people would evolve alongside AI, becoming "more thoughtful" and better at using the technology, changing the mix of jobs rather than eliminating people altogether.

But Unions are wary. "We cannot keep seeing Silicon Valley start-ups imposing technology in our communities without Australians getting a say. It is time to see decisions made in the interests of workers and the Australian community," said Mr Kaine.

One thing is already clear. Like it or not, AI is no longer confined to a screen … It's about to clock on for work.