Artificial intelligence is already reshaping how we work, communicate, and create. But some of its most consequential applications are arriving in places we might not expect — not in headline-grabbing robotics or flashy consumer gadgets, but embedded quietly in the industries that keep everyday life running. From the car in your driveway to the courtroom down the street, here are four unlikely services AI is poised to transform within the next five to ten years.

1. Vehicle Diagnostics

Few things are more frustrating than a dashboard warning light. You pull over, stare at an amber symbol, and have no idea whether your car is about to break down or simply needs a new gas cap. For decades, even trained mechanics have had to rely on error codes, intuition, and time-consuming trial and error. That’s beginning to change in a fundamental way.

Companies like Sonatus are building what amounts to an AI vehicle diagnostics technician — an intelligent, always-on agent that can monitor your vehicle in real time, interpret fault data, and recommend precise corrective actions before small issues become expensive failures. Rather than passively waiting to be plugged into a diagnostic port at a shop, these systems actively collect sensor data, diagnostic trouble codes, environmental conditions, and system logs, then fuse that information with large language models and the manufacturer’s own service documentation to generate tailored guidance for a specific vehicle make, model, and trim.

The practical implications are significant. Early trials at Nissan Technical Centre Europe using Sonatus tools showed investigation time dropping from two weeks to just two days. For everyday drivers, this means fewer misdiagnoses, faster repairs, and the confidence of understanding what’s actually wrong with their vehicle. For fleet operators, it means catching problems across thousands of vehicles simultaneously before they trigger costly recalls. The era of guesswork at the garage is nearing its end.

2. Mental Health Triage

Mental health care faces a stark global shortage of practitioners. Wait times for therapy can stretch for months, and many people in crisis have no immediate professional to turn to. AI is beginning to fill part of that gap — not by replacing therapists, but by serving as a first point of contact and ongoing support between sessions.

In the next decade, AI-powered mental health tools will move well beyond basic chatbots. These systems will be trained on clinical frameworks, capable of recognizing signs of distress, and able to route individuals to appropriate levels of care. They’ll conduct structured intake assessments, flag high-risk patterns, and provide evidence-based coping support for anxiety, depression, and stress. Insurers, employers, and public health systems — all struggling with the cost and scarcity of mental health services — have strong incentives to integrate these tools at scale. The question is no longer whether AI will be part of mental health care, but how quickly clinical and regulatory frameworks will catch up.

3. Legal Document Review and Preliminary Counsel

Access to legal help has long been stratified by wealth. Hiring an attorney for even routine matters — reviewing a lease, disputing a bill, understanding your rights after an accident — is out of reach for a significant portion of the population. AI is on track to change that calculus dramatically.

Advanced AI systems are already being used inside law firms to process discovery documents and flag relevant clauses in contracts at speeds no human team could match. Within the next decade, consumer-facing AI legal assistants will be sophisticated enough to explain the implications of a legal document in plain language, identify problematic terms, suggest standard alternatives, and help users understand whether they have a viable claim worth pursuing. These tools won’t replace licensed attorneys for complex litigation, but they will democratize access to baseline legal literacy in a way that has never been possible before. For small business owners, renters, gig workers, and others who currently navigate legal risk without any professional guidance, the impact will be profound.

4. Personalized Nutritional Coaching

Dietitians are expensive, and generic nutrition advice — eat more vegetables, reduce processed food — is too blunt to address the highly individual ways our bodies respond to what we eat. Research into the microbiome, continuous glucose monitoring, and metabolic health has made clear that optimal nutrition is not one-size-fits-all. AI is uniquely positioned to make personalized dietary guidance practical and affordable.

In the coming years, AI nutrition coaches will integrate data from wearables, blood biomarkers, sleep and activity patterns, and food logs to build genuinely individualized dietary recommendations that adapt over time. Rather than a static meal plan handed to you at an annual checkup, these systems will function as continuous coaches — noticing that your energy dips after certain meals, flagging micronutrient gaps, and adjusting suggestions based on your health goals and lifestyle. For people managing chronic conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or autoimmune disorders, the ability to receive this level of personalized, data-informed guidance without the cost of ongoing specialist consultations could be genuinely life-changing.

What these services share is a common thread: they are all areas where expert knowledge has historically been scarce, expensive, or unevenly distributed. AI won’t replace the human professionals who make these fields work — but it will extend their reach, reduce barriers to access, and give people better information at exactly the moment they need it.