In February 2026, Senator Edward J. Markey launched an investigation into the use of Remote Assistance Operators (RAOs) by autonomous vehicle (AV) companies. Largely unknown to the public before this investigation, AV companies still rely on human workers — located remotely offsite from the vehicle — to help their self-driving cars navigate difficult driving situations. The use of RAOs raises serious safety, privacy, and national security concerns as well as questions about the true level of autonomy that AV companies have achieved. To better understand the role, qualifications, and standards around the use of RAOs, Senator Markey wrote oversight letters to seven major AV companies — Aurora, May Mobility, Motional, Nuro, Tesla, Waymo, and Zoox — requesting detailed information about their RAOs. This report — based on responses to Senator Markey’s letters — is the first detailed examination of the role that RAOs play in the AV industry.