automatic pilot
noun
1
: autopilot sense 1
2
: a state or condition in which activity or behavior is regulated automatically in a predetermined or instinctive manner
doing his job on automatic pilot
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Davì relied on his automatic pilot and took micro naps of 15-to-20 minutes, waking regularly to check the instruments. 
Diane Bellcolumnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 May 2022 The Sox manager is biding his time before October, making sure everyone gets enough rest (hello, Tim Anderson) and trying to get the bullpen on automatic pilot after another shaky month. Paul Sullivan, chicagotribune.com, 27 Aug. 2021 Was this an intervention by a human being or an algorithm on automatic pilot? Salvatore J. Cordileone And Jim Daly, WSJ, 12 Aug. 2021 Unlike automakers that describe their systems as super or some sort of automatic pilot, Toyota and Lexus have gone with a quieter name: Teammate. Sebastian Blanco, Car and Driver, 4 June 2021 Doebele said the pilot told passengers the flight’s automatic pilot function wasn’t working properly and hadn’t been working yesterday, either. Elizabeth Hernandez, The Denver Post, 28 Nov. 2019 Almost as if on automatic pilot, Pike passed to Gilyard for seven yards to the Cincinnati 46. Bill Koch, Cincinnati.com, 11 Oct. 2019 That changed last month, when Mr. Powell perhaps inadvertently turned QT into a signaling mechanism by pointing out what was quite obvious, that QT had been working smoothly on automatic pilot. James Mackintosh, WSJ, 10 Jan. 2019 The craft operated on automatic pilot because commands transmitted from Earth take too long to reach Mars. Robert Lee Hotz, WSJ, 26 Nov. 2018 See More
Diane Bellcolumnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 May 2022 The Sox manager is biding his time before October, making sure everyone gets enough rest (hello, Tim Anderson) and trying to get the bullpen on automatic pilot after another shaky month. Paul Sullivan, chicagotribune.com, 27 Aug. 2021 Was this an intervention by a human being or an algorithm on automatic pilot? Salvatore J. Cordileone And Jim Daly, WSJ, 12 Aug. 2021 Unlike automakers that describe their systems as super or some sort of automatic pilot, Toyota and Lexus have gone with a quieter name: Teammate. Sebastian Blanco, Car and Driver, 4 June 2021 Doebele said the pilot told passengers the flight’s automatic pilot function wasn’t working properly and hadn’t been working yesterday, either. Elizabeth Hernandez, The Denver Post, 28 Nov. 2019 Almost as if on automatic pilot, Pike passed to Gilyard for seven yards to the Cincinnati 46. Bill Koch, Cincinnati.com, 11 Oct. 2019 That changed last month, when Mr. Powell perhaps inadvertently turned QT into a signaling mechanism by pointing out what was quite obvious, that QT had been working smoothly on automatic pilot. James Mackintosh, WSJ, 10 Jan. 2019 The craft operated on automatic pilot because commands transmitted from Earth take too long to reach Mars. Robert Lee Hotz, WSJ, 26 Nov. 2018 See More Word History
First Known Use
1915, in the meaning defined at sense 1