AI Automation Index

Will AI Replace Automotive Body and Related Repairers?

Task-level automation exposure for Automotive Body and Related Repairers: 25 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.

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Developed & audited by Gini Loh

Automation Exposure

15% weighted task index

25 of 25 tasks scored

Median Salary

$54,890 / year

BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation

Employment Level

High

149,310 people hold this job — size, not growth

Projected 2025–35

+3.7% employment change

12,600 openings a year · BLS line item

Pay by state

BLS OEWS publishes 52 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.

$30,260 – $72,490

Highest medians

Rhode Island $72,490

California $66,860

District of Columbia $62,640

New Jersey $62,400

Alaska $61,680

Lowest medians

Puerto Rico $30,260

Kentucky $46,080

West Virginia $47,090

Louisiana $47,150

Tennessee $47,460

State figures come from the 49-3021 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.

What the score is made of

Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.

Automation potential 15%

Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.

Physical work 84%

Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.

Judgment & influence 4%

Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.

Routine administration 0%

Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.

Rewritten by O*NET 0%

Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.

Consequence of error 12/100 Low

O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.

Constituent Task Mix

25 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.

High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 9%

2 tasks

Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 3%

1 tasks

Low exposure (below 35%) 88%

22 tasks

How would you survive?

Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.

Simulate Upskilling →

Constituent Tasks

#2933 · Core · 8% automatable

File, grind, sand, and smooth filled or repaired surfaces, using power tools and hand tools.

physical manipulation — Hand sanding and finishing of physical objects

Smooth surfaces of objects or equipment.

#18580 · Core · 22% automatable

Inspect repaired vehicles for proper functioning, completion of work, dimensional accuracy, and overall appearance of paint job, and test-drive vehicles to ensure proper alignment and handling.

visual inspection — Completed-work function check is physical

Inspect completed work to ensure proper functioning.

#2943 · Core · 6% automatable

Fit and weld replacement parts into place, using wrenches and welding equipment, and grind down welds to smooth them, using power grinders and other tools.

physical manipulation — Hand sanding and finishing of physical objects

Install vehicle parts or accessories. Smooth surfaces of objects or equipment. Operate welding equipment.

#2938 · Core · 10% automatable

Prime and paint repaired surfaces, using paint sprayguns and motorized sanders.

physical manipulation — Painting surfaces is hands-on manual work

Paint surfaces or equipment.

#2935 · Core · 62% automatable

Follow supervisors' instructions as to which parts to restore or replace and how much time the job should take.

information retrieval — Receiving instructions is passive; AI can parse and relay

Receive information or instructions for performing work assignments.

#2934 · Core · 6% automatable

Sand body areas to be painted and cover bumpers, windows, and trim with masking tape or paper to protect them from the paint.

physical manipulation — Hand sanding and finishing of physical objects

Apply protective coverings to objects or surfaces near work areas. Smooth surfaces of objects or equipment.

#2941 · Core · 5% automatable

Chain or clamp frames and sections to alignment machines that use hydraulic pressure to align damaged components.

physical manipulation — Mounting workpieces is physical loading

Mount materials or workpieces onto production equipment.

#2944 · Core · 8% automatable

Position dolly blocks against surfaces of dented areas and beat opposite surfaces to remove dents, using hammers.

physical manipulation — Manual dent removal with tools on varied surfaces

Remove dents from equipment, materials, tools or structures.

#2937 · Core · 6% automatable

Cut and tape plastic separating film to outside repair areas to avoid damaging surrounding surfaces during repair procedure and remove tape and wash surfaces after repairs are complete.

physical manipulation — Physical cutting to specifications

Apply protective coverings to objects or surfaces near work areas. Cut materials according to specifications or needs.

#2946 · Core · 64% automatable

Review damage reports, prepare or review repair cost estimates, and plan work to be performed.

decision support — Procedure drafting aided; context-specific validation human

Read work orders or descriptions of problems to determine repairs or modifications needed. Plan work procedures.

#2942 · Core · 8% automatable

Fill small dents that cannot be worked out with plastic or solder.

physical manipulation — Manual dent removal with tools on varied surfaces

Remove dents from equipment, materials, tools or structures.

#2936 · Core · 7% automatable

Remove damaged sections of vehicles using metal-cutting guns, air grinders and wrenches, and install replacement parts using wrenches or welding equipment.

physical manipulation — Disassembly requires hands-on tool use

Install machine or equipment replacement parts. Disassemble equipment for maintenance or repair.

#2947 · Core · 8% automatable

Remove small pits and dimples in body metal, using pick hammers and punches.

physical manipulation — Manual dent removal with tools on varied surfaces

Remove dents from equipment, materials, tools or structures.

#2948 · Core · 8% automatable

Remove upholstery, accessories, electrical window-and-seat-operating equipment, and trim to gain access to vehicle bodies and fenders.

physical manipulation — Physical cutting to specifications

Cut materials according to specifications or needs. Remove parts or components from vehicles.

#2940 · Core · 15% automatable

Mix polyester resins and hardeners to be used in restoring damaged areas.

physical manipulation — Hands-on mixing of compounds in physical workspace

Prepare compounds or solutions to be used for repairs.

#2954 · Core · 5% automatable

Fit and secure windows, vinyl roofs, and metal trim to vehicle bodies, using caulking guns, adhesive brushes, and mallets.

physical manipulation — Vehicle part installation is physical labor

Install vehicle parts or accessories.

#2950 · Core · 10% automatable

Adjust or align headlights, wheels, and brake systems.

physical manipulation — Hands-on vehicle component adjustment

Adjust vehicle components according to specifications.

#2956 · Core · 8% automatable

Replace damaged glass on vehicles.

physical manipulation — Physical glass removal and installation

Replace vehicle glass.

#2945 · Core · 8% automatable

Remove damaged panels, and identify the family and properties of the plastic used on a vehicle.

physical manipulation — Removing vehicle parts requires hands-on mechanical work

Remove parts or components from vehicles.

#2951 · Core · 8% automatable

Apply heat to plastic panels, using hot-air welding guns or immersion in hot water, and press the softened panels back into shape by hand.

physical manipulation — Heating workpieces requires physical operation

Heat material or workpieces to prepare for or complete production.

#2949 · Core · 5% automatable

Clean work areas, using air hoses, to remove damaged material and discarded fiberglass strips used in repair procedures.

physical manipulation — Hands-on cleaning of work areas

Clean work areas.

#2952 · Core · 15% automatable

Soak fiberglass matting in resin mixtures and apply layers of matting over repair areas to specified thicknesses.

physical manipulation — Hands-on mixing of compounds in physical workspace

Prepare compounds or solutions to be used for repairs.

#2955 · Supplemental · 53% automatable

Read specifications or confer with customers to determine the desired custom modifications for altering the appearance of vehicles.

decision support — Diagnosis from description aided, repair judgment human

Read work orders or descriptions of problems to determine repairs or modifications needed. Confer with customers or users to assess problems.

#2953 · Supplemental · 8% automatable

Cut openings in vehicle bodies for the installation of customized windows, using templates and power shears or chisels.

physical manipulation — Physical cutting to specifications

Cut materials according to specifications or needs.

#2957 · Supplemental · 17% automatable

Measure and mark vinyl material and cut material to size for roof installation, using rules, straightedges, and hand shears.

physical manipulation — Physical distance measurement in field

Measure distances or dimensions. Cut materials according to specifications or needs.

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Community Sentiment

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Method

How this was scored

1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.

Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.

Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast

See the full method →

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