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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Customs Brokers?
Task-level automation exposure for Customs Brokers: 23 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
61%
weighted task index
23 of 23 tasks scored
Median Salary
$80,730 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Very High
417,070 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+3.8%
employment change
32,700 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 54 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$48,950 – $111,030
Highest medians
District of Columbia $111,030
Massachusetts $102,060
New Jersey $100,000
California $96,980
Connecticut $91,810
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $48,950
Oklahoma $63,000
Tennessee $63,960
West Virginia $64,270
Arkansas $64,680
State figures come from the 13-1041 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 61%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 0%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 51%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 24%
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 25/100
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
23 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) 60%
14 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 38%
8 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 2%
1 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 →Emerging & rewritten tasks
Tasks O*NET added or rewrote for this occupation in its recent updates (05/2025 – 08/2026), with who proposed them. Additions are not in the scored task inventory — they are new work O*NET is still measuring, so they appear here and nowhere in the index. A Revision replaces a task that is scored, which is why only those move the "Rewritten by O*NET" share.
- New 08/2026 · Occupational Expert
Submit data for reporting to government agencies.
Constituent Tasks
#15936 · Core · 65% automatable
Pay, or arrange for payment of, taxes and duties on shipments.
data analysis — Payments executed via systems; human authorizes
Pay charges, fees, or taxes.
#15941 · Core · 78% automatable
Classify goods according to tariff coding system.
information retrieval — Product compliance check against regulations, human verifies
Examine product information to ensure compliance with regulations.
#15946 · Core · 45% automatable
Clear goods through customs and to their destinations for clients.
decision support — Logistics coordination needs real-time human decisions
Coordinate logistics or other business operations.
#15945 · Core · 40% automatable
Prepare and process import and export documentation according to customs regulations, laws, or procedures.
interpersonal — Overseeing business processes requires human accountability
Oversee business processes.
#15933 · Core · 80% automatable
Stay abreast of changes in import or export laws or regulations by reading current literature, attending meetings or conferences, or conferring with colleagues.
information retrieval — AI tracks regulatory changes; human confirms applicability
Update knowledge of legal or regulatory environments.
#15942 · Core · 80% automatable
Calculate duty and tariff payments owed on shipments.
data analysis — Organizational calculations from given data
Calculate data to inform organizational operations.
#15940 · Core · 55% automatable
Confer with officials in various agencies to facilitate clearance of goods through customs and quarantine.
information retrieval — Documentation research aided; formal filing human
Obtain documentation to authorize activities.
#15928 · Core · 55% automatable
Obtain line releases for frequent shippers of low-risk commodities, high-volume entries, or multiple-container loads.
information retrieval — Documentation research aided; formal filing human
Obtain documentation to authorize activities.
#15932 · Core · 72% automatable
Request or compile necessary import documentation, such as customs invoices, certificates of origin, and cargo-control documents.
text generation — Track and draft regulatory documentation; human verifies
Coordinate regulatory documentation activities.
#15944 · Core · 55% automatable
Advise customers on import and export restrictions, tariff systems, insurance requirements, quotas, or other customs-related matters.
decision support — Compliance guidance drafted; human verifies and owns
Advise others on legal or regulatory compliance matters.
#15924 · Core · 68% automatable
Sign documents on behalf of clients, using powers of attorney.
text generation — Compliance docs drafted; human owns regulatory accuracy
Prepare documentation for contracts, transactions, or regulatory compliance.
#15926 · Core · 65% automatable
Post bonds for the products being imported or assist clients in obtaining bonds.
data analysis — Payments executed via systems; human authorizes
Pay charges, fees, or taxes.
#15935 · Core · 70% automatable
Prepare papers for shippers to appeal duty charges.
text generation — Draft regulatory docs; human owns compliance
Prepare regulatory or compliance documentation.
#15934 · Core · 78% automatable
Quote duty and tax rates on goods to be imported, based on federal tariffs and excise taxes.
data analysis — Cost estimation from given inputs
Estimate costs of goods or services.
#15939 · Core · 55% automatable
Inform importers and exporters of steps to reduce duties and taxes.
decision support — AI drafts financial guidance; accountability and tailoring human
Advise others on financial matters.
#15930 · Core · 45% automatable
Arrange for transportation, warehousing, or product distribution of imported or exported products.
decision support — Logistics coordination needs real-time human decisions
Coordinate logistics or other business operations.
#15943 · Core · 65% automatable
Apply for tariff concessions or for duty drawbacks and other refunds.
text generation — Financial applications filled digitally; human signs off
Submit financial applications.
#15929 · Core · 35% automatable
Contract with freight forwarders for destination services.
interpersonal — Contract negotiation needs mandate and accountability
Negotiate contracts with clients or service providers.
#15937 · Core · 62% automatable
Monitor or trace the location of goods.
data analysis — System inventory monitoring automatable; physical audit human
Monitor inventories of products or materials.
#15931 · Core · 62% automatable
Suggest best methods of packaging or labeling products.
decision support — Drafts advice; accountability and context owned by human
Advise others on business or operational matters.
#15925 · Core · 62% automatable
Provide advice on transportation options, types of carriers, or shipping routes.
decision support — Standard logistics advice; operational context needs human
Advise others on logistics topics.
#15927 · Core · 65% automatable
Insure cargo against loss, damage, or pilferage.
data analysis — Payments executed via systems; human authorizes
Pay charges, fees, or taxes.
#15938 · Supplemental · 25% automatable
Maintain relationships with customs brokers in other ports to expedite clearing of cargo.
interpersonal — Business relationships require human trust and presence
Develop business relationships.
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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
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