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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Desktop Publishers?
Task-level automation exposure for Desktop Publishers: 18 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
70%
weighted task index
18 of 18 tasks scored
Median Salary
$55,290 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Low
3,350 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
-14.5%
employment change
300 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 27 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$36,280 – $77,750
Highest medians
Colorado $77,750
California $71,930
Maryland $69,820
New Jersey $63,020
South Carolina $62,320
Lowest medians
Nebraska $36,280
Georgia $39,460
North Carolina $43,700
Tennessee $44,440
Michigan $45,300
State figures come from the 43-9031 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 70%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 8%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 12%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 4%
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 11/100
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
18 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) 66%
11 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 21%
4 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 13%
3 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
#2816 · Core · 88% automatable
Operate desktop publishing software and equipment to design, lay out, and produce camera-ready copy.
text generation — Document and data formatting automatable
Format digital documents, data, or images.
#2820 · Core · 88% automatable
Position text and art elements from a variety of databases in a visually appealing way to design print or web pages, using knowledge of type styles and size and layout patterns.
text generation — Document and data formatting automatable
Format digital documents, data, or images.
#2815 · Core · 88% automatable
Check preliminary and final proofs for errors and make necessary corrections.
text generation — Proofreading text for accuracy is core LLM strength
Proofread documents, records, or other files to ensure accuracy.
#2817 · Core · 45% automatable
View monitors for visual representation of work in progress and for instructions and feedback throughout process, making modifications as necessary.
decision support — AI flags quality/safety issues; human owns physical verification
Monitor operational quality or safety.
#2818 · Core · 87% automatable
Enter text into computer keyboard and select the size and style of type, column width, and appropriate spacing for printed materials.
text generation — Document and data formatting automatable
Enter information into databases or software programs. Format digital documents, data, or images.
#2824 · Core · 88% automatable
Prepare sample layouts for approval, using computer software.
text generation — Document and data formatting automatable
Format digital documents, data, or images.
#2823 · Core · 30% automatable
Import text and art elements, such as electronic clip art or electronic files from photographs that have been scanned or produced with a digital camera, using computer software.
physical manipulation — Operating computers is physical interface work
Operate computers or computerized equipment.
#2825 · Core · 78% automatable
Study layout or other design instructions to determine work to be done and sequence of operations.
information retrieval — Extract material requirements from work orders
Read work orders to determine material or setup requirements.
#2829 · Core · 55% automatable
Select number of colors and determine color separations.
decision support — Resource selection needs situational judgment
Select resources needed to accomplish tasks.
#2827 · Core · 88% automatable
Convert various types of files for printing or for the Internet, using computer software.
text generation — Document and data formatting automatable
Format digital documents, data, or images.
#2821 · Core · 85% automatable
Enter digitized data into electronic prepress system computer memory, using scanner, camera, keyboard, or mouse.
data analysis — Data entry into systems automatable
Enter information into databases or software programs.
#2822 · Core · 88% automatable
Edit graphics and photos, using pixel or bitmap editing, airbrushing, masking, or image retouching.
text generation — Document and data formatting automatable
Format digital documents, data, or images.
#2828 · Core · 85% automatable
Enter data, such as coordinates of images and color specifications, into system to retouch and make color corrections.
data analysis — Data entry into systems automatable
Enter information into databases or software programs.
#2830 · Supplemental · 43% automatable
Transmit, deliver, or mail publication master to printer for production into film and plates.
text generation — Sending digital materials automatable; physical mailing human
Deliver items. Send information, materials or documentation.
#2831 · Supplemental · 48% automatable
Collaborate with graphic artists, editors and writers to produce master copies according to design specifications.
interpersonal — Real-time coworker coordination is relational work
Confer with coworkers to coordinate work activities.
#2819 · Supplemental · 15% automatable
Store copies of publications on paper, magnetic tape, film, or diskette.
physical manipulation — Physical filing and storage of records
Store records or related materials.
#2832 · Supplemental · 88% automatable
Create special effects such as vignettes, mosaics, and image combining, and add elements such as sound and animation to electronic publications.
text generation — Document and data formatting automatable
Format digital documents, data, or images.
#2826 · Supplemental · 30% automatable
Load floppy disks or tapes containing information into system.
physical manipulation — Operating computers is physical interface work
Operate computers or computerized equipment.
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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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