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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Fashion Designers?
Task-level automation exposure for Fashion Designers: 20 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
55%
weighted task index
20 of 20 tasks scored
Median Salary
$80,960 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Low
21,450 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+0.1%
employment change
2,500 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 23 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$40,040 – $103,520
Highest medians
Massachusetts $103,520
New Jersey $101,610
New Hampshire $100,160
New York $98,640
Colorado $94,140
Lowest medians
Texas $40,040
Indiana $40,740
Minnesota $42,110
Florida $43,020
Arizona $45,720
State figures come from the 27-1022 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 55%
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 47%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 8%
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 0/100
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
20 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) 51%
10 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 37%
7 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 12%
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
#13015 · Core · 65% automatable
Sketch rough and detailed drawings of apparel or accessories, and write specifications such as color schemes, construction, material types, and accessory requirements.
text generation — Write informational material from brief
Draw detailed or technical illustrations. Write informational material.
#13014 · Core · 60% automatable
Examine sample garments on and off models, modifying designs to achieve desired effects.
text generation — Concepts generated; commercial curation human
Develop artistic or design concepts for decoration, exhibition, or commercial purposes.
#13016 · Core · 52% automatable
Confer with sales and management executives or with clients to discuss design ideas.
interpersonal — Iterative design collaboration needs human judgment and presence
Collaborate with others to develop or refine designs.
#13019 · Core · 50% automatable
Select materials and production techniques to be used for products.
decision support — Prop selection depends on creative and physical context
Select materials or props.
#13020 · Core · 55% automatable
Provide sample garments to agents and sales representatives, and arrange for showings of sample garments at sales meetings or fashion shows.
text generation — Promotional content drafted; human runs channels and relationships
Promote products, activities, or organizations.
#13013 · Core · 35% automatable
Direct and coordinate workers involved in drawing and cutting patterns and constructing samples or finished garments.
interpersonal — Coordinating design activities is human-led collaboration
Coordinate design activities.
#13017 · Core · 62% automatable
Identify target markets for designs, looking at factors such as age, gender, and socioeconomic status.
data analysis — Market research analysis aided; primary data human
Conduct market research.
#13024 · Core · 52% automatable
Collaborate with other designers to coordinate special products and designs.
interpersonal — Iterative design collaboration needs human judgment and presence
Collaborate with others to develop or refine designs.
#13018 · Core · 82% automatable
Attend fashion shows and review garment magazines and manuals to gather information about fashion trends and consumer preferences.
information retrieval — AI tracks trends across sources continuously
Monitor current trends.
#13022 · Core · 70% automatable
Purchase new or used clothing and accessory items as needed to complete designs.
data analysis — Materials inventory records and forecasting automatable
Maintain inventories of materials, equipment, or products.
#13023 · Core · 82% automatable
Visit textile showrooms to keep up-to-date on the latest fabrics.
information retrieval — AI tracks trends across sources continuously
Monitor current trends.
#13021 · Core · 60% automatable
Adapt other designers' ideas for the mass market.
text generation — Concepts generated; commercial curation human
Develop artistic or design concepts for decoration, exhibition, or commercial purposes.
#13030 · Core · 25% automatable
Test fabrics or oversee testing so that garment care labels can be created.
physical manipulation — Testing samples requires lab hands-on work
Test materials, solutions, or samples. Test characteristics of materials or structures.
#13026 · Supplemental · 76% automatable
Determine prices for styles.
data analysis — Cost calculation from structured inputs
Determine the value of goods or services. Calculate costs of goods or services.
#13028 · Supplemental · 57% automatable
Develop a group of products or accessories, and market them through venues such as boutiques or mail-order catalogs.
text generation — Concepts generated; commercial curation human
Develop artistic or design concepts for decoration, exhibition, or commercial purposes. Promote products, activities, or organizations.
#13027 · Supplemental · 8% automatable
Draw patterns for articles designed, cut patterns, and cut material according to patterns, using measuring instruments and scissors.
physical manipulation — Physical fabrication of models and patterns
Build models, patterns, or templates.
#13031 · Supplemental · 8% automatable
Sew together sections of material to form mockups or samples of garments or articles, using sewing equipment.
physical manipulation — Physical fabrication of models and patterns
Build models, patterns, or templates.
#13025 · Supplemental · 60% automatable
Design custom clothing and accessories for individuals, retailers, or theatrical, television, or film productions.
text generation — Concepts generated; commercial curation human
Develop artistic or design concepts for decoration, exhibition, or commercial purposes.
#13032 · Supplemental · 55% automatable
Research the styles and periods of clothing needed for film or theatrical productions.
information retrieval — AI gathers references; creative synthesis is human
Conduct research to inform art, designs, or other work.
#13029 · Supplemental · 62% automatable
Read scripts and consult directors and other production staff to develop design concepts and plan productions.
text generation — Script comprehension and requirement extraction well handled
Study scripts to determine project requirements. Collaborate with others to develop or refine designs.
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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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