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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics?
Task-level automation exposure for Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics: 14 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
24%
weighted task index
14 of 14 tasks scored
Median Salary
$47,880 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Medium
36,060 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+2.3%
employment change
3,800 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 50 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$23,730 – $60,190
Highest medians
Alaska $60,190
Hawaii $58,110
Massachusetts $57,830
New Hampshire $57,610
Nevada $56,750
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $23,730
Arkansas $37,610
Mississippi $37,900
West Virginia $39,210
South Dakota $41,580
State figures come from the 49-3053 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 24%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 63%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 7%
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 30/100
Moderate
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
14 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) 8%
1 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 14%
2 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 78%
11 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
#13777 · Core · 80% automatable
Record repairs made, time spent, and parts used.
text generation — Log maintenance and repair records from data
Maintain repair or maintenance records.
#13780 · Core · 23% automatable
Test and inspect engines to determine malfunctions, to locate missing and broken parts, and to verify repairs, using diagnostic instruments.
physical manipulation — Hands-on mechanical testing in physical environment
Inspect mechanical components of vehicles to identify problems. Test mechanical equipment to ensure proper functioning.
#13784 · Core · 13% automatable
Dismantle engines, using hand tools, and examine parts for defects.
visual inspection — Mechanical component inspection requires hands-on access
Inspect mechanical components of vehicles to identify problems. Disassemble equipment to inspect for deficiencies.
#13774 · Core · 9% automatable
Repair and maintain gasoline engines used to power equipment such as portable saws, lawn mowers, generators, and compressors.
physical manipulation — Physical maintenance of machinery
Repair defective engines or engine components. Maintain work equipment or machinery.
#13775 · Core · 10% automatable
Adjust points, valves, carburetors, distributors, and spark plug gaps, using feeler gauges.
physical manipulation — Hands-on vehicle component adjustment
Adjust vehicle components according to specifications.
#13781 · Core · 10% automatable
Repair or replace defective parts such as magnetos, water pumps, gears, pistons, and carburetors, using hand tools.
physical manipulation — Manual replacement of mechanical parts
Replace worn, damaged, or defective mechanical parts. Repair worn, damaged, or defective mechanical parts.
#13778 · Core · 10% automatable
Perform routine maintenance such as cleaning and oiling parts, honing cylinders, and tuning ignition systems.
physical manipulation — Physical lubrication task requiring hands and access
Clean equipment, parts, or tools to repair or maintain them in good working order. Service vehicles to maintain functionality. Lubricate equipment to allow proper functioning.
#13776 · Core · 5% automatable
Reassemble engines after repair or maintenance work is complete.
physical manipulation — Reassembly after repair requires hands-on fitting
Reassemble equipment after repair.
#13785 · Core · 10% automatable
Replace motors.
physical manipulation — Manual replacement of mechanical parts
Replace worn, damaged, or defective mechanical parts.
#13779 · Core · 57% automatable
Obtain problem descriptions from customers, and prepare cost estimates for repairs.
data analysis — Labor/material cost estimation from rates
Estimate costs for labor or materials. Confer with customers or users to assess problems.
#13783 · Core · 42% automatable
Show customers how to maintain equipment.
interpersonal — Customer product training is relational and situational
Train customers in the use of products.
#13787 · Core · 7% automatable
Remove engines from equipment, and position and bolt engines to repair stands.
physical manipulation — Disassembly requires hands-on tool use
Bolt objects into place. Disassemble equipment for maintenance or repair. Position equipment using hand tools, power tools, or heavy equipment.
#13782 · Core · 32% automatable
Sell parts and equipment.
interpersonal — Closing sales requires persuasion and accountability
Sell products or services.
#13786 · Core · 10% automatable
Grind, ream, rebore, and re-tap parts to obtain specified clearances, using grinders, lathes, taps, reamers, boring machines, and micrometers.
physical manipulation — Precision grinding requires hands-on machine control
Grind parts to required dimensions.
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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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