Community Sentiment
Do you agree?
Do you agree with the AI automation risk score calculated for this occupation?
AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Purchasing Managers?
Task-level automation exposure for Purchasing Managers: 18 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
56%
weighted task index
18 of 18 tasks scored
Median Salary
$148,080 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Medium
84,320 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+4.0%
employment change
6,400 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.
$80,290 – $175,720
Highest medians
District of Columbia $175,720
New Jersey $174,520
Colorado $171,250
Massachusetts $170,750
New York $166,300
Lowest medians
Guam $80,290
Puerto Rico $89,600
Louisiana $109,630
Hawaii $113,490
Alaska $114,650
State figures come from the 11-3061 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 56%
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 56%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 27%
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 5/100
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) 48%
9 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 45%
8 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 7%
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 →Constituent Tasks
#1027 · Core · 49% automatable
Develop and implement purchasing and contract management instructions, policies, and procedures.
decision support — AI drafts strategies; human owns operational judgment
Implement organizational process or policy changes. Develop organizational policies or programs. Develop operating strategies, plans, or procedures.
#1021 · Core · 45% automatable
Locate vendors of materials, equipment or supplies, and interview them to determine product availability and terms of sales.
text generation — Information exchange coordination largely automatable
Interview employees, customers, or others to collect information. Coordinate with external parties to exchange information.
#1033 · Core · 78% automatable
Prepare bid awards requiring board approval.
data analysis — Reports and budgets drafted; human owns assumptions
Prepare financial documents, reports, or budgets.
#1032 · Core · 30% automatable
Direct and coordinate activities of personnel engaged in buying, selling, and distributing materials, equipment, machinery, and supplies.
interpersonal — Employee supervision is accountability-bearing human work
Supervise employees.
#1025 · Core · 65% automatable
Review purchase order claims and contracts for conformance to company policy.
data analysis — Flags policy violations in records; human adjudicates
Examine financial records to ensure compliance with policies or regulations.
#1031 · Core · 55% automatable
Review, evaluate, and approve specifications for issuing and awarding bids.
information retrieval — Spec verification against references, human confirms edge cases
Verify information or specifications. Approve expenditures.
#1035 · Core · 35% automatable
Administer online purchasing systems.
decision support — Financial operations direction carries fiduciary accountability
Direct financial operations.
#1022 · Core · 80% automatable
Prepare and process requisitions and purchase orders for supplies and equipment.
text generation — Fill forms from provided information
Prepare forms or applications.
#1024 · Core · 35% automatable
Interview and hire staff, and oversee staff training.
interpersonal — Program design aided, delivery and engagement are human
Interview employees, customers, or others to collect information. Conduct employee training programs. Hire personnel.
#21039 · Core · 75% automatable
Develop cost reduction strategies and savings plans.
data analysis — Reports and budgets drafted; human owns assumptions
Analyze data to assess operational or project effectiveness. Prepare financial documents, reports, or budgets.
#1023 · Core · 72% automatable
Control purchasing department budgets.
data analysis — Budget drafting from assumptions; human validates assumptions
Prepare operational budgets.
#1029 · Core · 35% automatable
Resolve vendor or contractor grievances and claims against suppliers.
interpersonal — Employee problem resolution needs judgment and relationship
Resolve employee or contractor problems.
#1026 · Core · 51% automatable
Analyze market and delivery systems to assess present and future material availability.
data analysis — Operational data analysis; manager owns decisions
Analyze data to inform operational decisions or activities. Implement transportation changes to reduce environmental impact.
#1028 · Core · 60% automatable
Participate in the development of specifications for equipment, products, or substitute materials.
decision support — Specs drafted; human validates feasibility
Develop specifications for new products or processes.
#1020 · Core · 80% automatable
Maintain records of goods ordered and received.
data analysis — Maintain operational records in structured systems
Maintain operational records.
#1030 · Core · 35% automatable
Represent companies in negotiating contracts and formulating policies with suppliers.
interpersonal — Negotiation needs authority and live give-and-take
Negotiate sales or lease agreements for products or services.
#1034 · Core · 78% automatable
Prepare reports regarding market conditions and merchandise costs.
data analysis — Reports and budgets drafted; human owns assumptions
Prepare financial documents, reports, or budgets.
#1036 · Core · 68% automatable
Arrange for disposal of surplus materials.
data analysis — AI plans transport schedules; human handles disruptions
Schedule product or material transportation.
Embed this calculator on your site ↓
Bloggers & authors: Embed this interactive calculator directly in your articles or comparison guides. It loads dynamically via a responsive iframe (auto-resizing to prevent double scrollbars) and provides a direct, high-value tool for your audience.
<div class="giniloh-calculator-embed" data-calculator="purchasing-managers"></div>
<script src="https://giniloh.com/embed.js" async></script> 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 →Related Article
Best AI Proof Jobs in a Changing Market
Worried robots are coming for your paycheck? You’re not alone—but the real story is far more hopeful. This guide cuts through the scare headlines to reveal exactly where smart, sustainable career opportunities exist right now. We’ve curated a list of true ai proof jobs—roles in healthcare, skilled trades, and cybersecurity that not only survive automation but thrive because of human judgment and empathy. You’ll get specific, money-making data on projected growth (the BLS says wind turbine technicians, for instance, will grow 44% by 2032), real salary ranges from active job listings, and a simple self-assessment quiz to identify your own most resilient path. Plus, we name companies hiring today and the niche job boards they use. Stop worrying and start planning—your secure career is closer than you think.
Read Article ->