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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Search Marketing Strategists?
Task-level automation exposure for Search Marketing Strategists: 36 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
60%
weighted task index
36 of 36 tasks scored
Median Salary
$78,760 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Very High
899,580 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+7.0%
employment change
82,000 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.
$39,330 – $101,810
Highest medians
Massachusetts $101,810
Delaware $101,270
New York $98,580
District of Columbia $98,090
Washington $95,120
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $39,330
Guam $42,240
West Virginia $52,340
Mississippi $56,640
Hawaii $59,390
State figures come from the 13-1161 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 60%
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 77%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 0%
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
36 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) 55%
19 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 45%
17 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 0%
0 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
#20328 · Core · 64% automatable
Manage tracking and reporting of search-related activities and provide analyses to marketing executives.
data analysis — Web analytics computation and interpretation
Analyze website or related online data to track trends or usage. Collaborate with others to develop or implement marketing strategies.
#20329 · Core · 68% automatable
Optimize digital assets, such as text, graphics, or multimedia assets, for search engine optimization (SEO) or for display and usability on internet-connected devices.
text generation — Web app code generated; design and review human
Design websites or web applications.
#16192 · Core · 78% automatable
Collect and analyze Web metrics, such as visits, time on site, page views per visit, transaction volume and revenue, traffic mix, click-through rates, conversion rates, cost per acquisition, or cost per click.
data analysis — Web analytics computation and interpretation
Analyze website or related online data to track trends or usage.
#16182 · Core · 46% automatable
Participate in the development or implementation of online marketing strategy.
interpersonal — Strategy collaboration needs human buy-in and judgment
Implement advertising or marketing initiatives. Collaborate with others to develop or implement marketing strategies.
#16190 · Core · 78% automatable
Optimize Web site exposure by analyzing search engine patterns to direct online placement of keywords or other content.
data analysis — Web analytics computation and interpretation
Analyze website or related online data to track trends or usage.
#20320 · Core · 59% automatable
Coordinate with developers to optimize Web site architecture, server configuration, or page construction for search engine consumption and optimal visibility.
text generation — Web app code generated; design and review human
Design websites or web applications. Coordinate project activities with other personnel or departments.
#20318 · Core · 68% automatable
Assist in setting up or optimizing analytics tools for tracking visitors' behaviors.
text generation — Web app code generated; design and review human
Design websites or web applications.
#20326 · Core · 70% automatable
Identify appropriate Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and report key metrics from digital campaigns.
data analysis — IT performance metrics well-suited to AI
Develop performance metrics or standards related to information technology.
#20321 · Core · 42% automatable
Create content strategies for digital media.
decision support — AI drafts campaigns; execution and budget owned by humans
Implement advertising or marketing initiatives.
#20319 · Core · 78% automatable
Combine secondary data sources with keyword research to more accurately profile and satisfy user intent.
data analysis — Web analytics computation and interpretation
Analyze website or related online data to track trends or usage.
#16189 · Core · 50% automatable
Collaborate with other marketing staff to integrate and complement marketing strategies across multiple sales channels.
interpersonal — Strategy collaboration needs human buy-in and judgment
Collaborate with others to develop or implement marketing strategies.
#20330 · Core · 68% automatable
Optimize shopping cart experience or Web site conversion rates against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
text generation — Web app code generated; design and review human
Design websites or web applications.
#20327 · Core · 68% automatable
Improve search-related activities through ongoing analysis, experimentation, or optimization tests, using A/B or multivariate methods.
text generation — Web app code generated; design and review human
Design websites or web applications.
#16191 · Core · 42% automatable
Conduct online marketing initiatives, such as paid ad placement, affiliate programs, sponsorship programs, email promotions, or viral marketing campaigns on social media Web sites.
decision support — AI drafts campaigns; execution and budget owned by humans
Implement advertising or marketing initiatives.
#16186 · Core · 75% automatable
Conduct market research analysis to identify search query trends, real-time search and news media activity, popular social media topics, electronic commerce trends, market opportunities, or competitor performance.
data analysis — Customer data analysis; human frames questions
Analyze market or customer related data.
#16179 · Core · 50% automatable
Propose online or multiple-sales-channel campaigns to marketing executives.
interpersonal — Strategy collaboration needs human buy-in and judgment
Collaborate with others to develop or implement marketing strategies.
#20322 · Core · 71% automatable
Evaluate new emerging media or technologies and make recommendations for their application within Internet marketing or search marketing campaigns.
decision support — Drafts sound recommendations; human validates against real systems
Evaluate utility of software or hardware technologies. Recommend changes to improve computer or information systems.
#16188 · Core · 46% automatable
Communicate and collaborate with merchants, Webmasters, bloggers, or online editors to strategically place hyperlinks.
interpersonal — Strategy collaboration needs human buy-in and judgment
Implement advertising or marketing initiatives. Collaborate with others to develop or implement marketing strategies.
#16175 · Core · 71% automatable
Identify, evaluate, or procure hardware or software for implementing online marketing campaigns.
data analysis — Equipment inventory tracking largely software-driven
Evaluate utility of software or hardware technologies. Maintain the inventory of equipment.
#16193 · Core · 50% automatable
Collaborate with Web, multimedia, or art design staffs to create multimedia Web sites or other internet content that conforms to brand and company visual format.
interpersonal — Strategy collaboration needs human buy-in and judgment
Collaborate with others to develop or implement marketing strategies.
#16172 · Core · 80% automatable
Keep abreast of government regulations and emerging Web technology to ensure regulatory compliance by reviewing current literature, talking with colleagues, participating in educational programs, attending meetings or workshops, or participating in professional organizations or conferences.
information retrieval — AI scans trend sources; human weighs relevance
Update knowledge about emerging industry or technology trends.
#20331 · Core · 42% automatable
Purchase or negotiate placement of listings in local search engines, directories, or digital mapping technologies.
decision support — AI drafts campaigns; execution and budget owned by humans
Implement advertising or marketing initiatives.
#16185 · Core · 50% automatable
Coordinate sales or other promotional strategies with merchandising, operations, or inventory control staff to ensure product catalogs are current, accurate, and organized for best findability against user intent.
decision support — AI coordinates cross-team plans; human resolves conflicts
Coordinate project activities with other personnel or departments. Coordinate resource procurement activities.
#20325 · Core · 42% automatable
Execute or manage social media campaigns to inform search marketing tactics.
decision support — AI drafts campaigns; execution and budget owned by humans
Implement advertising or marketing initiatives.
#16187 · Core · 60% automatable
Conduct financial modeling for online marketing programs or Web site revenue forecasting.
text generation — Modeling code drafted; validation and domain framing human
Design computer modeling or simulation programs.
#16174 · Supplemental · 45% automatable
Implement online customer service processes to ensure positive and consistent user experiences.
interpersonal — Customer service is relational and accountability-bearing
Provide customer service to clients or users.
#16184 · Supplemental · 75% automatable
Develop transactional Web applications, using Web programming software and knowledge of programming languages, such as hypertext markup language (HTML) and extensible markup language (XML).
text generation — Code generation strong; human reviews and integrates
Design websites or web applications. Write computer programming code.
#16183 · Supplemental · 70% automatable
Identify and develop commercial or technical specifications, such as usability, pricing, checkout, or data security, to promote transactional internet-enabled commerce functionality.
text generation — Web spec drafting well-suited to AI
Develop specifications or procedures for website development or maintenance.
#16177 · Supplemental · 55% automatable
Define product requirements, based on market research analysis, in collaboration with user interface design and engineering staff.
interpersonal — Collaborative spec-setting requires human negotiation
Collaborate with others to determine design specifications or details.
#20324 · Supplemental · 42% automatable
Execute or manage banner, video, or other non-text link ad campaigns.
decision support — AI drafts campaigns; execution and budget owned by humans
Implement advertising or marketing initiatives.
#16178 · Supplemental · 50% automatable
Assist in the evaluation or negotiation of contracts with vendors or online partners.
decision support — Procurement coordination needs vendor judgment and authority
Coordinate resource procurement activities.
#16181 · Supplemental · 72% automatable
Prepare electronic commerce designs or prototypes, such as storyboards, mock-ups, or other content, using graphics design software.
visual inspection — Creates data graphics; accuracy and design review human
Prepare graphics or other visual representations of information.
#16180 · Supplemental · 70% automatable
Assist in the development of online transaction or security policies.
text generation — AI drafts security policies; human approves
Develop computer or information security policies or procedures.
#20323 · Supplemental · 42% automatable
Execute and manage communications with digital journalists or bloggers.
decision support — AI drafts campaigns; execution and budget owned by humans
Implement advertising or marketing initiatives.
#16173 · Supplemental · 45% automatable
Resolve product availability problems in collaboration with customer service staff.
interpersonal — Customer service is relational and accountability-bearing
Provide customer service to clients or users.
#16176 · Supplemental · 70% automatable
Identify methods for interfacing Web application technologies with enterprise resource planning or other system software.
text generation — AI drafts implementation guidelines; human tailors
Develop guidelines for system implementation.
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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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