AI Automation Index

Will AI Replace Survey Researchers?

Task-level automation exposure for Survey Researchers: 16 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.

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Developed & audited by Gini Loh

Automation Exposure

52% weighted task index

16 of 16 tasks scored

Median Salary

$69,460 / year

BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation

Employment Level

Low

8,290 people hold this job — size, not growth

Projected 2025–35

-4.8% employment change

600 openings a year · BLS line item

Pay by state

BLS OEWS publishes 31 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.

$47,330 – $104,220

Highest medians

Minnesota $104,220

District of Columbia $102,390

Michigan $101,550

North Carolina $96,560

New Jersey $95,580

Lowest medians

Texas $47,330

Maine $47,330

Georgia $51,590

Illinois $54,080

Oklahoma $57,200

State figures come from the 19-3022 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 52%

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 38%

Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.

Routine administration 28%

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 8/100 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

16 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) 30%

5 tasks

Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 50%

8 tasks

Low exposure (below 35%) 21%

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

#7550 · Core · 30% automatable

Conduct surveys and collect data, using methods such as interviews, questionnaires, focus groups, market analysis surveys, public opinion polls, literature reviews, and file reviews.

interpersonal — Observation and interviews are inherently human

Collect information from people through observation, interviews, or surveys.

#7545 · Core · 72% automatable

Prepare and present summaries and analyses of survey data, including tables, graphs, and fact sheets that describe survey techniques and results.

text generation — Reports drafted; presentations need human delivery

Prepare scientific or technical reports or presentations.

#7546 · Core · 50% automatable

Consult with clients to identify survey needs and specific requirements, such as special samples.

interpersonal — Client information exchange is live relational work

Confer with clients to exchange information.

#7555 · Core · 52% automatable

Determine and specify details of survey projects, including sources of information, procedures to be used, and the design of survey instruments and materials.

decision support — Social research plans drafted; rigor human-owned

Plan social sciences research.

#7556 · Core · 43% automatable

Support, plan, and coordinate operations for single or multiple surveys.

decision support — Social research plans drafted; rigor human-owned

Plan social sciences research. Direct scientific activities.

#7553 · Core · 73% automatable

Monitor and evaluate survey progress and performance, using sample disposition reports and response rate calculations.

data analysis — Evaluate reports and designs, human owns decisions

Evaluate reports or designs to determine work needs. Analyze operational data to evaluate operations, processes or products.

#7551 · Core · 45% automatable

Collaborate with other researchers in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of surveys.

interpersonal — Research collaboration is iterative human teamwork

Collaborate on research activities with scientists or technical specialists.

#7549 · Core · 30% automatable

Conduct research to gather information about survey topics.

interpersonal — Observation and interviews are inherently human

Collect information from people through observation, interviews, or surveys.

#7552 · Core · 32% automatable

Direct and review the work of staff members, including survey support staff and interviewers who gather survey data.

interpersonal — Technical supervision requires judgment and accountability

Supervise scientific or technical personnel.

#7557 · Core · 52% automatable

Direct updates and changes in survey implementation and methods.

decision support — Social research plans drafted; rigor human-owned

Plan social sciences research.

#7554 · Core · 80% automatable

Produce documentation of the questionnaire development process, data collection methods, sampling designs, and decisions related to sample statistical weighting.

text generation — Generate operational reports from structured data

Prepare operational reports.

#21107 · Core · 55% automatable

Write proposals to win new projects.

text generation — Draft grant text; human owns strategy and budget

Write grant proposals. Prepare proposals or grant applications to obtain project funding.

#7548 · Core · 66% automatable

Review, classify, and record survey data in preparation for computer analysis.

data analysis — Record research or operational data into schemas

Classify organisms based on their characteristics or behavior. Record research or operational data.

#7547 · Core · 45% automatable

Analyze data from surveys, old records, or case studies, using statistical software.

data analysis — Analysis aided; study design and fieldwork human

Conduct research on social issues.

#7559 · Core · 80% automatable

Write training manuals to be used by survey interviewers.

text generation — Draft training materials; human tailors content

Develop training materials.

#7558 · Core · 40% automatable

Hire and train recruiters and data collectors.

interpersonal — Technical procedure training needs live demonstration and correction

Train personnel in technical or scientific procedures.

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Community Sentiment

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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 →

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