Set up and conduct chemical experiments, tests, and analyses, using techniques such as chromatography, spectroscopy, physical or chemical separation techniques, or microscopy.

“Set up and conduct chemical experiments, tests, and analyses, using techniques such as chromatography, spectroscopy, physical or chemical separation techniques, or microscopy.” is a core task performed by Chemical Technicians. Among the occupation's 16 rated tasks, workers place it 12th by importance (#5 most important). About 75% of workers say it is relevant to their job.

This is a single occupation-specific task statement from O*NET. The figures below describe how central the task is to the job and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the task will be automated.

Work activities this task rolls up to

O*NET groups concrete tasks into broader work activities shared across many occupations.

• Analyze biological or chemical substances or related data. in Analyzing Data or Information
• Set up equipment. in Handling and Moving Objects

AI exposure

The OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rates this task E2. Exposure with tools — software built on top of a language model (not the model alone) could cut the time by at least half.

Exposure measures whether a model could meaningfully speed the task up — it is an estimate of overlap with model capabilities, not a measure of whether the work will be done by software. The study's intermediate score (β) for this task is 0.50. Automation potential label: T1.

How AI is actually used on this kind of task

The Anthropic Economic Index observes how people actually use AI on tasks like this one across millions of real conversations.

• 0.075% share of AI-use records mapped to this task
• 17% of that use is work-related
• Most common interaction: directive
• Average autonomy of the AI: 3.4 (1–5; higher = more autonomous)
• 90% of interactions still needed a human in the loop

Observed AI use describes people choosing to use AI as a tool on this kind of task today. It is augmentation and assistance, not a measure of jobs replaced.

Working with AI vs. handing it off

Of the AI conversations mapped to this task, the split between people working alongside AI and people delegating the task to it.

How people interact with AI on this task

Other tasks in this occupation

• Conduct chemical or physical laboratory tests to assist scientists in making qualitative or quantitative analyses of solids, liquids, or gaseous materials. · importance 4.5
• Maintain, clean, or sterilize laboratory instruments or equipment. · importance 4.4
• Monitor product quality to ensure compliance with standards and specifications. · importance 4.4
• Prepare chemical solutions for products or processes, following standardized formulas, or create experimental formulas. · importance 4.3
• Compile and interpret results of tests and analyses. · importance 4.3
• Provide and maintain a safe work environment by participating in safety programs, committees, or teams and by conducting laboratory or plant safety audits. · importance 4.2
• Provide technical support or assistance to chemists or engineers. · importance 4.2
• Develop or conduct programs of sampling and analysis to maintain quality standards of raw materials, chemical intermediates, or products. · importance 4.1
• Train new employees on topics such as the proper operation of laboratory equipment. · importance 3.9
• Write technical reports or prepare graphs or charts to document experimental results. · importance 3.9
• Order and inventory materials to maintain supplies. · importance 3.7
• Operate experimental pilot plants, assisting with experimental design. · importance 3.7
• Direct or monitor other workers producing chemical products. · importance 3.6
• Design or fabricate experimental apparatus to develop new products or processes. · importance 3.4

See all tasks on the Chemical Technicians page.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-task-1536,
  title  = {Set up and conduct chemical experiments, tests, and analyses, using techniques such as chromatography, spectroscopy, physical or chemical separation techniques, or microscopy.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/tasks/task-1536}
}