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Degree of Automation

Work context · O*NET

Degree of Automation is a work-context dimension in the O*NET database — one of the standardized conditions O*NET uses to describe the environment a job is done in , grouped under Structural Job Characteristics. O*NET defines it by asking workers: "How automated is the job?." It is rated for 894 occupations, which average 2.08 out of 5 (low relative to other context dimensions).

How it's measured

O*NET rates each occupation on this dimension on a 1–5 context-importance scale (the CX scale), where higher means the condition is a more frequent or more central part of the work. The figures on this page are those occupation-level ratings — a description of working conditions as workers report them, not a judgment about pay, difficulty, or whether a job is "good."

Economy-wide average 2.08 / 5 Mean across all 894 rated occupations
Range across occupations 1.04–3.80 Lowest to highest occupation rating (spread 2.76)
Intensity vs. other dimensions 28th pct Where this dimension's average ranks among all O*NET work-context dimensions

Occupations where it's highest

The occupations that rate this condition strongest on the 1–5 scale.

Occupation Rating Score
Travel Agents 3.80
Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators 3.73
Chemical Plant and System Operators 3.64
Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks 3.61
Air Traffic Controllers 3.58
Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers 3.58
Biofuels Processing Technicians 3.57
Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 3.50
Customs Brokers 3.45
Biofuels Production Managers 3.41
Robotics Technicians 3.38
Motion Picture Projectionists 3.34
Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers 3.31
Customs and Border Protection Officers 3.30
Biomass Plant Technicians 3.29
Brokerage Clerks 3.28
Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers 3.27
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists 3.27
Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators 3.26
Insurance Appraisers, Auto Damage 3.25
First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers 3.24
Gas Plant Operators 3.24
Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 3.23
Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders 3.22
Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators 3.22

Occupations where it's lowest

The occupations that rate this condition weakest — where it is rarely part of the work.

Occupation Rating Score
Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary 1.04
Manufactured Building and Mobile Home Installers 1.05
Park Naturalists 1.05
Watch and Clock Repairers 1.05
Motorcycle Mechanics 1.06
Musicians and Singers 1.06
Automotive Glass Installers and Repairers 1.07
Manicurists and Pedicurists 1.07
Teaching Assistants, Special Education 1.09
Choreographers 1.10
Animal Caretakers 1.12
Bicycle Repairers 1.12
Electricians 1.14
Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners 1.14
Occupational Therapists 1.14
Historians 1.16
Acupuncturists 1.18
Instructional Coordinators 1.18
Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary 1.18
Music Therapists 1.19
Adapted Physical Education Specialists 1.20
Nannies 1.20
Upholsterers 1.20
Camera and Photographic Equipment Repairers 1.21
Carpet Installers 1.21

How AI is used by roles where degree of automation is central

A working condition is not itself "being automated" — but we can look at the occupations where it is most central and ask how those people actually use AI. This rolls the Anthropic Economic Index per-role signal up across the roles that rate this condition 3 or higher (CX-rating-weighted). 42.6% of the 47 occupations where this condition is present carry observed AI-usage data (20 roles).

Across those roles, 43.4% of AI conversations are people working with AI and 32.1% hand a task to AI , with an average autonomy of 3.21 / 5.

Collaboration pattern Share What it means
directive 31.6% AI does it; you give the instruction
task iteration 21.2% you and AI go back and forth
learning 20.6% you ask AI to explain or teach
validation 1.6% you do it; AI checks your work
feedback loop 0.5% AI does it, then adjusts from your feedback

Roles behind this signal

The occupations where this condition is most central and that also have the most AEI data. "Works with AI" is the role's share of conversations that augment rather than automate.

Occupation Condition (1–5) Works with AI Autonomy
Credit Counselors 3.0 71.6% 3.0/5
Correspondence Clerks 3.0 54.8% 3.0/5
Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks 3.6 42.8% 3.0/5
Loan Officers 3.2 63.6% 4.0/5
Travel Agents 3.8 44.4% 3.0/5
Robotics Technicians 3.4 42.3% 3.0/5
Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers 3.0 48.4% 3.0/5
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians 3.1 37.9% 3.3/5
Prepress Technicians and Workers 3.1 40.6% 3.0/5
Telemarketers 3.1 57.4% 4.0/5
Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents 3.0 64.6% 3.0/5
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists 3.3 42.9% 3.5/5

Source: Anthropic Economic Index (2026-01-15-v4-plus-2025-03-27-v2) over a sample of Claude.ai Free and Pro conversations — not all AI tools and not the whole workforce. This is a role-weighted projection from AEI-linked occupations where this condition is central, not a direct measurement of AI use for the condition itself. Shares are weighted by how central the condition is to each role; some conversations are left unclassified by Anthropic's taxonomy, so shares need not sum to 100.

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.

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

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Degree of Automation." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27). Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/work-context/degree-of-automation

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Degree of Automation. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/work-context/degree-of-automation

BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-degree-of-automation,
  title  = {Degree of Automation},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27). Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/work-context/degree-of-automation}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.