AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 51-9191.00
Will AI replace Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders?
Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders: AI can already handle 1 of 16 tasks; most of the work is hands-on, and the part AI can address mostly needs a standard-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 16 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders, from most to least exposed. 1 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Examine and measure completed materials or products to verify conformance to specifications, using measuring devices such as tape measures, gauges, or calipers. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Maintain production records such as quantities, dimensions, and thicknesses of materials processed. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Clean and maintain gluing and cementing machines, using solutions, lubricants, brushes, and scrapers. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Align and position materials being joined to ensure accurate application of adhesive or heat sealing. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Adjust machine components according to specifications such as widths, lengths, and thickness of materials and amounts of glue, cement, or adhesive required. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Monitor machine operations to detect malfunctions and report or resolve problems. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Start machines, and turn valves or move controls to feed, admit, apply, or transfer materials and adhesives, and to adjust temperature, pressure, and time settings. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Fill machines with glue, cement, or adhesives. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Perform test production runs and make adjustments as necessary to ensure that completed products meet standards and specifications. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Read work orders and communicate with coworkers to determine machine and equipment settings and adjustments and supply and product specifications. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Remove jammed materials from machines and readjust components as necessary to resume normal operations. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Observe gauges, meters, and control panels to obtain information about equipment temperatures and pressures, or the speed of feeders or conveyors. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Mount or load material such as paper, plastic, wood, or rubber in feeding mechanisms of cementing or gluing machines. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Measure and mix ingredients to prepare glue. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Remove and stack completed materials or products, and restock materials to be joined. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Transport materials, supplies, and finished products between storage and work areas, using forklifts. | Estimated | No tier |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 16 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 16 of 16. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.
The model tier this role needs
A standard-tier model or lower covers 19% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 19% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 81% is hands-on.
Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.
Wages, employment and outlook
- US employment
- 11,500
- Median annual wage
- $46,460
- Middle half of earners
- $37,220 to $53,610
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +1.0%
Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.
Adjacent roles
The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.
- Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders 69% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure19
- Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 69% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure20
- Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 68% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure23
- Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 66% skill overlap, about 12 months to move Exposure16
- Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders 66% skill overlap, about 12 months to move Exposure27
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders and AI
Will AI replace Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders?
AI already handles 1 of the 16 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 19 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by +1.0% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders?
19 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 0 of the 16 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 16 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Examine and measure completed materials or products to verify conformance to specifications, using measuring devices such as tape measures, gauges, or calipers. It is the only task that reach 60 or more.
What AI model tier does this role need?
A standard-tier model or lower covers 19% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 81% is hands-on work that no model tier covers. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.
How many people work as Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders, and what do they earn?
11,500 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $46,460 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +1.0% from 2024 to 2034.
How to cite
Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.
JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/adhesive-bonding-machine-operators-and-tenders
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