AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 25-4012.00
Will AI replace Curators?
Curators: AI can already handle 8 of 15 tasks; the work mostly needs a standard-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 15 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Curators, from most to least exposed. 8 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Write and review grant proposals, journal articles, institutional reports, and publicity materials. | Observed | Efficient | |
| Provide information from the institution's holdings to other curators and to the public. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Schedule events and organize details, including refreshment, entertainment, decorations, and the collection of any fees. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Establish specifications for reproductions and oversee their manufacture or select items from commercially available replica sources. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Study, examine, and test acquisitions to authenticate their origin, composition, history, and to assess their current value. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Inspect premises to assess the need for repairs and to ensure that climate and pest control issues are addressed. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Confer with the board of directors to formulate and interpret policies, to determine budget requirements, and to plan overall operations. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Arrange insurance coverage for objects on loan or for special exhibits and recommend changes in coverage for the entire collection. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Plan and organize the acquisition, storage, and exhibition of collections and related materials, including the selection of exhibition themes and designs, and develop or install exhibit materials. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Develop and maintain an institution's registration, cataloging, and basic record-keeping systems, using computer databases. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Design, organize, or conduct tours, workshops, and instructional or educational sessions to acquaint individuals with an institution's facilities and materials. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Plan and conduct special research projects in area of interest or expertise. | Observed | Efficient | |
| Negotiate and authorize purchase, sale, exchange, or loan of collections. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Train and supervise curatorial, fiscal, technical, research, and clerical staff, as well as volunteers or interns. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Attend meetings, conventions, and civic events to promote use of institution's services, to seek financing, and to maintain community alliances. | Estimated | Standard |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 2 of 15 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 13 of 15. 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 88% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 100% of the work is something AI can address at some tier.
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
- 12,150
- Median annual wage
- $63,420
- Middle half of earners
- $48,870 to $83,080
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +7.0%
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.
- Museum Technicians and Conservators 68% skill overlap, about 12 months to move Exposure34
- Archivists 62% skill overlap, about 14 months to move Exposure63
- Librarians and Media Collections Specialists 59% skill overlap, about 15 months to move Exposure46
- Historians 57% skill overlap, about 16 months to move Exposure65
- Craft Artists 53% skill overlap, about 17 months to move Exposure57
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Curators and AI
Will AI replace Curators?
AI already handles 8 of the 15 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 56 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 +7.0% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Curators?
56 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. 2 of the 15 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 13 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Curators tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Write and review grant proposals, journal articles, institutional reports, and publicity materials; Provide information from the institution's holdings to other curators and to the public; Schedule events and organize details, including refreshment, entertainment, decorations, and the collection of any fees. They are three of the 8 tasks that reach 60 or more.
What AI model tier does this role need?
A standard-tier model or lower covers 88% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 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 Curators, and what do they earn?
12,150 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $63,420 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +7.0% 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: Curators. 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/curators
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