AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 51-9061.00

Will AI replace Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers?

Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers: AI can already handle 9 of 31 tasks; the work mostly needs a standard-tier model.

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Every task, scored

The 31 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers, from most to least exposed. 9 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.

Task AI exposure Evidence Model tier Importance
Recommend necessary corrective actions, based on inspection results. 92 Observed Frontier 4.4
Monitor machines that automatically measure, sort, or inspect products. 90 Estimated Standard 4.0
Grade, classify, or sort products according to sizes, weights, colors, or other specifications. 90 Estimated Frontier 3.7
Measure dimensions of products to verify conformance to specifications, using measuring instruments, such as rulers, calipers, gauges, or micrometers. 80 Estimated Standard 4.5
Read dials or meters to verify that equipment is functioning at specified levels. 80 Estimated Standard 4.3
Compare colors, shapes, textures, or grades of products or materials with color charts, templates, or samples to verify conformance to standards. 80 Estimated Standard 4.2
Weigh materials, products, containers, or samples to verify packaging weights or ingredient quantities. 80 Estimated Standard 3.5
Administer tests to assess whether engineers or operators are qualified to use equipment. 65 Estimated Standard 4.1
Write test or inspection reports describing results, recommendations, or needed repairs. 60 Estimated Efficient 4.4
Interpret legal requirements, provide safety information, or recommend compliance procedures to contractors, craft workers, engineers, or property owners. 40 Observed Efficient 4.0
Inspect, test, or measure materials, products, installations, or work for conformance to specifications. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.5
Read blueprints, data, manuals, or other materials to determine specifications, inspection and testing procedures, adjustment methods, certification processes, formulas, or measuring instruments required. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.3
Inspect or test raw materials, parts, or products to determine compliance with environmental standards. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.3
Record inspection or test data, such as weights, temperatures, grades, or moisture content, and quantities inspected or graded. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.3
Clean, maintain, calibrate, or repair measuring instruments or test equipment, such as dial indicators, fixed gauges, or height gauges. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.1
Fabricate, install, position, or connect components, parts, finished products, or instruments for testing or operational purposes. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.1
Adjust, clean, or repair products or processing equipment to correct defects found during inspections. 20 Estimated Efficient 3.9
Discard or reject products, materials, or equipment not meeting specifications. 15 Estimated No tier 4.7
Mark items with details, such as grade or acceptance-rejection status. 15 Estimated No tier 4.6
Notify supervisors or other personnel of production problems. 15 Estimated No tier 4.5
Make minor adjustments to equipment, such as turning setscrews to calibrate instruments to required tolerances. 15 Estimated No tier 4.3
Check arriving materials to ensure that they match purchase orders, submitting discrepancy reports as necessary. 15 Estimated No tier 4.3
Monitor production operations or equipment to ensure conformance to specifications, making necessary process or assembly adjustments. 15 Estimated No tier 4.3
Analyze test data, making computations as necessary, to determine test results. 15 Estimated No tier 4.2
Remove defects, such as chips, burrs, or lap corroded or pitted surfaces. 15 Estimated No tier 3.9
Position products, components, or parts for testing. 15 Estimated No tier 3.9
Compute usable amounts of items in shipments. 15 Estimated No tier 3.8
Collect or select samples for testing or for use as models. 15 Estimated No tier 3.8
Disassemble defective parts or components, such as inaccurate or worn gauges or measuring instruments. 15 Estimated No tier 3.7
Compute defect percentages or averages, using formulas and calculators. 15 Estimated No tier 3.7
Stack or arrange tested products for further processing, shipping, or packaging. 15 Estimated No tier 3.6

Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 2 of 31 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 29 of 31. 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 49% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 55% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 45% 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
597,370
Median annual wage
$48,570
Middle half of earners
$39,890 to $61,440
Projected change, 2024 to 2034
0.0%

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.

Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.

Questions about Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers and AI

Will AI replace Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers?

AI already handles 9 of the 31 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 36 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 0.0% from 2024 to 2034.

What is the AI exposure of Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers?

36 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 31 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 29 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.

Which Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers tasks can AI already do?

The tasks with the highest exposure are: Recommend necessary corrective actions, based on inspection results; Monitor machines that automatically measure, sort, or inspect products; Grade, classify, or sort products according to sizes, weights, colors, or other specifications. They are three of the 9 tasks that reach 60 or more.

What AI model tier does this role need?

A standard-tier model or lower covers 49% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 45% 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 Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers, and what do they earn?

597,370 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $48,570 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of 0.0% 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: Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers. 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/inspectors-testers-sorters-samplers-and-weighers

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