AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 39-4031.00
Will AI replace Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers?
Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers: AI can already handle 1 of 22 tasks; the work mostly needs a standard-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 22 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consult with families or friends of the deceased to arrange funeral details, such as obituary notice wording, casket selection, or plans for services. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Plan, schedule, or coordinate funerals, burials, or cremations, arranging details such as floral delivery or the time and place of services. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Plan placement of caskets at funeral sites or place or adjust lights, fixtures, or floral displays. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Discuss and negotiate prearranged funerals with clients. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Manage funeral home operations, including the hiring, training, or supervision of embalmers, funeral attendants, or other staff. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Oversee the preparation and care of the remains of people who have died. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Obtain information needed to complete legal documents, such as death certificates or burial permits. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Perform embalming duties, as necessary. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Remove deceased remains from place of death. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Contact cemeteries to schedule the opening and closing of graves. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Close caskets and lead funeral corteges to churches or burial sites. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Offer counsel and comfort to bereaved families or friends. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Direct preparations and shipment of bodies for out-of-state burial. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Provide or arrange transportation between sites for the remains, mourners, pallbearers, clergy, or flowers. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Arrange for clergy members to perform needed services. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Clean funeral home facilities and grounds. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Inform survivors of benefits for which they may be eligible. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Arrange for pallbearers or inform pallbearers or honorary groups of their duties. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Receive or usher people to their seats for services. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Participate in community activities for funeral home promotion or other purposes. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Provide information on funeral service options, products, or merchandise, and maintain a casket display area. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Maintain financial records, order merchandise, or prepare accounts. | Estimated | Efficient |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 22 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 22 of 22. 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 95% 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
- 25,100
- Median annual wage
- $55,010
- Middle half of earners
- $42,430 to $72,010
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +3.1%
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.
- Funeral Attendants 82% skill overlap, about 6 months to move Exposure30
- Funeral Home Managers 80% skill overlap, about 7 months to move Exposure37
- Embalmers 72% skill overlap, about 10 months to move Exposure71
- Crematory Operators 70% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure29
- Coroners 66% skill overlap, about 12 months to move Exposure73
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers and AI
Will AI replace Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers?
AI already handles 1 of the 22 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 33 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 +3.1% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers?
33 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 22 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 22 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Consult with families or friends of the deceased to arrange funeral details, such as obituary notice wording, casket selection, or plans for services. 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 95% 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 Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers, and what do they earn?
25,100 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $55,010 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +3.1% 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: Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers. 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/morticians-undertakers-and-funeral-arrangers
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