Automotive Body and Related Repairers
In short: today's best AI models could do about 5% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about the same by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 95% of the time, stays with people.
Repair and refinish automotive vehicle bodies and straighten vehicle frames.
149,310 people do this job in the US. $54,890 a year.
Reviewed on September 30, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on0 h
- A person checks AI's work2 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people38 h
Automotive Body and Related Repairers, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 0 hours, 2 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 38 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Estimate repairs and plan the work (about 2 h, a person checks); Determine custom modifications (under an hour, a person checks).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 5%
- 0%
- 0%
- 2%
- 93%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
What handing it over would take, now
The 5% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 4%. Today's estimate: 5%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
None of this job's 25 tasks showed up in the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled in any of its 7 releases, from February 2025 to May 2026.
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 90% of this job's working time as physical work. For 48% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 48% in a purpose-built cell. 0.48 of 3, the 317th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 10%
- No robot shown 42%
- In a purpose-built cell 48%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
95% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Weld in replacement parts, the hands-on work, 14%
- Prime and paint repairs, the hands-on work, 12%
- Cut out damaged sections and fit parts, the hands-on work, 9%
- Inspect and test-drive repaired vehicles, the hands-on work, 8%
- Grind and sand repaired surfaces, the hands-on work, 7%
- Sand and mask for painting, the hands-on work, 7%
What becomes checking the machine
5% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it.
- Estimate repairs and plan the work, costly if wrong, 4%
- Determine custom modifications, costly if wrong, 0.7%
What to learn
- The hands-on craft. About 93% of the time is hands-on work, which no model here does; robots are rated separately on this page.
- Judgment where errors are severe. Some tasks are severe if wrong. Knowing when not to trust an output matters more there than speed.
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself. The tasks under What becomes checking the machine, where a mistake costs something, stay a person's to check: spotting what a draft gets wrong is a skill of its own.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 25 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fit and weld replacement parts into place, using wrenches and welding equipment, and grind down welds to smooth them, using power grinders and other tools.Welding parts in and grinding the welds.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, KUKA KS Framer (framing station) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 14% | 2.5 h50 min to 5 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Prime and paint repaired surfaces, using paint sprayguns and motorized sanders.Spray guns and sanders on the surface.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, 3M Finesse-it Robotic Paint Repair System with FANUC M-710iC/70 robots and Inovision SMARTInspect (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 12% | 2.1 h50 min to 5 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Remove damaged sections of vehicles using metal-cutting guns, air grinders and wrenches, and install replacement parts using wrenches or welding equipment.Metal-cutting guns and grinders, then the new parts fitted.Done more than weekly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 9% | 3.3 h1.3 h to 6.7 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Inspect repaired vehicles for proper functioning, completion of work, dimensional accuracy, and overall appearance of paint job, and test-drive vehicles to ensure proper alignment and handling.Checking the work and driving the vehicle.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, reflectCONTROL Automotive (Micro-Epsilon) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 8% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| File, grind, sand, and smooth filled or repaired surfaces, using power tools and hand tools.Power and hand tools on the surface.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, GrayMatter Robotics Scan&Sand (Fanuc M-710iC cell) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 50 min17 min to 2.1 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Sand body areas to be painted and cover bumpers, windows, and trim with masking tape or paper to protect them from the paint.Sanding and masking the trim.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 50 min25 min to 2.1 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Remove upholstery, accessories, electrical window-and-seat-operating equipment, and trim to gain access to vehicle bodies and fenders.Stripping parts to get at the body.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Fit and secure windows, vinyl roofs, and metal trim to vehicle bodies, using caulking guns, adhesive brushes, and mallets.Caulking guns, adhesive and mallets on the body.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Bluewrist EzRG Advanced Robot Guidance / Windshield Insertion System (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 1.7 h25 min to 3.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Review damage reports, prepare or review repair cost estimates, and plan work to be performed.Reading the damage report and writing the estimate, with a look at the vehicle.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Documents 80%, hands-on 20% | 80%Desk part half by now |
| Position dolly blocks against surfaces of dented areas and beat opposite surfaces to remove dents, using hammers.Dolly and hammer work on the panel.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 50 min17 min to 2.1 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Apply heat to plastic panels, using hot-air welding guns or immersion in hot water, and press the softened panels back into shape by hand.Hot-air guns or hot water, then pressing by hand.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Fill small dents that cannot be worked out with plastic or solder.Filler or solder worked into the dent.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Scan&Sand (GrayMatter Robotics) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 2% | 38 min13 min to 1.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics3% now, 3% by 2028
- Rail Car Repairers3% now, 3% by 2028
- Tire Builders0% now, 0% by 2028
- Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers4% now, 4% by 2028
- Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers3% now, 3% by 2028
- Engine and Other Machine Assemblers9% now, 9% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Automotive Body and Related Repairers is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 5% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 5% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Automotive Body and Related Repairers come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Estimate repairs and plan the work (80% of the task's time now); Determine custom modifications (40% of the task's time now); and Take the job instructions (30% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Automotive Body and Related Repairers stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Weld in replacement parts; Prime and paint repairs; and Cut out damaged sections and fit parts. Together such tasks are about 92% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Automotive Body and Related Repairers learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are the hands-on craft; judgment where errors are severe; and reviewing work you did not do yourself. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 95% of the working time stays with people, 5% becomes checking a model's work and 0% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Automotive Body and Related Repairers?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026, no reportable share went to this job's tasks. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 0%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Automotive Body and Related Repairers?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 90% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 48% of the working time. Its index is 0.48 of 3. One example: KUKA KS Framer (framing station) for "weld in replacement parts". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 25 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on September 30, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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