Chemists
In short: today's best AI models could do about 40% 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 60% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 40% of the time, stays with people.
Conduct qualitative and quantitative chemical analyses or experiments in laboratories for quality or process control or to develop new products or knowledge.
82,770 people do this job in the US. $91,240 a year.
Reviewed on October 1, 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 work16 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet8 h
- Stays with people16 h
Chemists, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 0 hours, 16 hours become checking its work, 8 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 16 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Analyze test data (about 5 h, a person checks); Write papers and specifications (about 4 h, a person checks); Analyze compounds by instrument (about 2 h, 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.
- 59%
- 0%
- 3%
- 3%
- 34%
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 40% 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, 8%. Today's estimate: 40%.
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
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, 0.064% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 205th largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 1 of its 12 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.25% to 0.3% (released February and March 2025); 0.3% to 0.16% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.068% to 0.064% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.25% | 78 of 708 | 6 of 12 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.3% | 61 of 703 | 6 of 12 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.3% | 60 of 655 | 4 of 12 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.19% | 91 of 672 | 3 of 12 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.16% | 112 of 677 | 3 of 12 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.068% | 197 of 434 | 1 of 12 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.064% | 205 of 447 | 1 of 12 |
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 67% of this job's working time as physical work. For 61% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 28% in a purpose-built cell, 34% in a structured facility. 0.95 of 3, the 142nd highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 33%
- No robot shown 6%
- In a purpose-built cell 28%
- In a structured facility 34%
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
40% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Develop products and methods, the hands-on work, 12%
- Run reactions for analysis, the hands-on work, 6%
- Analyze compounds by instrument, the hands-on work, 6%
- Maintain lab instruments, the hands-on work, 3%
- Direct staff on test procedures, the in-person work, 3%
- Evaluate lab safety procedures, the hands-on work, 3%
What becomes checking the machine
60% 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.
- Develop products and methods, costly if wrong, 17%
- Write papers and specifications, costly if wrong, 14%
- Analyze test data, costly if wrong, 14%
- Analyze compounds by instrument, costly if wrong, 6%
- Evaluate lab safety procedures, severe if wrong, 4%
- Direct staff on test procedures, costly if wrong, 2%
What to learn
- 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.
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts. About 59% of the time is documents and data, the part models reach first: writing a clear brief, giving the right material, and checking what comes back.
- The hands-on craft. About 34% 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.
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 . 12 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Develop, improve, or customize products, equipment, formulas, processes, or analytical methods.Design on paper and trials at the bench.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, ChromSwordAuto (with Agilent 1290 / Thermo Vanquish method development LC hardware) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 29% | 2.1 work days6.7 h to 1.7 work weeks | Documents 60%, hands-on 40% | 14%Desk part half by May 2027 |
| Write technical papers or reports or prepare standards and specifications for processes, facilities, products, or tests.Writing the papers and specifications.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 14% | 6.7 h2.5 h to 2.5 work days | Documents 100% | 69%Half by now |
| Compile and analyze test information to determine process or equipment operating efficiency or to diagnose malfunctions.Working through the test data to find what it shows.Done daily by most who do it. | 14% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 1 work day | Documents 100% | 99%Half by now |
| Analyze organic or inorganic compounds to determine chemical or physical properties, composition, structure, relationships, or reactions, using chromatography, spectroscopy, or spectrophotometry techniques.Running the instruments and interpreting what they show.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task.Robots: in a structured facility, Mobile robotic chemist (KUKA KMR-based mobile manipulator) (University of Liverpool) (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 11% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.3 work days | Documents 50%, hands-on 50% | 40%Desk part half by now |
| Evaluate laboratory safety procedures to ensure compliance with standards or to make improvements as needed.Reviewing the procedures and walking the lab.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 7% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 1.7 work days | Documents 60%, hands-on 40% | 55%Desk part half by now |
| Induce changes in composition of substances by introducing heat, light, energy, or chemical catalysts for quantitative or qualitative analysis.Reactions run at the bench with heat, light or catalysts.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Robotic system for automated sample preparation and heavy-metal determination by ICP-MS (Hochschule Mannheim / instrument partners) (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 2.5 h50 min to 1 work day | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Direct, coordinate, or advise personnel in test procedures for analyzing components or physical properties of materials.Showing and directing in the lab, with the procedures written.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 5% | 1.7 h25 min to 3.3 h | In person 60%, documents 40% | 39%Desk part half by now |
| Confer with scientists or engineers to conduct analyses of research projects, interpret test results, or develop nonstandard tests.Working meetings with scientists and engineers, with the results in view.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 4% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Conversation 70%, documents 30% | 30%Desk part half by now |
| Conduct quality control tests.Tests at the bench, with the results recorded and read.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, Liverpool mobile robotic chemists (KUKA KMR iiwa mobile manipulators + Chemspeed ISynth + UPLC-MS + benchtop NMR) (University of Liverpool) (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Hands-on 70%, documents 30% | 30%Desk part half by now |
| Maintain laboratory instruments to ensure proper working order and troubleshoot malfunctions when needed.Hands on the instruments.Done more than weekly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Prepare test solutions, compounds, or reagents for laboratory personnel to conduct tests.Making up solutions at the bench.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, METTLER TOLEDO Quantos (QB/QX/QS30 automated powder and liquid dosing) (Mettler-Toledo) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 2% | 50 min25 min to 2.5 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Purchase laboratory supplies, such as chemicals, when supplies are low or near their expiration date.Checking stock and placing the order with the supplier.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 0.5% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Systems 70%, documents 30% | 100%Half by now |
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.
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 Chemists is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 40% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 60% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (56% to 60% across the three paces the site shows). 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 Chemists 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: Analyze test data (99% of the task's time now); Write papers and specifications (69% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); and Analyze compounds by instrument (40% of the task's time now, 50% by the end of 2028).
- Which tasks of Chemists stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Run reactions for analysis; Maintain lab instruments; and Prepare reagents. Together such tasks are about 12% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Chemists learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are reviewing work you did not do yourself; briefing a model and checking its drafts; and the hands-on craft. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 40% of the working time stays with people, 60% 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 Chemists?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.064% went to this job's tasks, the 205th largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 1 of its 12 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 26%. 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 Chemists?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 67% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 61% of the working time, 34% in a structured facility. Its index is 0.95 of 3. One example: Mobile robotic chemist (KUKA KMR-based mobile manipulator) for "analyze compounds by instrument". 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 12 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 October 1, 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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