Furniture Finishers
In short: today's best AI models could do about 4% 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 people and hands-on work, about 96% of the time, stays with people.
Shape, finish, and refinish damaged, worn, or used furniture or new high-grade furniture to specified color or finish.
14,480 people do this job in the US. $44,540 a year.
A typical 40-hour week
Not yet reviewed task by task- AI could take on2 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people38 h
Furniture Finishers, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 2 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 38 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Select appropriate finishing ingredients such as paint, stain, lacquer, shellac, or varnish, depending on factors such as wood hardness and surface type (about 1 h); Recommend woods, colors, finishes, and furniture styles, using knowledge of wood products, fashions, and styles (under an hour).
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.
- 4%
- 2%
- 95%
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.
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: 4%.
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, 0.011% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 376th largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 1 of its 22 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: none to 0.011% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | none | n/a | 0 of 22 |
| Released March 2025 | none | n/a | 0 of 22 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | none | n/a | 0 of 22 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 22 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 22 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 22 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.011% | 376 of 447 | 1 of 22 |
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 93% of this job's working time as physical work. For 60% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 60% in a purpose-built cell. 0.60 of 3, the 283rd highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 7%
- No robot shown 33%
- In a purpose-built cell 60%
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.
The tasks
Sorted by . 22 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design, create, and decorate entire pieces or specific parts of furniture, such as draws for cabinets.Done more than yearly by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Omec CNC dovetail / gluing / clamping drawer-box lines at CalDoor (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 16% | 1 work day3.3 h to 3.1 work days | Stays with people | |
| Replace or refurbish upholstery of items, using tacks, adhesives, softeners, solvents, stains, or polish.Done hourly or more by most who do it.Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 10% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Remove old finishes and damaged or deteriorated parts, using hand tools, stripping tools, sandpaper, steel wool, abrasives, solvents, or dip baths.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 10% | 1.3 h38 min to 4.2 h | Stays with people | |
| Brush, spray, or hand-rub finishing ingredients, such as paint, oil, stain, or wax, onto and into wood grain and apply lacquer or other sealers.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Cefla iGiotto (with C-Vision 3D scanner) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 9% | 50 min25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Follow blueprints to produce specific designs.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, CMA Spray Robotics line (integrated by Robotic Solutions LLC) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 8% | 1.7 h25 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Smooth, shape, and touch up surfaces to prepare them for finishing, using sandpaper, pumice stones, steel wool, chisels, sanders, or grinders.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Omnirobotic PSA-80 PRO (Autonomy OS) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 50 min21 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Treat warped or stained surfaces to restore original contours and colors.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 1.3 h33 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Fill and smooth cracks or depressions, remove marks and imperfections, and repair broken parts, using plastic or wood putty, glue, nails, or screws.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Distress surfaces with woodworking tools or abrasives before staining to create an antique appearance, or rub surfaces to bring out highlights and shadings.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Dubois Distresser (in-line wire-brush distressing machine) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 50 min25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Stencil, gild, emboss, mark, or paint designs or borders to reproduce the original appearance of restored pieces, or to decorate new pieces.Done more than yearly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Hymmen JUPITER digital printing line with DLEplus digital lacquer embossing (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 1.4 h38 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Examine furniture to determine the extent of damage or deterioration, and to decide on the best method for repair or restoration.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Mix finish ingredients to obtain desired colors or shades.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, COROB Automatic In-Can Production Line (colorant dispenser, base dispenser, mixing units, anthropomorphic robot) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 25 min8 min to 1.1 h | 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.
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.
- Upholsterers7% now, 7% by 2028
- Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers0% now, 0% by 2028
- Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters18% now, 19% by 2028
- Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand11% now, 11% by 2028
- Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic0% now, 0% by 2028
- Floor Sanders and Finishers0% now, 0% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
- Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing (3371 and 3372 only)10,110 people
- Personal and Household Goods Repair and Maintenance1,560 people
- Warehousing and Storage980 people
- Furniture and Home Furnishings Retailers710 people
- Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods (4232, 4233, 4235, 4236, 4237, and 4239 only)270 people
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 Furniture Finishers is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 4% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 4% 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 Furniture Finishers 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: Select appropriate finishing ingredients such as paint, stain, lacquer, shellac, or varnish, depending on factors such as wood hardness and surface type (100% of the task's time now); and Recommend woods, colors, finishes, and furniture styles, using knowledge of wood products, fashions, and styles (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Furniture Finishers stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Design, create, and decorate entire pieces or specific parts of furniture, such as draws for cabinets; Replace or refurbish upholstery of items, using tacks, adhesives, softeners, solvents, stains, or polish; and Remove old finishes and damaged or deteriorated parts, using hand tools, stripping tools, sandpaper, steel wool, abrasives, solvents, or dip baths. Together such tasks are about 96% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Furniture Finishers?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.011% went to this job's tasks, the 376th largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 1 of its 22 tasks appeared. 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 Furniture Finishers?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 93% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 60% of the working time. Its index is 0.60 of 3. One example: Omec CNC dovetail / gluing / clamping drawer-box lines at CalDoor for "design, create, and decorate entire pieces or specific parts of furniture, such as draws for cabinets". 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 22 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, each classed as desk, people or body work, 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.
This job in your state or metro area
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.
Your own version of this job
The page above is the occupation. Your job is your title and what you actually do: give both, and they are read against these tasks in your browser, nothing sent anywhere. The headline is free: how much of your working time is within reach now and by the end of 2028, and how many of the tasks your description names.
This occupation has not been reviewed task by task yet, so the full personal report is not offered for it; 402 of 923 occupations are reviewed so far, largest first.