Proofreaders and Copy Markers
Read transcript or proof type setup to detect and mark for correction any grammatical, typographical, or compositional errors. Excludes workers whose primary duty is editing copy. Includes proofreaders of braille.
4,580 people do this job in the US. $51,120 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 91%
- 9%
- 0%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h 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, 3%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 74%. Today's estimate: 82%.
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.
The tasks
Sorted by . 11 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark copy to indicate and correct errors in type, arrangement, grammar, punctuation, or spelling, using standard printers' marks.Done hourly or more by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 19% | 38 min13 min to 2.5 h | 86%Half by now | |
| Archive documents, conduct research, and read copy, using the internet and various computer programs.Done daily by most who do it. | 14% | 1.1 h25 min to 2.5 h | 91%Half by now | |
| Write original content, such as headlines, cutlines, captions, and cover copy.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 13% | 50 min13 min to 3.3 h | 69%Half by now | |
| Typeset and measure dimensions, spacing, and positioning of page elements, such as copy and illustrations, to verify conformance to specifications, using printer's ruler or layout software.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 13% | 50 min17 min to 1.7 h | 96%Half by now | |
| Compare information or figures on one record against same data on other records, or with original copy, to detect errors.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 10% | 33 min13 min to 1.7 h | 97%Half by now | |
| Correct or record omissions, errors, or inconsistencies found.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 9% | 21 min8 min to 1.1 h | 99%Half by now | |
| Read corrected copies or proofs to ensure that all corrections have been made.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 9% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | 97%Half by now | |
| Consult reference books or secure aid of readers to check references with rules of grammar and composition.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 21 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Consult with authors and editors regarding manuscript changes and suggestions.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 38 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Route proofs with marked corrections to authors, editors, typists, or typesetters for correction or reprinting.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 3% | 8 min4 min to 21 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Read proof sheets aloud, calling out punctuation marks and spelling unusual words and proper names.Done daily by most who do it. | 2% | 50 min13 min to 2.5 h | 79%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.
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).