Regulatory Affairs Specialists
In short: today's best AI models could do about 59% 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 90% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The people and hands-on work, about 9% of the time, stays with people.
Coordinate and document internal regulatory processes, such as internal audits, inspections, license renewals, or registrations. May compile and prepare materials for submission to regulatory agencies.
$80,730 a year (for the broader BLS group this job sits in).
A typical 40-hour week
Not yet reviewed task by task- AI could take on24 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet12 h
- Stays with people4 h
Regulatory Affairs Specialists, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 24 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 12 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 4 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Coordinate efforts associated with the preparation of regulatory documents or submissions (about 3 h); Coordinate, prepare, or review regulatory submissions for domestic or international projects (about 2 h); Determine the types of regulatory submissions or internal documentation that are required in situations such as proposed device changes or labeling changes (about 2 h).
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.
- 91%
- 9%
- 0%
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, 10%. Today's estimate: 59%.
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, 0.042% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 246th largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 4 of its 30 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.082% to 0.073% (released February and March 2025); 0.032% to 0.031% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.045% to 0.042% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.082% | 196 of 708 | 7 of 30 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.073% | 209 of 703 | 7 of 30 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.032% | 300 of 655 | 4 of 30 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.032% | 310 of 672 | 6 of 30 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.031% | 324 of 677 | 5 of 30 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.045% | 237 of 434 | 4 of 30 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.042% | 246 of 447 | 4 of 30 |
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 almost none of this job's working time as physical work, so robots do not reach it.
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 . 30 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coordinate, prepare, or review regulatory submissions for domestic or international projects.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 8% | 6.7 h3.3 h to 4.2 work days | 61%Half by now | |
| Prepare or maintain technical files as necessary to obtain and sustain product approval.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 8% | 1 work day2.1 h to 1 work week | 33%Half by Mar 2027 | |
| Develop regulatory strategies for products.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 8% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 1.3 work weeks | 24%Half by May 2027 | |
| Coordinate efforts associated with the preparation of regulatory documents or submissions.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 8% | 5 h2.5 h to 2.1 work days | 86%Half by now | |
| Interpret regulatory rules or rule changes and ensure that they are communicated through corporate policies and procedures.Done more than yearly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 7% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.5 work days | 55%Half by now | |
| Prepare or direct the preparation of additional information or responses as requested by regulatory agencies.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 6% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 4.2 work days | Stays with people | |
| Determine the types of regulatory submissions or internal documentation that are required in situations such as proposed device changes or labeling changes.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 5% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.3 work days | 80%Half by now | |
| Write or update standard operating procedures, work instructions, or policies.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 5% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.5 work days | 55%Half by now | |
| Provide technical review of data or reports to be incorporated into regulatory submissions to assure scientific rigor, accuracy, and clarity of presentation.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 5% | 3.3 h1.3 h to 2.1 work days | 77%Half by now | |
| Maintain current knowledge base of existing and emerging regulations, standards, or guidance documents.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | 96%Half by now | |
| Coordinate recall or market withdrawal activities as necessary.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 3% | 6.7 h3.3 h to 4.2 work days | 61%Half by now | |
| Review product promotional materials, labeling, batch records, specification sheets, or test methods for compliance with applicable regulations and policies.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 2.1 h50 min to 6.7 h | 97%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.
- Regulatory Affairs Managers41% now, 76% by 2028
- Compliance Managers42% now, 74% by 2028
- Environmental Compliance Inspectors58% now, 63% by 2028
- Government Property Inspectors and Investigators49% now, 70% by 2028
- Compliance Officers54% now, 67% by 2028
- Quality Control Systems Managers72% now, 82% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Regulatory Affairs Specialists is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 59% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 90% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (85% to 91% 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 Regulatory Affairs Specialists 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: Coordinate efforts associated with the preparation of regulatory documents or submissions (86% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); Coordinate, prepare, or review regulatory submissions for domestic or international projects (61% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); and Determine the types of regulatory submissions or internal documentation that are required in situations such as proposed device changes or labeling changes (80% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028).
- Which tasks of Regulatory Affairs Specialists stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Prepare or direct the preparation of additional information or responses as requested by regulatory agencies; Advise project teams on subjects such as premarket regulatory requirements, export and labeling requirements, or clinical study compliance issues; and Direct the collection and preparation of laboratory samples as requested by regulatory agencies. Together such tasks are about 9% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Regulatory Affairs Specialists?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.042% went to this job's tasks, the 246th largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 4 of its 30 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 12%. 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 Regulatory Affairs Specialists?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds almost none of the working time is physical work, so robots do not reach it.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 30 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.
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