Set and Exhibit Designers
In short: today's best AI models could do about 47% 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 79% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The people and hands-on work, about 21% of the time, stays with people.
Design special exhibits and sets for film, video, television, and theater productions. May study scripts, confer with directors, and conduct research to determine appropriate architectural styles.
10,630 people do this job in the US. $75,240 a year.
A typical 40-hour week
Not yet reviewed task by task- AI could take on19 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet13 h
- Stays with people8 h
Set and Exhibit Designers, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 19 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 13 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 8 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Develop set designs, based on evaluation of scripts, budgets, research information, and available locations (about 4 h); Prepare rough drafts and scale working drawings of sets, including floor plans, scenery, and properties to be constructed (about 4 h); Prepare preliminary renderings of proposed exhibits, including detailed construction, layout, and material specifications, and diagrams relating to aspects such as special effects or lighting (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.
- 79%
- 3%
- 18%
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: 47%.
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, no reportable share went to this job's tasks in May 2026; 0 of its 27 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.039% to 0.073% (released February and March 2025); 0.04% to 0.043% (August 2025 to February 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.039% | 311 of 708 | 4 of 27 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.073% | 205 of 703 | 5 of 27 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.04% | 270 of 655 | 3 of 27 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.042% | 262 of 672 | 6 of 27 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.043% | 272 of 677 | 6 of 27 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 27 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 27 |
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 9% of this job's working time as physical work. For 4% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 4% in a purpose-built cell. 0.04 of 3, the 607th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 91%
- No robot shown 5%
- In a purpose-built cell 4%
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 . 27 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Develop set designs, based on evaluation of scripts, budgets, research information, and available locations.Done daily by most who do it. | 22% | 1.7 work days6.7 h to 4.2 work days | 49%Half by now | |
| Prepare rough drafts and scale working drawings of sets, including floor plans, scenery, and properties to be constructed.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 20% | 1.3 work days3.3 h to 3.1 work days | 52%Half by now | |
| Prepare preliminary renderings of proposed exhibits, including detailed construction, layout, and material specifications, and diagrams relating to aspects such as special effects or lighting.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 11% | 1.7 work days5 h to 4.2 work days | 41%Half by Dec 2026 | |
| Research architectural and stylistic elements appropriate to the time period to be depicted, consulting experts for information, as necessary.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 7% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.1 work days | 61%Half by now | |
| Design and produce displays and materials that can be used to decorate windows, interior displays, or event locations, such as streets and fairgrounds.Done yearly or less by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 1.3 work days3.3 h to 4.2 work days | Stays with people | |
| Design and build scale models of set designs, or miniature sets used in filming backgrounds or special effects.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, MakerBot Replicator desktop 3D printer (Hultgren / John Lee Beatty studio scenic models) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 1.7 work days4.2 h to 4.2 work days | Stays with people | |
| Select set props, such as furniture, pictures, lamps, and rugs.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 1.3 work days | 97%Half by now | |
| Submit plans for approval, and adapt plans to serve intended purposes, or to conform to budget or fabrication restrictions.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 4.2 h2.5 h to 1.3 work days | 99%Half by now | |
| Examine objects to be included in exhibits to plan where and how to display them.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 1.3 work days | Stays with people | |
| Direct and coordinate construction, erection, or decoration activities to ensure that sets or exhibits meet design, budget, and schedule requirements.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 6.7 h3.3 h to 2.1 work days | Stays with people | |
| Observe sets during rehearsals in order to ensure that set elements do not interfere with performance aspects such as cast movement and camera angles.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 2% | 2.5 h50 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Assign staff to complete design ideas and prepare sketches, illustrations, and detailed drawings of sets, or graphics and animation.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 2% | 3.3 h50 min to 6.7 h | 91%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).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Set and Exhibit Designers is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 47% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 79% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (77% to 79% 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 Set and Exhibit Designers 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: Develop set designs, based on evaluation of scripts, budgets, research information, and available locations (49% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); Prepare rough drafts and scale working drawings of sets, including floor plans, scenery, and properties to be constructed (52% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); and Prepare preliminary renderings of proposed exhibits, including detailed construction, layout, and material specifications, and diagrams relating to aspects such as special effects or lighting (41% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028).
- Which tasks of Set and Exhibit Designers stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Design and produce displays and materials that can be used to decorate windows, interior displays, or event locations, such as streets and fairgrounds; Design and build scale models of set designs, or miniature sets used in filming backgrounds or special effects; and Examine objects to be included in exhibits to plan where and how to display them. Together such tasks are about 21% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Set and Exhibit Designers?
- 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 Set and Exhibit Designers?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 9% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 4% of the working time. Its index is 0.04 of 3. One example: MakerBot Replicator desktop 3D printer (Hultgren / John Lee Beatty studio scenic models) for "design and build scale models of set designs, or miniature sets used in filming backgrounds or special effects". 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 27 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.