Will AI replace Conveyor Operators and Tenders?

Not as a job, but it is already doing parts of the work. Across the 20 official task statements scored for Conveyor Operators and Tenders (United States, SOC 53-7011), 7% of the importance-weighted core work is made of tasks today's AI could already do most of. The overall exposure score is 14 out of 100 (range 11–19, band: minimal). That is a statement about tasks, not about headcount: this measures what AI could do, not whether any employer adopts it, whether the law allows it, or whether doing the routine parts faster creates more demand for the human parts. Figures are from release 2026-q4.1.

Which tasks in “Conveyor Operators and Tenders” can AI already do?

The highest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Record production data such as weights, types, quantities, and storage locations of materials, as well as equipment performance problems and downtime” (69/100, high); “Read production and delivery schedules, and confer with supervisors, to determine sorting and transfer procedures, arrangement of packages on pallets, and de…” (48/100, partial); “Contact workers in work stations or other departments to request movement of materials, products, or machinery, or to notify them of incoming shipments and t…” (48/100, partial). Each score comes from five published 0–4 ratings turned into a number by a published formula, and each carries the model's one-sentence reason on the page.

Which tasks in “Conveyor Operators and Tenders” stay human?

About 86% of this job's task weight sits in work that scores low for AI exposure. The lowest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Thread strapping through strapping tools and secure battens with strapping to form protective pallets around extrusions” (0/100, minimal); “Join sections of conveyor frames at temporary working areas, and connect power units” (0/100, minimal); “Move, assemble, and connect hoses or nozzles to material hoppers, storage tanks, conveyor sections or chutes, and pumps” (0/100, minimal). Low scores usually mean the task needs a body in a room, a legally accountable human, or trust built in real time. Those are the three things the scoring rubric treats as gates rather than obstacles.

What should someone working in “Conveyor Operators and Tenders” do about AI?

Start from the ledger rather than the headline: 7% of this job's weighted core work is exposed, and roughly 86% is not. The practical move is to spend more of your week on the tasks that score low, the ones above, and to get fluent at directing AI through the tasks that score high, because those are the parts that change whether or not you are ready for them. This page does not predict your job, and nothing here is career advice tailored to you: the score describes the occupation, not the person.

How is the AI exposure score for Conveyor Operators and Tenders calculated?

Each official task statement for the occupation is rated on five published 0–4 dimensions (output replicability, physical embodiment, licensed accountability, real-time human trust, and data availability) by claude-opus-5 using scoring prompt task_scoring_v1.0. The model never writes the score; a published formula turns the five ratings into a 0–100 number, so every score can be recomputed by hand. The occupation figure is the importance-weighted mean across 20 scored tasks. The prompt, the rubric, the formula and the full dataset are published at https://futureproof.collab365.com/method and https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1 under CC BY 4.0.

US dataswitch to UK

Conveyor Operators and Tenders

observing packages moving along conveyors to identify packages, repairing or replacing equipment components or parts and loading unload. If that's your week, this page is about your job.

The honest answer

AI changes the edges of this job, not the middle: stopping equipment or machinery and clearing jams is work software can't reach.

Your move: what you can actually do about this ↓

Where the work sits, by task weight

shifting to AI: 7%
changing shape: 8%
staying human: 86%

These bars are tasks changing hands, not people being counted out. The ledger below shows which.

Whole-job exposure score 14 out of 100 (11–19 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, across 20 scored tasks. The number is the support for the sentence above it, not a headline about anyone’s future.

How we know this

What is measured: Every published task statement for conveyor operators and tenders is rated on five dimensions: can a model produce the output, does the work need a body in a room, does it need a legally accountable person, does it depend on a person being trusted in the moment, and how much data exists. A published formula turns those five ratings into the score; the model never writes the number.

How the bar is built: Each task’s share of the bar is its published importance weight, so a task you do all day counts for more than one you do twice a year.

Release: 2026-q4.1, scores computed 2026-08-05. Read the full method.

What shifts is recording production data, weights, types, quantities and storage locations of materials: the overhead at the edges, not the middle you trained for.

Your week, as this page understands it

Control or tend conveyors or conveyor systems that move materials or products to and from stockpiles, processing stations, departments, or vehicles. May control speed and routing of materials or products. The job title says “conveyor operators” or “tenders”: officially one job, two names. The real job is the part underneath: stopping equipment or machinery and clearing jams. That is the thing someone has to be right about.

The exposed part of this job is specific, and we won’t pretend it is coming back. But conveyor operators and tenders is not one task. It is 20 scored ones, and they are nowhere near equally exposed. The most durable of them, on this evidence, is stopping equipment or machinery and clearing jams, and the ledger below shows exactly why.

Where the work sits, by task weight

shifting to AI: 7%
changing shape: 8%
staying human: 86%

These bars are tasks changing hands, not people being counted out. The ledger below shows which.

How we know this

How the bar is built: Each task’s share of the bar is its published importance weight, so a task you do all day counts for more than one you do twice a year.

Release: 2026-q4.1, scores computed 2026-08-05. Read the full method.

Your job, task by task

These are the official task statements for this occupation, in plain English, sorted by what the evidence says is happening to each one. The official wording sits under every line so you can check the rewrite against it.

Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.

Shifting to AI

1 task

Tasks today’s tools can already do most of. This is the part we will not soften: where these rows are the bulk of your week, the week changes.

Recording production data, weights, types, quantities and storage locations of materials
This is reading one thing and writing another: production data, weights, types in, a record out. That is the shape today's tools are built for.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Record production data such as weights, types, quantities, and storage locations of materials, as well as equipment performance problems and downtime.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 69 out of 100 (65–73 allowing for uncertainty): high exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.
The rating behind it: Logging weights, quantities, locations and downtime is straightforward record-keeping that systems already do.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 4/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

Changing shape

2 tasks

Tasks where the machine takes the producing and a person keeps the checking, the deciding, or the answering-for-it. For most jobs this is the biggest group, and it is where "transformation, not termination" is literally visible.

Contacting workers in work stations or other departments to request movement of materials
The software now makes the first pass at workers, but the deciding part still needs a person. So the job becomes checking and deciding rather than producing.
importance 4 · Supplemental
Source: “Contact workers in work stations or other departments to request movement of materials, products, or machinery, or to notify them of incoming shipments and their estimated delivery times.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 48 out of 100 (41–55 allowing for uncertainty): partial exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.
The rating behind it: Passing on movement requests and delivery times is routine messaging that warehouse systems already automate.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Reading production and delivery schedules
The software now makes the first pass at production, but the deciding part still needs a person. So the job becomes checking and deciding rather than producing.
importance 4 · Supplemental
Source: “Read production and delivery schedules, and confer with supervisors, to determine sorting and transfer procedures, arrangement of packages on pallets, and destinations of loaded pallets.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 48 out of 100 (41–55 allowing for uncertainty): partial exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.
The rating behind it: Turning schedules into sorting and pallet plans is routing work software does well.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

Staying human

17 tasks

Tasks that stay with a person, because they happen in the physical world, because the rules need someone accountable, or because the value is that a specific person does them.

Informing supervisors of equipment malfunctions
The ratings behind this row put supervisors of equipment malfunctions well outside what today's tools can do on their own.
importance 5 · Core
Source: “Inform supervisors of equipment malfunctions that need to be addressed.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 37 out of 100 (30–44 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.
The rating behind it: Reporting a fault is quick to automate once it is spotted, but noticing it usually takes someone on the floor.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Observing conveyor operations and monitoring lights
This work happens in the physical world: conveyor operations, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Observe conveyor operations and monitor lights, dials, and gauges to maintain specified operating levels and to detect equipment malfunctions.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 8 out of 100 (4–12 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Watching a running conveyor and its gauges means standing at the line.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Stopping equipment or machinery and clearing jams
This work happens in the physical world: equipment, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Stop equipment or machinery and clear jams, using poles, bars, and hand tools, or remove damaged materials from conveyors.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Clearing a jam with bars and hand tools requires someone at the machine.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 0/4.
Distributing materials, supplies and equipment to work stations, using lifts and trucks
This work happens in the physical world: materials, supplies and equipment, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Distribute materials, supplies, and equipment to work stations, using lifts and trucks.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Moving supplies around with lifts and trucks is physical work.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 0/4.
Loading unload or adjusting materials or products on conveyors
This work happens in the physical world: unload, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Load, unload, or adjust materials or products on conveyors by hand, by using lifts, hoists, and scoops, or by opening gates, chutes, or hoppers.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Loading and shifting materials on a conveyor is physical work.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 0/4.
Collecting samples of materials or products
This work happens in the physical world: samples of materials, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · Supplemental
Source: “Collect samples of materials or products, checking them to ensure conformance to specifications or sending them to laboratories for analysis.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Taking physical samples and sending them off is hands-on work.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 0/4.
Cleaning, sterilizing and maintaining equipment, machinery and work stations, using hand tools, shovels, brooms, chemicals, hoses and lubricants
This work happens in the physical world: equipment, machinery and work stations, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Supplemental
Source: “Clean, sterilize, and maintain equipment, machinery, and work stations, using hand tools, shovels, brooms, chemicals, hoses, and lubricants.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Cleaning and sterilizing equipment and work stations is physical work.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 0/4.

Show the other 10 tasks

Pressing console buttons to deflect packages to predetermined accumulators or reject lines
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: console buttons, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Supplemental
Source: “Press console buttons to deflect packages to predetermined accumulators or reject lines.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 19 out of 100 (12–26 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: The sorting rule is simple for software, but the console is worked by someone watching the line.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Weighing or measuring materials and products
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: materials, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Supplemental
Source: “Weigh or measure materials and products, using scales or other measuring instruments, or read scales on conveyors that continually weigh products, to verify specified tonnages and prevent overloads.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 14 out of 100 (7–21 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: The arithmetic is trivial, but weighing and measuring the actual product happens at the line.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Observing packages moving along conveyors to identify packages
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: packages moving along conveyors, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · Supplemental
Source: “Observe packages moving along conveyors to identify packages, detect defective packaging, and perform quality control.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 13 out of 100 (6–20 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Spotting damaged packages happens at the moving line, though cameras handle some of the checking.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Positioning deflector bars, gates, chutes or spouts to divert flow of materials from one conveyor onto another conveyor
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: deflector bars, gates, chutes or spouts, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Supplemental
Source: “Position deflector bars, gates, chutes, or spouts to divert flow of materials from one conveyor onto another conveyor.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Setting gates, chutes and deflector bars is done by hand at the conveyor.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 0/4.
Manipulating controls, levers and valves to start pumps, auxiliary equipment or conveyors and to adjust equipment positions, speeds, timing and material flows
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: controls, levers and valves, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Supplemental
Source: “Manipulate controls, levers, and valves to start pumps, auxiliary equipment, or conveyors, and to adjust equipment positions, speeds, timing, and material flows.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Working controls, levers and valves is physical operation of the equipment.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 0/4.
Repairing or replacing equipment components or parts
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: equipment components, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Supplemental
Source: “Repair or replace equipment components or parts such as blades, rolls, and pumps.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Replacing blades, rolls and pumps is hands-on repair work.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 0/4.
Affixing identifying information to materials or products
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: information, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Supplemental
Source: “Affix identifying information to materials or products, using hand tools.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Attaching labels and tags to products is done by hand.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 0/4.
Moving, assembling and connecting hoses or nozzles to material hoppers, storage tanks
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: hoses, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Supplemental
Source: “Move, assemble, and connect hoses or nozzles to material hoppers, storage tanks, conveyor sections or chutes, and pumps.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Connecting hoses and nozzles to hoppers and tanks is hands-on work.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 0/4.
Joining sections of conveyor frames at temporary working areas
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: sections of conveyor frames, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Supplemental
Source: “Join sections of conveyor frames at temporary working areas, and connect power units.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Joining conveyor frames and connecting power units is physical assembly.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 0/4.
Threading strapping through strapping tools and securing battens with strapping to form protective pallets around extrusions
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: strapping tools, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Supplemental
Source: “Thread strapping through strapping tools and secure battens with strapping to form protective pallets around extrusions.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Threading and tensioning strapping around a pallet is physical work.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 0/4.

What this job pays, and how many people do it

Median pay: $42,420a year, the middle of the range, so half earn more and half earn less.bls-oews, 2025 · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
How we know this
Source: bls-oews
Reference period: May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
Rounding: Shown as published.
People doing this job: 22,930in the US, 2025.bls-oews · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)

What is deliberately not here: a forecast of how many of these jobs exist in ten years. Where an official projection exists for a market we publish it with its vintage; where it does not, we leave the space empty rather than borrow the other country’s number.

Why this is shifting

The reason is boringly specific. Most of what is shifting here is reading one thing and writing another: production data, weights, types in, a record out. The rows above are exactly that shape: recording production data, weights, types, quantities and storage locations of materials and contacting workers in work stations or other departments to request movement of materials. What it cannot do is be there in the room, and that is still where equipment gets done. Which is why this page talks about your tasks changing, not your job ending.

Your move

Over a pint: what I’d tell you if you were my friend

Start with what does not change: stopping equipment or machinery and clearing jams is the middle of this job, and the evidence on this page says it stays with a person.

So, given all that: 7% of this job's task weight sits in rows the software is already learning, 8% in rows that change shape rather than disappear, and 86% in rows it is nowhere near. That is the position, measured across 20 scored tasks. It is not a forecast about you.

So the thing worth your attention is not the job going away. It is the layer around it. Recording production data, weights, types, quantities and storage locations of materials is the part turning into software, and being the person who understands that layer is worth money.

This week: one thing

Ask the one question. Find whoever is bringing new software into your workplace (the manager, the office, whoever runs the system) and ask them what it is meant to do to production data, weights, types, and what it is not meant to touch. Ten minutes, this week, before anyone decides it for you.

What you end up holding: a straight answer about what is actually being rolled out, and when
How long it takes: ten minutes

If there’s nobody obvious to ask, or you’d rather not ask your manager: Put the same question to your union rep, your shift lead or the person who has been there longest, in person, over a break. Same ten minutes, same answer, and you will usually get a straighter one. Write down what they say. The note is the artifact, and it tells you whether supervisors of equipment malfunctions are in scope or not. Nothing to log into, no license needed.

Over the next 90 days

Get inside the tool rollout rather than waiting for it. Over the next ninety days, ask to be in the group that tests, checks or signs off whatever new system arrives near contacting workers in work stations or other departments to request movement of materials. It is usually an unglamorous seat that nobody fights for, and it is the one that decides how the software is used on your job rather than to it.

Over the next 12 months

On this evidence I would not retrain out of this job, and I will say that plainly rather than hedge it. The task list here is dominated by work that stays with a person. What I would do with a year is get formally recognised for the layer around it (the systems, the compliance, the planning), so you are the one who understands the software instead of the one it is done to. Before you pay for anything, use CareerOneStop - Find local training. It is free, it is the Labor Department's own service, and it is listed below with the rest of the free routes.

The roads out of here, and why I am not sending you down them

I looked at the obvious moves out of this job, and here is what I found.

I checked the 12 nearest US occupations to conveyor operators and tenders (nearest by the work that AI is not taking, not by job title), and none of them survived. The closest was furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators and tenders: only about 17% of its durable work is work you already do. And on the numbers you do not need one. This job scores 14/100 here, with only 7% of the task list in the top band, and “inform supervisors of equipment malfunctions that need to be addressed” is not work that hands over cleanly. None of them beats deepening what you already have.

How that was checked: this job was compared against all 830 US occupations in this release on their official task statements, and the 12 nearest were examined one by one. A move that turns on an industry, an employer or a qualification rather than on the work itself will not show up in a check like that. And this release carries no licence register, so anything you are weighing needs that looked up separately.

3 moves I checked and rejected

These are the obvious-looking jumps. They are here with their reasons rather than quietly dropped, because the ones that fail are worth knowing about. It is one less thing to turn over at night.

Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already collect samples of materials or products, checking them to ensure conformance to specifications…, and their equivalent is to examine or test samples of processed substances, or collect samples for laboratory testing…. Across both published task lists that is about 17% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: You would be starting most of it from nothing: about 17% of the durable work in that job is work you do today, and the rest you would be learning while the bills carried on.
Look at that job’s page anyway →
Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already observe conveyor operations and monitor lights, dials, and gauges to maintain specified operating…, and their equivalent is to monitor machine operations and observe lights and gauges to detect malfunctions. Across both published task lists that is about 11% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: You would be starting most of it from nothing: about 11% of the durable work in that job is work you do today, and the rest you would be learning while the bills carried on.
Look at that job’s page anyway →
Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already observe conveyor operations and monitor lights, dials, and gauges to maintain specified operating…, and their equivalent is to observe operation of equipment to ensure continuity of flow, safety, and efficient operation…. Across both published task lists that is about 10% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: You would be starting most of it from nothing: about 10% of the durable work in that job is work you do today, and the rest you would be learning while the bills carried on.
Look at that job’s page anyway →

What I’d stop worrying about

A friend tells you what not to spend fear on. This is that list.

The headline number you read somewhere
The big “X% of jobs” figures are about the whole economy, not about you. The number that describes your job is on this page: 7% of its task weight, across 20 scored tasks. Every row behind it is printed above with the source. Check ours; ignore theirs.
The headlines about your trade disappearing
They are usually about the technology, not the timetable. Changes to work like stopping equipment or machinery and clearing jams arrive through rules, insurance and money, slowly and visibly. This page tracks the task evidence and will move when it moves.
Retraining out of a job that is holding up
On this evidence I would not spend money leaving. Spend it on the layer around the job instead: the tools, the paperwork, the planning. That is where the change actually is.
The “obvious” next job everyone suggests
I checked the obvious moves and most of them did not survive. The reasons are printed with the routes above, including the pay and the gate. A move that fails on the numbers is worth knowing about so you can stop turning it over at night.

You are reading the United States figures

The United Kingdom splits this work across more than one official group, of which Plant and machine operatives n.e.c. is the closest. The pay and employment figures are not directly comparable, and we do not average them together.

Switch to the United Kingdom page →partial match

In UK official statistics this job is counted as Plant and machine operatives n.e.c.. Pay and employment stay on this page’s own group; the task list and the scores do not cross over.

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Questions people ask about this job

Will AI replace Conveyor Operators and Tenders?: Not as a job, but it is already doing parts of the work. Across the 20 official task statements scored for Conveyor Operators and Tenders (United States, SOC 53-7011), 7% of the importance-weighted core work is made of tasks today's AI could already do most of. The overall exposure score is 14 out of 100 (range 11–19, band: minimal). That is a statement about tasks, not about headcount: this measures what AI could do, not whether any employer adopts it, whether the law allows it, or whether doing the routine parts faster creates more demand for the human parts. Figures are from release 2026-q4.1.
Which tasks in “Conveyor Operators and Tenders” can AI already do?: The highest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Record production data such as weights, types, quantities, and storage locations of materials, as well as equipment performance problems and downtime” (69/100, high); “Read production and delivery schedules, and confer with supervisors, to determine sorting and transfer procedures, arrangement of packages on pallets, and de…” (48/100, partial); “Contact workers in work stations or other departments to request movement of materials, products, or machinery, or to notify them of incoming shipments and t…” (48/100, partial). Each score comes from five published 0–4 ratings turned into a number by a published formula, and each carries the model's one-sentence reason on the page.
Which tasks in “Conveyor Operators and Tenders” stay human?: About 86% of this job's task weight sits in work that scores low for AI exposure. The lowest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Thread strapping through strapping tools and secure battens with strapping to form protective pallets around extrusions” (0/100, minimal); “Join sections of conveyor frames at temporary working areas, and connect power units” (0/100, minimal); “Move, assemble, and connect hoses or nozzles to material hoppers, storage tanks, conveyor sections or chutes, and pumps” (0/100, minimal). Low scores usually mean the task needs a body in a room, a legally accountable human, or trust built in real time. Those are the three things the scoring rubric treats as gates rather than obstacles.
What should someone working in “Conveyor Operators and Tenders” do about AI?: Start from the ledger rather than the headline: 7% of this job's weighted core work is exposed, and roughly 86% is not. The practical move is to spend more of your week on the tasks that score low, the ones above, and to get fluent at directing AI through the tasks that score high, because those are the parts that change whether or not you are ready for them. This page does not predict your job, and nothing here is career advice tailored to you: the score describes the occupation, not the person.
How is the AI exposure score for Conveyor Operators and Tenders calculated?: Each official task statement for the occupation is rated on five published 0–4 dimensions (output replicability, physical embodiment, licensed accountability, real-time human trust, and data availability) by claude-opus-5 using scoring prompt task_scoring_v1.0. The model never writes the score; a published formula turns the five ratings into a 0–100 number, so every score can be recomputed by hand. The occupation figure is the importance-weighted mean across 20 scored tasks. The prompt, the rubric, the formula and the full dataset are published at https://futureproof.collab365.com/method and https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1 under CC BY 4.0.

Where these numbers come from

Worth knowing about these figures

The match between this job and its counterpart in the other country is partial, so the two pages count slightly different groups of people.
Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.

Task statements: onet-dbProcessing: catalogue-bridge → onet-im-rt-weighting → task-scoring → score-aggregation
Task weights: onet-db (im-rt)
Scores: Rubric task_scoring_v1.0, model claude-opus-5, computed 2026-08-05.
Pay and employment: bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))

Figures on this page come from release 2026-q4.1, published 2026-08-05. Every release keeps its own permanent address, so a figure you cite in March is still there, unchanged, in November.

The plain-English wording on this page is assembled directly from the task statements and the published ratings, not written by hand for this occupation. That is why it is specific, and it is also why we say so.

The routes and free resources further up are today’s, not the release’s (last reviewed 2026-08-05). A route is an offer, not a historical fact, so it moves on its own clock.

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Plain text

Collab365 (2026). Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1 (methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0). https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Built with O*NET data (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); ONS data (Open Government Licence v3.0); GAISI task framework (arXiv:2507.22748, MIT); BLS data (public domain).

BibTeX

@misc{collab365futureproof2026q41,
  title        = {Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1},
  author       = {{Collab365}},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1},
  note         = {Release 2026-q4.1, methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0, CC BY 4.0}
}

Permalink

https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1

Data as of release 2026-q4.1, published 2026-08-05. Releases never change after publication; when the figures move, a new dated release is published beside this one and this one stays exactly where it is.