Job Check
Automotive Body and Related Repairers
Repair and refinish automotive vehicle bodies and straighten vehicle frames.
10 main tasks · most important first
Your main tasks and AI
Importance- 01File, grind, sand, and smooth filled or repaired surfaces, using power tools and hand tools.Mostly human for now
- 02Inspect repaired vehicles for proper functioning, completion of work, dimensional accuracy, and overall appearance of paint job, and test-drive vehicles to ensure proper alignment and handling.Mostly human for now
- 03Fit and weld replacement parts into place, using wrenches and welding equipment, and grind down welds to smooth them, using power grinders and other tools.Mostly human for now
- 04Prime and paint repaired surfaces, using paint sprayguns and motorized sanders.Mostly human for now
- 05Follow supervisors' instructions as to which parts to restore or replace and how much time the job should take.Mostly human for now
- 06Sand body areas to be painted and cover bumpers, windows, and trim with masking tape or paper to protect them from the paint.Mostly human for now
- 07Chain or clamp frames and sections to alignment machines that use hydraulic pressure to align damaged components.Mostly human for now
- 08Position dolly blocks against surfaces of dented areas and beat opposite surfaces to remove dents, using hammers.Mostly human for now
- 09Cut and tape plastic separating film to outside repair areas to avoid damaging surrounding surfaces during repair procedure and remove tape and wash surfaces after repairs are complete.Mostly human for now
- 10Review damage reports, prepare or review repair cost estimates, and plan work to be performed.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
Tasks from O*NET® 31.0 (US Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0, changed by us), most important first. “Already use” comes from Anthropic’s data on real work chats with Claude; “could speed up” from task ratings made with GPT-4 in 2023.
Four studies, side by side
None is a forecast of job lossToo little dataNot enough work use was seen to measure. This does not mean the job is safe from AI.Anthropic, 2026
4%of this job’s tasks an AI model could do in half the time, counting tasks that need extra tools as half (rated in 2023).Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock, 2023
Above 25% of jobsin how often and how well AI helped with this job’s work in Microsoft Copilot chats (2024 data).Microsoft Research (Tomlinson et al.), 2025
Above 66% of jobsin how much of this job’s physical work robots have been shown to do, from factories to homes (2026).Anthropic, 2026
Your human edge
The main tasks with no real AI use seen and no big speed-up expected. This is where your skill counts most today.
- File, grind, sand, and smooth filled or repaired surfaces, using power tools and hand tools.
- Inspect repaired vehicles for proper functioning, completion of work, dimensional accuracy, and overall appearance of paint job, and test-drive vehicles to ensure proper alignment and handling.
- Fit and weld replacement parts into place, using wrenches and welding equipment, and grind down welds to smooth them, using power grinders and other tools.