Will AI replace Chemists?
AI reaches some of this job’s work, but most of it stays with people.
38/100
Moderate exposure
More exposed to AI than 59% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 15% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 52% of the work
What the job involves
Conduct qualitative and quantitative chemical analyses or experiments in laboratories for quality or process control or to develop new products or knowledge.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Already happening(2)
- Analyze organic or inorganic compounds to determine chemical or physical properties, composition, structure, relationships, or reactions, using chromatography, spectroscopy, or spectrophotometry techniques.
- Confer with scientists or engineers to conduct analyses of research projects, interpret test results, or develop nonstandard tests.
Within reach(4)
- Develop, improve, or customize products, equipment, formulas, processes, or analytical methods.
- Write technical papers or reports or prepare standards and specifications for processes, facilities, products, or tests.
- Compile and analyze test information to determine process or equipment operating efficiency or to diagnose malfunctions.
- Purchase laboratory supplies, such as chemicals, when supplies are low or near their expiration date.
Out of reach(6)
- Maintain laboratory instruments to ensure proper working order and troubleshoot malfunctions when needed.
- Conduct quality control tests.
- Evaluate laboratory safety procedures to ensure compliance with standards or to make improvements as needed.
- Prepare test solutions, compounds, or reagents for laboratory personnel to conduct tests.
- Direct, coordinate, or advise personnel in test procedures for analyzing components or physical properties of materials.
and 1 more
Also called
Analytical Chemist · QC Chemist (Quality Control Chemist) · QC Chemist · Industrial Chemist · Organic Chemist · Pharmaceutical Chemist · Chemist · Forensic Chemist
Related jobs
What these numbers mean
The score is the share of this job’s work, weighted by how important and frequent each task is, that AI could do in half the time: tasks an AI model could do alone count in full, tasks that need software built on AI count half.
“AI already used” is the share of the work in tasks where people are recorded using AI today. “As AI tools mature” counts every task AI could halve, with or without extra software.
The percentile compares the score with every job’s, weighted by how many people in the US do each one. Exposure means AI could change how the work is done, not that the job goes away. These are estimates for the typical job, not predictions.
Sources
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
- GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs (task labels), Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), OpenAI and University of Pennsylvania
- Anthropic Economic Index: labor market impacts (task penetration), Anthropic
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (national and metropolitan areas), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics