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Business & Finance · Updated Aug 2026

Cost Estimators

Prepare cost estimates for product manufacturing, construction projects, or services to aid management in bidding on or determining price of product or service. May specialize according to particular service performed or type of product manufactured.

JVS 2.0.0-phase4b
AI Exposure
77/100
Very high

How much of this occupation’s work can be materially affected by current AI systems.

Replacement Risk
71/100
High

How likely exposure is to translate into reduced human demand.

Includes provisional estimates for AI adoption pressure and labour-market resilience. How this is measured

Evidence quality
Confidence83/100
Task coverage88%

Confidence reflects task coverage, mapping and capability-evidence quality, and how much of the score rests on provisional inputs.

Task-level evidence

What is driving the score?

Occupation scores are built from the task mix—not a single prediction about a job title.

JVS 2.0.0-phase4b
TaskImportanceAI impactExposure
Analyze blueprints and other documentation to prepare time, cost, materials, and labor estimates.High
80
Confer with engineers, architects, owners, contractors, and subcontractors on changes and adjustments to cost estimates.High
78
Consult with clients, vendors, personnel in other departments, or construction foremen to discuss and formulate estimates and resolve issues.High
73
Collect historical cost data to estimate costs for current or future products.High
79
Prepare estimates for use in selecting vendors or subcontractors.High
81
Assess cost effectiveness of products, projects or services, tracking actual costs relative to bids as the project develops.High
78
Prepare estimates used by management for purposes such as planning, organizing, and scheduling work.High
78
Prepare cost and expenditure statements and other necessary documentation at regular intervals for the duration of the project.Medium
81
Review material and labor requirements to decide whether it is more cost-effective to produce or purchase components.Medium
80
Establish and maintain tendering process, and conduct negotiations.High
61
Conduct special studies to develop and establish standard hour and related cost data or to reduce cost.Medium
80
Most exposed

Where AI can do more

Routine, digitized, and highly repeatable tasks face the greatest pressure.

  1. Prepare estimates for use in selecting vendors or subcontractors.81
  2. Prepare cost and expenditure statements and other necessary documentation at regular intervals for the duration of the project.81
  3. Analyze blueprints and other documentation to prepare time, cost, materials, and labor estimates.80
  4. Review material and labor requirements to decide whether it is more cost-effective to produce or purchase components.80
Hardest to automate

Where people still matter

These tasks score lowest on automation feasibility—physical presence, judgement, accountability and real-world variability all resist end-to-end automation.

  1. Establish and maintain tendering process, and conduct negotiations.01
  2. Consult with clients, vendors, personnel in other departments, or construction foremen to discuss and formulate estimates and resolve issues.02
  3. Prepare estimates used by management for purposes such as planning, organizing, and scheduling work.03
  4. Assess cost effectiveness of products, projects or services, tracking actual costs relative to bids as the project develops.04
  5. Confer with engineers, architects, owners, contractors, and subcontractors on changes and adjustments to cost estimates.05
Where else this work leads

Related occupations

Occupations O*NET links to this one. Relatedness reflects shared work, not a claim that these roles are safer.

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Beyond AI capability

Adoption and labour-market outlook

Structural factors are kept separate from raw capability so you can see what actually resists automation. Adoption pressure and labour-market resilience are still provisional models—25% of this occupation’s replacement-risk weight rests on them.

Human dependency57
Physical dependency18
Adoption pressure60
Labour-market resilience49
Methodology & sources

O*NET 30.3 occupational data interpreted through the JobsVsAI capability, automation and structural-constraint models.

Confidence83/100
CalculatedAug 21, 2026
Read methodology →