- O*NET-SOC code
- 39-4011.00
Prepare bodies for interment in conformity with legal requirements.
- Data source: BLSPublished: 2026-08
Low· relative
LowFour relative bandsVery highGroup-level value
Scale, basis and source
Four relative bands (Low / Moderate / High / Very high)
831 detailed occupations in the BLS Employment Projections table. Assigned per National Employment Matrix (NEM) code, so occupations sharing a NEM code carry the same band
- Data source: AnthropicPublished: 2026-03
0.000
0.000Range of values carried here0.745Scale, basis and source
Observed exposure index, 0–1 as published
Mapped onto O*NET tasks
Published per SOC 2018 occupation; every O*NET occupation with the same SOC 2018 code carries this value
- Data source: ILOPublished: 2025
0.17
0.09Range of values carried here0.70Group-level value
Scale, basis and source
Generative AI exposure index, 0–1 as published
Published per ISCO-08 unit group. Linked to this occupation, wholly or in part, by applying U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to 2018 SOC) as published
What kind of figure this source publishes
The BLS category is a relative rank, not an absolute level, and it is not a first-hand measurement: it groups an occupation's percentile ranks across several published studies into four bands. It is not an employment or wage forecast, not a probability of adoption, and it does not separate automation from augmentation.
Task-level exposure
Exposed tasks only26 rated tasks · 1 tasks with β ≥ 0.5 (3.8%)
β = direct exposure (E1) + 0.5 × exposure when tools are available (E2), per the source repository's definition.
- Source unit: O*NET 27.2 tasks → O*NET 31.0 occupation code
- All rated tasks are in the O*NET 31.0 task list.
- Source
- OpenAI "GPTs are GPTs" exposure rubric
- Release
- gh-main-0471612
- License
- MIT License, Copyright (c) 2024 OpenAI
| Task (O*NET 20.1) | Claude.aiRaw / share % |
|---|---|
Conduct interviews to arrange for the preparation of obituary notices, to assist with the selection of caskets or urns, and to determine the location and time of burials or cremations.39-4011.00 | 0.0015100.0 |
| Not observed on any surface — 24 task(s) — These tasks have no row in the source for this release. The 0 in the share row is a display-stage composition ratio; absence is what the — in the raw row states. | |
Conform to laws of health and sanitation and ensure that legal requirements concerning embalming are met. | —0 |
Apply cosmetics to impart lifelike appearance to the deceased. | —0 |
Incise stomach and abdominal walls and probe internal organs, using trocar, to withdraw blood and waste matter from organs. | —0 |
Close incisions, using needles and sutures. | —0 |
Reshape or reconstruct disfigured or maimed bodies when necessary, using dermasurgery techniques and materials such as clay, cotton, plaster of Paris, and wax. | —0 |
Make incisions in arms or thighs and drain blood from circulatory system and replace it with embalming fluid, using pump. | —0 |
Dress bodies and place them in caskets. | —0 |
Perform the duties of funeral directors, including coordinating funeral activities. | —0 |
Join lips, using needles and thread or wire. | —0 |
Attach trocar to pump-tube, start pump, and repeat probing to force embalming fluid into organs. | —0 |
Perform special procedures necessary for remains that are to be transported to other states or overseas, or where death was caused by infectious disease. | —0 |
Maintain records such as itemized lists of clothing or valuables delivered with body and names of persons embalmed. | —0 |
Insert convex celluloid or cotton between eyeballs and eyelids to prevent slipping and sinking of eyelids. | —0 |
Wash and dry bodies, using germicidal soap and towels or hot air dryers. | —0 |
Arrange for transporting the deceased to another state for interment. | —0 |
Supervise funeral attendants and other funeral home staff. | —0 |
Pack body orifices with cotton saturated with embalming fluid to prevent escape of gases or waste matter. | —0 |
Assist with placing caskets in hearses and organize cemetery processions. | —0 |
Serve as pallbearers, attend visiting rooms, and provide other assistance to the bereaved. | —0 |
Direct casket and floral display placement and arrange guest seating. | —0 |
Arrange funeral home equipment and perform general maintenance. | —0 |
Press diaphragm to evacuate air from lungs. | —0 |
Remove the deceased from place of death and transport to funeral home. | —0 |
Assist coroners at death scenes or at autopsies, file police reports, and testify at inquests or in court, if employed by a coroner. | —0 |
Values in this tab are predicted labels, not observations. Eloundou et al. (2023) published two rating regimes — human raters and GPT-4 — and the β shown here is derived from the GPT-4 rater basis alone; the same task can take a different value under the other regime. The unit and the meaning differ from the observed shares (%) in the other tabs, so do not place them on the same axis.
| Task (O*NET 27.2) | βE1 + 0.5 × E2 |
|---|---|
Maintain records, such as itemized lists of clothing or valuables delivered with body and names of persons embalmed.O*NET Task ID 4499 | 1.0 |
Conform to laws of health and sanitation and ensure that legal requirements concerning embalming are met.O*NET Task ID 4487 | 0.0 |
Apply cosmetics to impart lifelike appearance to the deceased.O*NET Task ID 4488 | 0.0 |
Incise stomach and abdominal walls and probe internal organs, using trocar, to withdraw blood and waste matter from organs.O*NET Task ID 4489 | 0.0 |
Close incisions, using needles and sutures.O*NET Task ID 4490 | 0.0 |
Reshape or reconstruct disfigured or maimed bodies when necessary, using dermasurgery techniques and materials such as clay, cotton, plaster of Paris, and wax.O*NET Task ID 4491 | 0.0 |
Make incisions in arms or thighs and drain blood from circulatory system and replace it with embalming fluid, using pump.O*NET Task ID 4492 | 0.0 |
Dress bodies and place them in caskets.O*NET Task ID 4493 | 0.0 |
Perform the duties of funeral directors, including coordinating funeral activities.O*NET Task ID 4494 | 0.0 |
Join lips, using needles and thread or wire.O*NET Task ID 4495 | 0.0 |
Conduct interviews to arrange for the preparation of obituary notices, to assist with the selection of caskets or urns, and to determine the location and time of burials or cremations.O*NET Task ID 4496 | 0.0 |
Attach trocar to pump-tube, start pump, and repeat probing to force embalming fluid into organs.O*NET Task ID 4497 | 0.0 |
Perform special procedures necessary for remains that are to be transported to other states or overseas, or where death was caused by infectious disease.O*NET Task ID 4498 | 0.0 |
Insert convex celluloid or cotton between eyeballs and eyelids to prevent slipping and sinking of eyelids.O*NET Task ID 4500 | 0.0 |
Wash and dry bodies, using germicidal soap and towels or hot air dryers.O*NET Task ID 4501 | 0.0 |
Arrange for transporting the deceased to another state for interment.O*NET Task ID 4502 | 0.0 |
Supervise funeral attendants and other funeral home staff.O*NET Task ID 4503 | 0.0 |
Pack body orifices with cotton saturated with embalming fluid to prevent escape of gases or waste matter.O*NET Task ID 4504 | 0.0 |
Assist with placing caskets in hearses and organize cemetery processions.O*NET Task ID 4505 | 0.0 |
Serve as pallbearers, attend visiting rooms, and provide other assistance to the bereaved.O*NET Task ID 4506 | 0.0 |
Direct casket and floral display placement and arrange guest seating.O*NET Task ID 4507 | 0.0 |
Arrange funeral home equipment and perform general maintenance.O*NET Task ID 4508 | 0.0 |
Assist coroners at death scenes or at autopsies, file police reports, and testify at inquests or in court, if employed by a coroner.O*NET Task ID 4509 | 0.0 |
Press diaphragm to evacuate air from lungs.O*NET Task ID 4510 | 0.0 |
Remove the deceased from place of death and transport to funeral home.O*NET Task ID 20257 | 0.0 |
Clean and disinfect areas in which bodies are prepared and embalmed.O*NET Task ID 23930 | 0.0 |
β = E1 + 0.5 × E2 · E1 = tasks where direct LLM access alone cuts time by at least 50%, E2 = tasks where software built on top of an LLM cuts time by at least 50%. Values take only 0 / 0.5 / 1.0.
Data sources & licenses — O*NET®, Anthropic Economic Index, Eloundou et al. (2023): see full notices on the Credits page
All O*NET 31.0 task statements (26)
All O*NET 31.0 task statements for this occupation (English, as published; task type core or supplemental). Exposure values are not listed here; they are in the table above, next to each task statement as worded in the O*NET version each source used.
| Task (O*NET 31.0) | Type |
|---|---|
| Conform to laws of health and sanitation and ensure that legal requirements concerning embalming are met. | Core |
| Apply cosmetics to impart lifelike appearance to the deceased. | Core |
| Incise stomach and abdominal walls and probe internal organs, using trocar, to withdraw blood and waste matter from organs. | Core |
| Close incisions, using needles and sutures. | Core |
| Reshape or reconstruct disfigured or maimed bodies when necessary, using dermasurgery techniques and materials such as clay, cotton, plaster of Paris, and wax. | Core |
| Make incisions in arms or thighs and drain blood from circulatory system and replace it with embalming fluid, using pump. | Core |
| Dress bodies and place them in caskets. | Core |
| Perform the duties of funeral directors, including coordinating funeral activities. | Core |
| Join lips, using needles and thread or wire. | Core |
| Conduct interviews to arrange for the preparation of obituary notices, to assist with the selection of caskets or urns, and to determine the location and time of burials or cremations. | Core |
| Attach trocar to pump-tube, start pump, and repeat probing to force embalming fluid into organs. | Core |
| Perform special procedures necessary for remains that are to be transported to other states or overseas, or where death was caused by infectious disease. | Core |
| Maintain records, such as itemized lists of clothing or valuables delivered with body and names of persons embalmed. | Core |
| Insert convex celluloid or cotton between eyeballs and eyelids to prevent slipping and sinking of eyelids. | Core |
| Wash and dry bodies, using germicidal soap and towels or hot air dryers. | Core |
| Arrange for transporting the deceased to another state for interment. | Core |
| Supervise funeral attendants and other funeral home staff. | Core |
| Pack body orifices with cotton saturated with embalming fluid to prevent escape of gases or waste matter. | Core |
| Assist with placing caskets in hearses and organize cemetery processions. | Core |
| Serve as pallbearers, attend visiting rooms, and provide other assistance to the bereaved. | Core |
| Direct casket and floral display placement and arrange guest seating. | Core |
| Arrange funeral home equipment and perform general maintenance. | Core |
| Remove the deceased from place of death and transport to funeral home. | Core |
| Clean and disinfect areas in which bodies are prepared and embalmed. | Core |
| Assist coroners at death scenes or at autopsies, file police reports, and testify at inquests or in court, if employed by a coroner. | Supplemental |
| Press diaphragm to evacuate air from lungs. | Supplemental |
0.14/ 3· Robot exposure index
Scale, basis and source
Each physical task is graded 0–3 by the setting in which robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated could do it (0 none · 1 purpose-built robot settings such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line · 2 structured facilities such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port · 3 unstructured settings such as a private home or a construction site), and the grades are averaged by share of working time
Physical tasks among this occupation's O*NET 29.3 tasks
Anthropic estimated the grades and time shares with Claude Opus 5 using web search, as of 2026.
The robot exposure index is a different measure from the AI exposure figures on this site and cannot be added to or compared with them. It does not measure actual adoption or cost, and 0 also covers occupations with no physical tasks.
Tier of each physical task
Robot environment tiers (E0–E3)
E0 noneDetails
Rated not doable by robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated, even in a purpose-built setting
E1 purpose-built robot settingsDetails
Rated doable in a setting built around the machine, such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line
E2 structured facilitiesDetails
Rated doable in a human work facility that an institution keeps to a working standard, such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port
E3 unstructured settingsDetails
Rated doable in a setting that no institution keeps to a working standard, such as a private home or a construction site
Only tasks classified as physical are listed; other tasks have no tier in the source.
| Task (O*NET 29.3) | Robot environment tier |
|---|---|
| Conform to laws of health and sanitation and ensure that legal requirements concerning embalming are met. | E0 none |
| Apply cosmetics to impart lifelike appearance to the deceased. | E0 none |
| Incise stomach and abdominal walls and probe internal organs, using trocar, to withdraw blood and waste matter from organs. | E0 none |
| Close incisions, using needles and sutures. | E0 none |
| Reshape or reconstruct disfigured or maimed bodies when necessary, using dermasurgery techniques and materials such as clay, cotton, plaster of Paris, and wax. | E0 none |
| Make incisions in arms or thighs and drain blood from circulatory system and replace it with embalming fluid, using pump. | E0 none |
| Dress bodies and place them in caskets. | E0 none |
| Join lips, using needles and thread or wire. | E0 none |
| Attach trocar to pump-tube, start pump, and repeat probing to force embalming fluid into organs. | E0 none |
| Perform special procedures necessary for remains that are to be transported to other states or overseas, or where death was caused by infectious disease. | E0 none |
| Insert convex celluloid or cotton between eyeballs and eyelids to prevent slipping and sinking of eyelids. | E0 none |
| Wash and dry bodies, using germicidal soap and towels or hot air dryers. | E0 none |
| Pack body orifices with cotton saturated with embalming fluid to prevent escape of gases or waste matter. | E0 none |
| Assist with placing caskets in hearses and organize cemetery processions. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Serve as pallbearers, attend visiting rooms, and provide other assistance to the bereaved. | E0 none |
| Direct casket and floral display placement and arrange guest seating. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Arrange funeral home equipment and perform general maintenance. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Remove the deceased from place of death and transport to funeral home. | E0 none |
| Clean and disinfect areas in which bodies are prepared and embalmed. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Assist coroners at death scenes or at autopsies, file police reports, and testify at inquests or in court, if employed by a coroner. | E0 none |
| Press diaphragm to evacuate air from lungs. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
Occupation information
Employment outlook (BLS)
- Employment, 2025
- 4K
- Projected employment, 2035
- 4K
- Change (2025–35)
- +0.7%
- Median annual wage, 2025
- $58,780
- Typical education needed for entry
- Associate's degree
Korea classification links (KSCO)
Links from the current release of the Korea Occupation Direct Crosswalk v1.1, made by AI Changing Work. Relation values are read from the O*NET-SOC occupation side.
| KSCO code | KSCO title | Relation | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 43232 | 장례 지도사 | This occupation is narrower | confirmed |
Relation and status definitions(kr-direct v1.1)
ILO occupational description
AI Changing Work links the ISCO-08 unit groups below to this occupation by applying the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (2018 SOC to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to ISCO-08) as published, without case-by-case selection; each link may be whole or partial.
- ISCO-08 5163Undertakers and Embalmers
The definition, tasks and examples below are the ILO's description of that unit group, not of this occupation.
Undertakers and embalmers arrange funerals and perform various tasks in the disposal of human bodies.
Tasks
- (a) making arrangements for, and conducting, funerals, cremations and burials;
- (b) embalming human bodies to retard or arrest the process of decay;
- (c) conforming to health and sanitation and ensuring that legal requirements concerning embalming are met;
- (d) incising and closing incisions on various parts of the body and reshaping or reconstructing disfigured or maimed bodies when necessary;
- (e) dressing bodies and placing them in caskets;
- (f) conducting interviews to arrange for preparation of obituary notices, to assist with the selection of caskets or urns, and to determine the location and time of burials or cremations.
Example occupations
Embalmer · Undertaker
Sources: ILO ISCO-08 — details: Credits
ESCO occupational vocabulary
Each entry below is matched to this occupation in the published ESCO-O*NET Crosswalk (version 1, 2022). The match types are that crosswalk's; the wording is AI Changing Work's.
- embalmerESCO 5163.2Same scope
Embalmers arrange for the removal of bodies of deceased persons from the place of death and they prepare the bodies for burials and cremations. They clean and disinfect the bodies, use make-up to create the impression of a more natural appearance and hide any visible damage. They are in close contact with funeral services directors in order to comply with the wishes of the deceased family members.
Source: European Commission, DG EMPL — ESCO API 2026-08-08 (bridge v1.2.1)
License: CC BY 4.0 (EU Reuse Notice)
ESCO reuse terms and the modification notice are in Credits.
France classification links (ROME)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and ROME 4.0 job profiles, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side. Links marked “provisional” were adopted on the judgments of two judges from the same model family (Claude) alone, or by an operator rule applied to their judgments, so they rest on weaker evidence than confirmed links.
| ROME code | ROME title (French) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| K2603 | Thanatopracteur / Thanatopractrice | Same scopeprovisional |
Source: France Travail — Répertoire Opérationnel des Métiers et des Emplois (ROME 4.0), version 61, last updated 15 June 2026 (https://www.data.gouv.fr/datasets/repertoire-operationnel-des-metiers-et-des-emplois-rome). Licence Ouverte 2.0.
ROME codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET-SOC occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a France Travail correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: fr-direct v1)
Spain classification links (CNO-11)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and CNO-11 occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| CNO-11 code | CNO-11 title (Spanish) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 5892 | Empleados de pompas fúnebres y embalsamadores | This occupation is narrowerprovisional |
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), National Classification of Occupations 2011 (CNO-11, Royal Decree 1591/2010) — www.ine.es · Licensed CC BY 4.0. CNO-11 codes and Spanish titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not an INE correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: es-direct v1)
Germany classification links (KldB)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and KldB occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| KldB code | KldB title (German) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 82402 | Berufe im Bestattungswesen - fachlich ausgerichtete Tätigkeiten | Related, not a match |
| 82403 | Berufe im Bestattungswesen - komplexe Spezialistentätigkeiten | Related, not a match |
Source: © Statistik der Bundesagentur für Arbeit — Klassifikation der Berufe 2010 – überarbeitete Fassung 2020, https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de. KldB codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own mapping (eigene Zuordnung) and are not a Bundesagentur für Arbeit correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: de-direct v1)
Japan classification links (JSCO)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and JSCO occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| JSCO code | JSCO title (Japanese) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 425 | 葬儀師，火葬作業員 | This occupation is narrowerprovisional |
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Japan Standard Occupational Classification (Dec. 2009, MIC Notification No. 555). JSCO codes and Japanese titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a MIC correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: jp-direct v1)
Sources, licenses and AI Changing Work's modification and translation notices for this page: Credits & sources