Will AI replace Tire Builders?

What this score means

Tire Builders is among the least exposed roles in Manufacturing. Most of what the job involves still sits outside what current AI can do, even as the tools around it keep changing. At 19 out of 100 it sits close to the Manufacturing average of 19. Across the 5 sources behind this baseline, individual estimates run from 5 to 61, so the score is a weighted consensus rather than any single figure.

The number is a consensus estimate for the typical version of the role, built from published academic and industry research scored occupation by occupation. It is not a prediction about any individual. How scoring works

What this job actually involves

Exposure follows the work itself rather than the job title, so it is worth seeing what the role is made of. These are the tasks O*NET records for Tire Builders, most central first, showing 12 of 20.

• 01Build semi-raw rubber treads onto buffed tire casings to prepare tires for vulcanization in recapping or retreading processes.
• 02Trim excess rubber and imperfections during retreading processes.
• 03Fill cuts and holes in tires, using hot rubber.
• 04Place tires into molds for new tread.
• 05Fit inner tubes and final layers of rubber onto tires.
• 06Buff tires according to specifications for width and undertread depth.
• 07Brush or spray solvents onto plies to ensure adhesion, and repeat process as specified, alternating direction of each ply to strengthen tires.
• 08Start rollers that bond tread and plies as drums revolve.
• 09Align treads with guides, start drums to wind treads onto plies, and slice ends.
• 10Inspect worn tires for faults, cracks, cuts, and nail holes, and to determine if tires are suitable for retreading.
• 11Measure tires to determine mold size requirements.
• 12Roll hand rollers over rebuilt casings, exerting pressure to ensure adhesion between camelbacks and casings.

Task statements from O*NET by the National Center for O*NET Development, used under CC BY 4.0. The tasks are descriptive; the exposure score above is ours.

The research behind this score

This baseline aggregates 5 research sources that scored Tire Builders for AI and automation exposure. More recent, higher confidence studies carry more weight in the final number.

• 01Anthropic Economic Index 2026 - AI Task Exposure · 2026Anthropic
• 02Global Automation Atlas: Task Substitution Exposure by Occupation · 2026Garg, Crosta, Baier (2026), arXiv:2605.17086
• 03Working with AI: Measuring the Applicability of Generative AI to Occupations · 2025Tomlinson, Jaffe et al., Microsoft Research (2025)
• 04GPTs are GPTs: Labor Market Impact Potential of LLMs · 2024Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin, Rock (Science, 2024)
• 05AI Occupational Exposure to Language Modeling · 2023Felten, Raj, Seamans (2023)

Common questions

How likely is AI to replace Tire Builders?

Published research puts Tire Builders at 19 out of 100 for AI displacement risk, in the lower risk band. The number is a weighted consensus of 5 research sources and describes the typical version of the role, not any individual.

Do researchers agree on the risk for Tire Builders?

Only partly. Individual estimates for Tire Builders run from 5 to 61 out of 100 across the 5 sources behind this score, so the single number smooths over real disagreement. More recent and higher confidence studies carry more weight in it.

Which manufacturing roles face similar AI exposure?

The closest published manufacturing roles to Tire Builders by score are Biomass Plant Technicians (19/100), Chemical Plant and System Operators (19/100), and Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders (19/100). Each has its own page with the research behind its number.

Also covers

Automobile Tire Builder (Auto Tire Builder) · Automobile Tire Recapper (Auto Tire Recapper) · Bead Builder · Belt Builder · Belt Machine Operator · Buffer · Cord Tire Builder · Injection Mold Technician and related titles

More manufacturing occupations

• Biomass Plant Technicians19/100
• Chemical Plant and System Operators19/100
• Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders19/100
• Cutters and Trimmers, Hand19/100
• Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders19/100
• Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders19/100
• Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic19/100
• Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic19/100