AI exposure: Web Developers
Develop and implement websites, web applications, application databases, and interactive web interfaces. Evaluate code to ensure that it is properly structured, meets industry standards, and is compatible with browsers and devices. Optimize website performance, scalability, and server-side code and processes. May develop website infrastructure and integrate websites with other computer applications.
Reading this score
computedWeb Developers sits in the top 2% of every occupation measured. 65.5% of what this job consists of, weighted by how important each task is to the role, is work current AI systems can produce with little standing in the way. Very few occupations score this high. The ones that do tend to share a trait: the output is a document, a calculation or a message, and nobody has to be in a particular room for it to count.
What holds the line here is context. Across this occupation's 29 tasks it averages 1.81 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work depends on knowledge the model cannot hold. Much of this job runs on things that were never written down: what this particular organisation does, what happened last week, what the person across the table actually meant. That context is the barrier, and it erodes as systems are given more access.
The most exposed thing this job does is Perform or direct Web site updates, at 86.7%. The least is Install and configure hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) servers and associated operating..., at 14.2%. A gap of 72.5% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.
Within computer and mathematical occupations, this one is more exposed than most. The median across the 36 roles in the group is 56.7%, and only 5 of them score higher than this. Occupational families are not uniform, and the spread inside them is often wider than the gap between them.
What would move this score. Of 29 tasks, 28 are currently banded exposed, 0 assisted and 1 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take systems being given deeper access to the organisation's own records and history, which is already happening. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
Task by task
29 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perform or direct Web site updates. | 86.7% | 13.3% | 0.0% | 4.00 | exposed |
| Renew domain name registrations. | 86.7% | 13.3% | 0.0% | 3.67 | exposed |
| Design, build, or maintain Web sites, using authoring or scripting languages, content creation tools, management tools, and digital media. | 83.3% | 16.7% | 0.0% | 4.42 | exposed |
| Back up files from Web sites to local directories for instant recovery in case of problems. | 80.0% | 20.0% | 0.0% | 4.35 | exposed |
| Select programming languages, design tools, or applications. | 80.0% | 20.0% | 0.0% | 4.17 | exposed |
| Write supporting code for Web applications or Web sites. | 76.7% | 23.3% | 0.0% | 4.58 | exposed |
| Evaluate or recommend server hardware or software. | 76.7% | 23.3% | 0.0% | 3.11 | exposed |
| Develop databases that support Web applications and Web sites. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 4.05 | exposed |
| Document test plans, testing procedures, or test results. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.54 | exposed |
| Document technical factors such as server load, bandwidth, database performance, and browser and device types. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.35 | exposed |
| Develop or implement procedures for ongoing Web site revision. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.29 | exposed |
| Create Web models or prototypes that include physical, interface, logical, or data models. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.19 | exposed |
| Provide clear, detailed descriptions of Web site specifications, such as product features, activities, software, communication protocols, programming languages, and operating systems software and hardware. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.18 | exposed |
| Develop system interaction or sequence diagrams. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 2.73 | exposed |
| Incorporate technical considerations into Web site design plans, such as budgets, equipment, performance requirements, and legal issues including accessibility and privacy. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | – | exposed |
| Analyze user needs to determine technical requirements. | 66.7% | 33.3% | 0.0% | 3.79 | exposed |
| Respond to user email inquiries, or set up automated systems to send responses. | 66.7% | 33.3% | 0.0% | 3.67 | exposed |
| Maintain understanding of current Web technologies or programming practices through continuing education, reading, or participation in professional conferences, workshops, or groups. | 65.0% | 10.0% | 25.0% | 3.83 | exposed |
| Research, document, rate, or select alternatives for Web architecture or technologies. | 58.3% | 29.2% | 12.5% | 2.75 | exposed |
| Evaluate code to ensure that it is valid, is properly structured, meets industry standards, and is compatible with browsers, devices, or operating systems. | 55.0% | 20.0% | 25.0% | 4.09 | exposed |
| Perform Web site tests according to planned schedules, or after any Web site or product revision. | 55.0% | 20.0% | 25.0% | 4.04 | exposed |
| Confer with management or development teams to prioritize needs, resolve conflicts, develop content criteria, or choose solutions. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 3.59 | exposed |
| Recommend and implement performance improvements. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 3.39 | exposed |
| Communicate with network personnel or Web site hosting agencies to address hardware or software issues affecting Web sites. | 47.5% | 27.5% | 25.0% | 3.57 | exposed |
| Collaborate with management or users to develop e-commerce strategies and to integrate these strategies with Web sites. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.55 | exposed |
| Monitor security system performance logs to identify problems and notify security specialists when problems occur. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.73 | exposed |
| Design and implement Web site security measures, such as firewalls and message encryption. | 42.5% | 32.5% | 25.0% | – | exposed |
| Establish appropriate server directory trees. | 26.7% | 23.3% | 50.0% | 3.47 | exposed |
| Install and configure hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) servers and associated operating systems. | 14.2% | 10.8% | 75.0% | 2.94 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean. 2 task(s) lacked a usable O*NET weight and are shown but excluded from the weighting.
Where the score comes from
judgedEvery task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.
| Dimension | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 3.50 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 0.21 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.21 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 0.81 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.81 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.24 | 0-3 |
What this means in practice
Where most of a role's weighted task load is exposed, the work that survives is usually the part of the job nobody wrote into the job description: deciding what should be produced rather than producing it, and being answerable for the result. The tasks lowest on this page are a better guide to where to spend your time than any general advice about the future of work.
Occupations either side of this one
The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.
Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.