# Will AI replace anesthesiologists? Updated October 2026 Anesthesiologists score 28 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 62%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 7% outright, and 31% stays with people. - **7%** AI can do it - **62%** AI helps - **31%** Needs a person Low exposure Lower than 66% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 18 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 1 of them today, speeds up 12 and leaves 5 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Record type and amount of anesthesia and patient condition throughout procedure. Monitors auto-capture data; AI drafts and checks the record. | 70% AI can do it | | Instruct individuals and groups on ways to preserve health and prevent disease. AI can draft patient handouts and answer routine health questions. | 55% AI helps | | Order laboratory tests, x-rays, and other diagnostic procedures. EHR order entry is digital; AI suggests orders, physician signs. | 50% AI helps | | Schedule and maintain use of surgical suite, including operating, wash-up, waiting rooms, or anesthetic and sterilizing equipment. Software and AI can optimize room bookings; upkeep stays physical. | 50% AI helps | | Manage anesthesiological services, coordinating them with other medical activities and formulating plans and procedures. AI can draft protocols and schedules; leadership decisions stay human. | 45% AI helps | ## How anesthesiologists compare All occupations (923) Healthcare practitioners and technical (89) **Anesthesiologists score 28**, marked by the dark line. Each dot is a score, darker where more occupations share it. The short marks show the averages, 37 for all occupations and 34 for healthcare practitioners and technical. ## Pay and outlook in the US Median pay $391,490 a year, May 2025 People employed 38,760 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs +3.6% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Review AI-drafted anesthesia records in Epic Systems - Calculate infusion doses in AetherPalm InfusiCalc - Perform airway management during emergency intubation - Coordinate live anesthesia plans with operating surgeons - Build OR block schedules in Microsoft Excel - Hold American Board of Anesthesiology board certification ## Safer roles nearby 5 related occupations with lower scores. - [Nurse anesthetists26 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/nurse-anesthetists/) - [Anesthesiologist assistants19 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/anesthesiologist-assistants/) - [Paramedics19 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/paramedics/) - [Surgical assistants11 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/surgical-assistants/) - [Respiratory therapists24 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/respiratory-therapists/) ## Questions about anesthesiologists and AI Will anesthesiologists be replaced by AI? Partly. About 3 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly recording anesthesia details during procedures and ordering lab tests and imaging. Airway work, drug delivery and live coordination with surgeons stay with anesthesiologists because they need a person in the room. Which tasks is AI taking over for anesthesiologists? Recording anesthesia type, dose and patient condition is the most exposed task, with an exposure score of 70. Monitors already capture the data, so AI drafts the record and checks it for gaps. Patient health education, at exposure 55, also moves toward AI, which can draft handouts and answer routine questions. Which anesthesiologist tasks stay human? Positioning the patient on the table, at exposure 3, and giving the anesthetic itself, at exposure 4, stay with people because they are hands-on physical work. Emergency airway and life support, at exposure 5, also stay human. Real-time coordination with surgeons, at exposure 10, happens live in the operating room. How can anesthesiologists stay valuable as AI spreads? Review and sign off AI-drafted anesthesia records in Epic Systems or MEDITECH, since that check becomes a core part of the job. Spend hours freed from charting on airway work and live surgeon coordination. Check drug calculations in AetherPalm InfusiCalc, and lead OR scheduling and nurse and technician teams. ## Related jobs - [Orthopedic surgeons29 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/orthopedic-surgeons/) - [General internal medicine physicians44 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/general-internal-medicine-physicians/) - [Nurse practitioners49 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/nurse-practitioners/) - [Physician assistants30 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/physician-assistants/) ## Next steps for anesthesiologists - ### Check your job Your job title is a rough guide. Your actual tasks decide your score. Paste your job description or CV and see which of your tasks AI can do. [Check your job](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/ai-exposure-checker/) [Check your CV](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/cv-checker/) ### Check which roles in your team AI can take on We map your team's tasks, show what AI can do today and build the automations that pay back first. [Book an AI audit](https://www.aigentcy.com/audit/) ## Related topics - [**Jobs AI can't replace**Cement masons score lowest, at 8.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-ai-cant-replace/) - [**Jobs most at risk from AI**Proofreaders score highest, at 76.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-most-exposed-to-ai/) - [**High-paying jobs with low AI exposure**Radiologists earn a median $420,860 and score 46.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/high-paying-jobs-low-ai-exposure/) - [**Entry-level jobs with low AI exposure**Cement masons need little prior training and score 8.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/entry-level-jobs-low-ai-exposure/) - [**Jobs AI speeds up the most**For natural sciences managers, AI speeds up 96% of task time.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-ai-speeds-up/) - [**AI and jobs in Malta**15 iGaming roles graded task by task.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/malta/) - [**Skills that keep work human**The skills to build in the jobs AI changes least.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/skills/) - [**Jobs A to Z**Every job we publish, by first letter.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs/) - [**AI exposure by industry**Average scores for 22 occupation groups.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/industries/) - [**Write a CV screening software can read**How applicant tracking systems read a CV, and what to change.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/cv-screening-guide/) - [**AI for businesses**The tasks to automate first in each team and industry.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/) - [**How we score AI exposure**The grading, the weights and every source.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/) Occupation data from the O\*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and modified by Aigentcy. O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Wage, employment and projection data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. EU occupation names from ESCO, European Commission. AI usage signals from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY) and Microsoft Research (CC BY 4.0). [Methodology and sources](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/). Scores © Aigentcy. Quote them with a link to the page.