Will AI replace anesthesiologists?
Updated
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 |
| Examine patient, obtain medical history, and use diagnostic tests to determine risk during surgical, obstetrical, and other medical procedures. AI can pull history and risk scores; exam is physical. | 40% AI helps |
| Conduct medical research to aid in controlling and curing disease, to investigate new medications, and to develop and test new medical techniques. AI speeds literature review and analysis; trials need people. | 40% AI helps |
| Inform students and staff of types and methods of anesthesia administration, signs of complications, and emergency methods to counteract reactions. AI drafts teaching material; live teaching stays with the clinician. | 35% AI helps |
| Decide when patients have recovered or stabilized enough to be sent to another room or ward or to be sent home following outpatient surgery. Recovery scoring is structured, but discharge calls need clinician accountability. | 30% AI helps |
| Provide medical care and consultation in many settings, prescribing medication and treatment and referring patients for surgery. Consultations and prescribing need live patient contact and accountability. | 30% AI helps |
Show the other 8 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Diagnose illnesses, using examinations, tests, and reports. AI can help read reports; diagnosis still needs bedside assessment. | 30% AI helps |
| Monitor patient before, during, and after anesthesia and counteract adverse reactions or complications. Device alarms help, but complication response needs live clinical judgement. | 25% AI helps |
| Confer with other medical professionals to determine type and method of anesthetic or sedation to render patient insensible to pain. Team discussions are live; AI can summarize options beforehand. | 25% AI helps |
| Coordinate and direct work of nurses, medical technicians, and other health care providers. Directing staff in real time is supervisory and interpersonal work. | 12% Needs a person |
| Coordinate administration of anesthetics with surgeons during operation. Real-time coordination with surgeons happens live in the OR. | 10% Needs a person |
| Provide and maintain life support and airway management and help prepare patients for emergency surgery. Airway and life support are hands-on emergency work. | 5% Needs a person |
| Administer anesthetic or sedation during medical procedures, using local, intravenous, spinal, or caudal methods. Injecting and placing anesthetic needles is hands-on physical work. | 4% Needs a person |
| Position patient on operating table to maximize patient comfort and surgical accessibility. Positioning bodies on the table is physical work. | 3% Needs a person |
How anesthesiologists compare
All occupations (923)
Healthcare practitioners and technical (89)
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.
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
Next steps for anesthesiologists
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.
Related topics
- Jobs AI can't replaceCement masons score lowest, at 8.
- Jobs most at risk from AIProofreaders score highest, at 76.
- High-paying jobs with low AI exposureRadiologists earn a median $420,860 and score 46.
- Entry-level jobs with low AI exposureCement masons need little prior training and score 8.
- Jobs AI speeds up the mostFor natural sciences managers, AI speeds up 96% of task time.
- AI and jobs in Malta15 iGaming roles graded task by task.
- Skills that keep work humanThe skills to build in the jobs AI changes least.
- Jobs A to ZEvery job we publish, by first letter.
- AI exposure by industryAverage scores for 22 occupation groups.
- Write a CV screening software can readHow applicant tracking systems read a CV, and what to change.
- AI for businessesThe tasks to automate first in each team and industry.
- How we score AI exposureThe grading, the weights and every source.