# Will animal caretakers be replaced by AI? Updated October 2026 Animal caretakers score 29 of 100 for AI exposure. 59% of their task time still needs a person. AI can do 6% today and speed up another 35%. - **6%** AI can do it - **35%** AI helps - **59%** Needs a person Low exposure Lower than 64% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 22 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 1 of them today, speeds up 8 and leaves 13 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Answer telephones and schedule appointments. Phone bots and scheduling software handle calls and bookings well. | 72% AI can do it | | Collect and record animal information, such as weight, size, physical condition, treatments received, medications given, and food intake. Software can log readings and notes; weighing still needs hands. | 55% AI helps | | Respond to questions from patrons, and provide information about animals, such as behavior, habitat, breeding habits, or facility activities. AI answers common animal questions; staff handle visitors in person. | 50% AI helps | | Advise pet owners on how to care for their pets' health. AI gives general care tips; vets must judge individual health. | 40% AI helps | | Find homes for stray or unwanted animals. AI drafts listings and screens applicants; handovers need people. | 38% AI helps | ## How animal caretakers compare All occupations (923) Personal care and service (31) **Animal caretakers score 29**, 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 30 for personal care and service. ## Pay and outlook in the US Median pay $35,360 a year, May 2025 People employed 266,910 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs +12.1% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Run daily feeding and medication logs in DaySmart 123Pet - Handle dogs and cats safely during bathing and clipping - Hold hands-on care for animals that need restraint and calm handling - Supervise children and visitors during animal contact sessions - Manage kennel bookings and intake records in Appointment-Plus - Write adoption profiles and handle in-person handovers with new owners ## Safer roles nearby 5 related occupations with lower scores. - [Veterinary assistants27 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/veterinary-assistants/) - [Animal trainers18 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/animal-trainers/) - [Animal breeders27 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/animal-breeders/) - [Veterinary technicians22 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/veterinary-technicians/) - [Livestock workers18 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/livestock-workers/) ## Questions about animal caretakers and AI Will AI replace animal caretakers? Partly. About 2 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly answering telephones and scheduling appointments, plus recording animal information such as weight and medication. Feeding, bathing, exercising and cleaning cages stay with people because they need hands on the animal. Which animal caretaker tasks is AI taking over? Phone answering and appointment booking are the most exposed, with an exposure score of 72. Phone bots and scheduling software handle calls and bookings well. Recording weights, treatments and food intake also moves to software, scoring 55, though staff still take the readings. Which animal caretaker tasks stay human? Grooming, anesthetizing and inoculating animals, exercising them, supervising children and moving animals between enclosures all score 6 or below. These tasks need physical handwork and live attention in the room, and they make up most of the job's task weight at 59 percent. How do animal caretakers stay valuable as AI takes on scheduling? Build hands-on grooming, restraint and exercise routines, since software can only log them. Use DaySmart 123Pet or Appointment-Plus to record medications and intake, then check each entry against the animal in front of you. Train visitors and children in safe contact sessions, which keeps the people side of the job with you. ## Related jobs - [Childcare workers29 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/childcare-workers/) - [Nursing assistants16 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/nursing-assistants/) - [Veterinarians33 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/veterinarians/) - [Personal service supervisors45 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/personal-service-supervisors/) ## Next steps for animal caretakers - ### 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.