# Will licensed practical nurses be replaced by AI? Updated October 2026 Licensed practical nurses score 22 of 100 for AI exposure. 56% of their task time still needs a person. AI can do 5% today and speed up another 39%. - **5%** AI can do it - **39%** AI helps - **56%** Needs a person Low exposure Lower than 76% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 22 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 2 of them today, speeds up 7 and leaves 13 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Make appointments, keep records, or perform other clerical duties in doctors' offices or clinics. Scheduling, records, and clerical work are routine digital tasks. | 80% AI can do it | | Inventory and requisition supplies and instruments. Inventory tracking and reorder requests are largely software automated. | 65% AI can do it | | Record food and fluid intake and output. Smart devices and EHR can log intake; staff still measure and verify. | 45% AI helps | | Observe patients, charting and reporting changes in patients' conditions, such as adverse reactions to medication or treatment, and taking any necessary action. AI assisted charting and alerts help; bedside assessment stays human. | 35% AI helps | | Evaluate nursing intervention outcomes, conferring with other healthcare team members as necessary. AI can summarize outcome data; evaluation and team talks stay human. | 35% AI helps | ## How licensed practical nurses compare All occupations (923) Healthcare practitioners and technical (89) **Licensed practical nurses score 22**, 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 $64,400 a year, May 2025 People employed 648,410 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs +3.0% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Chart patient condition changes in Epic Systems EHR - Verify intake and output records in eClinicalWorks EHR software - Perform bedside assessments and wound care with hands-on skill - Hold a current state practical nursing licence - Take part in care plan discussions with the healthcare team - Use MEDITECH software for medication and treatment documentation ## Safer roles nearby 5 related occupations with lower scores. - [Paramedics19 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/paramedics/) - [Nursing assistants16 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/nursing-assistants/) - [Emergency medical technicians17 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/emergency-medical-technicians/) - [Home health aides16 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/home-health-aides/) - [Physical therapist assistants19 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/physical-therapist-assistants/) ## Questions about licensed practical nurses and AI Will AI replace licensed practical nurses? Partly. About 2 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly clerical scheduling and records and supply inventory. Bedside care stays with licensed practical nurses because bathing, wound care, catheterization and moving patients need a person in the room. Which tasks is AI taking over for licensed practical nurses? Scheduling, records and clerical work in clinics have an exposure score of 80, the highest in this job, because they are routine digital tasks. Inventory and requisition of supplies follows at 65, since reorder tracking is largely software automated. Which tasks stay human for licensed practical nurses? Bathing, dressing and moving patients score 3 on exposure, and basic treatments such as wound dressing and catheterization score 5. These tasks need physical presence, touch and judgement at the bedside, so they stay with nurses. How do licensed practical nurses stay valuable as AI takes on records? Spend the time saved on bedside assessment and charting changes in Epic Systems or eClinicalWorks. Verify AI-logged intake and output by measuring it yourself, and keep your state licence current so you can lead hands-on care under registered nurse supervision. ## Related jobs - [Nurses36 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/nurses/) - [Nurse practitioners49 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/nurse-practitioners/) - [Medical assistants32 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/medical-assistants/) - [Nurse anesthetists26 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/nurse-anesthetists/) ## Next steps for licensed practical nurses - ### 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.