# Will nurse anesthetists be replaced by AI? Updated October 2026 Nurse anesthetists score 26 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 50%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 4% outright, and 46% stays with people. - **4%** AI can do it - **50%** AI helps - **46%** Needs a person Low exposure Lower than 69% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 24 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 1 of them today, speeds up 12 and leaves 11 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Request anesthesia equipment repairs, adjustments, or safety tests. Request forms and tickets are routine digital paperwork. | 60% AI can do it | | Assess patients' medical histories to predict anesthesia response. AI can summarize charts and flag risks; clinician verifies findings. | 55% AI helps | | Develop anesthesia care plans. AI drafts care plans from chart data; clinician reviews and signs. | 55% AI helps | | Read current literature, talk with colleagues, and participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in nursing. AI summarizes literature well; nurse selects and applies learning. | 55% AI helps | | Perform or evaluate the results of diagnostic tests, such as radiographs (x-rays) and electrocardiograms (EKGs). AI reads EKGs and x-rays well; nurse performs and confirms. | 50% AI helps | ## How nurse anesthetists compare All occupations (923) Healthcare practitioners and technical (89) **Nurse anesthetists score 26**, 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 $236,590 a year, May 2025 People employed 51,840 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs +9.7% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Write and sign anesthesia care plans in Epic Systems - Verify AI chart summaries against patient interview findings - Perform regional nerve blocks and spinal injections under ultrasound guidance - Place arterial lines and peripheral IV catheters - Manage airway and resuscitation during emergency cases - Hold NBCRNA National Certification Examination credential ## Safer roles nearby 5 related occupations with lower scores. - [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/) - [Licensed practical nurses22 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/licensed-practical-nurses/) - [Emergency medical technicians17 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/emergency-medical-technicians/) ## Questions about nurse anesthetists and AI Will AI replace nurse anesthetists? Partly. About 3 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly drafting anesthesia care plans and reviewing patient medical histories from charts. The hands on work stays with nurse anesthetists, since regional blocks, arterial lines and airway management need a clinician in the room. Which tasks will AI take from nurse anesthetists? Equipment repair requests score 60 on exposure and are routine digital paperwork, so AI can file and track them. Medical history assessment scores 55 because AI can summarize charts and flag risks, while the nurse anesthetist verifies the findings. Care plan drafting also scores 55, since AI produces a draft from chart data for the clinician to review and sign. Which tasks of nurse anesthetists stay human? Arterial punctures and catheters score 2 on exposure, the lowest in the job, because they need skilled hands on work. IV insertion scores 3, and regional blocks, spinal and epidural injections score 5, since each depends on a person touching the patient. Emergency airway management and resuscitation score 8 because a live response needs a clinician in the room. How can nurse anesthetists stay valuable at work? Use AI drafts as a first pass in Epic Systems or MEDITECH, then check each risk flag against the chart and the patient interview. Spend the time saved on regional blocks, arterial lines and airway cases, where hands on skill is the core of the job. Keep the NBCRNA certification current and read the literature that shapes your protocols. ## Related jobs - [Anesthesiologists28 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/anesthesiologists/) - [Nurse practitioners49 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/nurse-practitioners/) - [Nurses36 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/nurses/) - [Physician assistants30 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/physician-assistants/) ## Next steps for nurse anesthetists - ### 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.