# Will AI replace nurses? Updated October 2026 Nurses score 36 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 57%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 5% outright, and 38% stays with people. - **5%** AI can do it - **57%** AI helps - **38%** Needs a person Moderate exposure Lower than 52% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 27 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 1 of them today, speeds up 16 and leaves 10 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Maintain accurate, detailed reports and records. Documentation is text heavy; ambient scribes and drafting tools fit well. | 70% AI can do it | | Engage in research activities related to nursing. Literature review, data analysis, and drafting are highly AI assisted. | 55% AI helps | | Refer students or patients to specialized health resources or community agencies furnishing assistance. Resource lookup and referral letters can be drafted quickly by AI. | 50% AI helps | | Record patients' medical information and vital signs. Devices capture vitals; charting and data entry increasingly automated. | 45% AI helps | | Perform administrative or managerial functions, such as taking responsibility for a unit's staff, budget, planning, or long-range goals. Budgets, scheduling, and reports can be AI aided; staff leadership stays human. | 45% AI helps | ## How nurses compare All occupations (923) Healthcare practitioners and technical (89) **Nurses score 36**, 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 $97,550 a year, May 2025 People employed 3.4 million in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs +5.6% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Document bedside assessments in Epic Systems or MEDITECH - Review and sign AI-drafted notes before they enter the chart - Administer medications and monitor patient reactions at the bedside - Run unit budget and staffing reports in Microsoft Excel - Maintain an active RN license with your state board ## Safer roles nearby 5 related occupations with lower scores. - [Licensed practical nurses22 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/licensed-practical-nurses/) - [Nurse anesthetists26 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/nurse-anesthetists/) - [Physician assistants30 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/physician-assistants/) - [Nursing assistants16 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/nursing-assistants/) - [Paramedics19 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/paramedics/) ## Questions about nurses and AI Will nurses be replaced by AI? Partly. About 3 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly maintaining accurate reports and records and recording vital signs and medical information. Bedside care stays with nurses, because assessing patients, giving medications, and judging changes in condition need a person in the room. Will AI take over nursing? AI can already do 5% of the task time in nursing and speeds up another 57%. People still do 38% of it. The US has 3.4 million nurse jobs, with a projected change of +5.6% from 2024 to 2034. Which nursing tasks is AI taking over? Documentation first. Maintaining accurate reports and records scores 70 on exposure, the highest of any nursing task, since ambient scribes and drafting tools handle text-heavy charting. Research support follows at 55, because literature review and data analysis are highly AI assisted. Recording medical information and vital signs scores 45, as devices capture vitals and data entry gets automated. Which nursing tasks stay human? Bedside tasks stay human. Administering anesthetics, preparing patients for examinations or treatments, and administering medications while monitoring for reactions score lowest on exposure. These tasks are invasive or physical, and AI helps with medication interaction checks only. How can nurses stay valuable as AI takes over charting? Keep the bedside work and hold the license. Maintain an active RN license, and spend time freed from charting on in-person assessments and medication rounds. Review every AI-drafted note in Epic Systems or MEDITECH before signing, since you answer for what enters the record. Take on unit budget and staffing work in Microsoft Excel, where leadership stays human. ## Related jobs - [Nurse practitioners49 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/nurse-practitioners/) - [Family doctors42 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/family-doctors/) - [Emergency medical technicians17 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/emergency-medical-technicians/) - [Anesthesiologists28 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/anesthesiologists/) ## Next steps for 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.