# Will AI replace occupational therapists? Updated October 2026 Occupational therapists score 38 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 81%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 13% outright, and 6% stays with people. - **13%** AI can do it - **81%** AI helps - **6%** Needs a person Moderate exposure Higher than 50% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 17 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 2 of them today, speeds up 14 and leaves 1 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Complete and maintain necessary records. Ambient scribes and templates draft notes; clinician reviews and signs. | 75% AI can do it | | Evaluate patients' progress and prepare reports that detail progress. Progress reports drafted from notes and data; therapist reviews and approves. | 65% AI can do it | | Conduct research in occupational therapy. AI speeds literature review, analysis and drafting; researcher leads design. | 50% AI helps | | Test and evaluate patients' physical and mental abilities and analyze medical data to determine realistic rehabilitation goals for patients. AI can summarize records and suggest goals; in-person testing stays human. | 40% AI helps | | Develop and participate in health promotion programs, group activities, or discussions to promote client health, facilitate social adjustment, alleviate stress, and prevent physical or mental disability. AI can draft program content and materials; group facilitation stays human. | 40% AI helps | ## How occupational therapists compare All occupations (923) Healthcare practitioners and technical (89) **Occupational therapists score 38**, 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 $100,330 a year, May 2025 People employed 162,450 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs +14.8% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Review and sign AI drafted notes in eClinicalWorks EHR - Hold the NBCOT Occupational Therapist Registered credential - Run in-person home and workplace assessments for environment changes - Train caregivers hands on for care after therapy - Adapt cognitive training tasks in computer programs for clients ## Safer roles nearby 5 related occupations with lower scores. - [Occupational therapy assistants27 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/occupational-therapy-assistants/) - [Occupational therapy aides28 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/occupational-therapy-aides/) - [Physical therapist assistants19 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/physical-therapist-assistants/) - [Physiatrists35 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/physiatrists/) - [Recreational therapists34 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/recreational-therapists/) ## Questions about occupational therapists and AI Will occupational therapists be replaced by AI? Partly. About 4 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly recording clinical notes and writing progress reports. Those two tasks carry the highest exposure in the job, with records scored 75 and progress reports scored 65. Hands-on testing, group facilitation and in-person decisions stay with the therapist. Will AI take over occupational therapy? AI can already do 13% of the task time in occupational therapy and speeds up another 81%. People still do 6% of it. The US has 162,450 occupational therapist jobs, with a projected change of +14.8% from 2024 to 2034. Which tasks are AI taking over for occupational therapists? Completing and maintaining records has an exposure score of 75, and ambient scribes already draft notes that the therapist reviews and signs. Progress reports, scored 65, are drafted from notes and data, leaving the therapist to check and approve them. Literature review for research, scored 50, gets faster with AI while the researcher still leads the study design. Which tasks stay human for occupational therapists? Laying out and cleaning therapy tools scores 5, the lowest exposure in the job, because physical setup and repair need hands-on work. Home and workplace visits for environment changes score 28 and stay in person. Live group facilitation and hands-on caregiver training also stay with the therapist, since they need a person in the room. How can occupational therapists stay valuable as AI spreads? Learn to review and sign AI drafted notes in eClinicalWorks or PrognoCIS, since the signed entry is the legal record. Build in-person skill in home and workplace assessments and document changes in Microsoft Word. Use speech recognition software to dictate notes faster, then spend the saved time on hands-on sessions and caregiver training. ## Related jobs - [Physical therapists38 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/physical-therapists/) - [Psychiatric technicians22 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/psychiatric-technicians/) - [Rehabilitation counselors39 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/rehabilitation-counselors/) - [Nurse practitioners49 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/nurse-practitioners/) ## Next steps for occupational therapists - ### 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.