Will AI replace occupational therapists?
Updated
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 |
| Help clients improve decision making, abstract reasoning, memory, sequencing, coordination, and perceptual skills, using computer programs. Existing cognitive software and AI can adapt tasks; clinician guides sessions. | 40% AI helps |
| Plan, organize, and conduct occupational therapy programs in hospital, institutional, or community settings to help rehabilitate persons with disabilities because of illness, injury or psychological or developmental problems. AI helps plan programs; hands-on delivery with patients stays human. | 35% AI helps |
| Advise on health risks in the workplace or on health-related transition to retirement. AI can draft health risk and retirement guidance; on-site assessment needed. | 35% AI helps |
| Provide patients with assistance in locating or holding jobs. AI can help with resumes and job listings; coaching and placement are personal. | 35% AI helps |
| Select activities that will help individuals learn work and life-management skills within limits of their mental or physical capabilities. AI can suggest activities; choosing fit to abilities needs clinical judgement. | 30% AI helps |
Show the other 7 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Design and create, or requisition, special supplies and equipment, such as splints, braces, and computer-aided adaptive equipment. AI can help design and source equipment; fabrication remains hands-on. | 30% AI helps |
| Recommend changes in patients' work or living environments, consistent with their needs and capabilities. Written recommendations can be drafted; home and workplace visits are in person. | 28% AI helps |
| Plan and implement programs and social activities to help patients learn work or school skills and adjust to handicaps. Program ideas can be drafted, but live activities need in-person facilitation. | 25% AI helps |
| Train caregivers in providing for the needs of a patient during and after therapy. AI can produce caregiver handouts; live hands-on training stays human. | 25% AI helps |
| Consult with rehabilitation team to select activity programs or coordinate occupational therapy with other therapeutic activities. AI can prepare summaries for team meetings; coordination is interpersonal. | 22% AI helps |
| Provide training and supervision in therapy techniques and objectives for students or nurses and other medical staff. AI can build teaching materials; supervision and feedback need a person. | 20% AI helps |
| Lay out materials such as puzzles, scissors and eating utensils for use in therapy, and clean and repair these tools after therapy sessions. Physical setup, cleaning and repair of tools needs hands-on work. | 5% Needs a person |
How occupational therapists compare
All occupations (923)
Healthcare practitioners and technical (89)
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.
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.
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