Will occupational therapy aides be replaced by AI?
Updated
Occupational therapy aides score 28 of 100 for AI exposure. 55% of their task time still needs a person. AI can do 7% today and speed up another 38%.
- 7% AI can do it
- 38% AI helps
- 55% Needs a person
Low exposure
Lower than 66% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 15 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 1 of them today, speeds up 6 and leaves 8 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Perform clerical, administrative, and secretarial duties, such as answering phones, restocking and ordering supplies, filling out paperwork, and scheduling appointments. Scheduling, ordering, and paperwork are routine digital tasks. | 62% AI can do it |
| Report to supervisors or therapists, verbally or in writing, on patients' progress, attitudes, attendance, and accomplishments. Drafting progress reports from notes is routine writing. | 60% AI helps |
| Observe patients' attendance, progress, attitudes, and accomplishments and record and maintain information in client records. Observing is in person; charting notes can be drafted by AI. | 45% AI helps |
| Assist occupational therapists in planning, implementing, and administering therapy programs to restore, reinforce, and enhance performance, using selected activities and special equipment. AI can help draft program plans; delivery is hands-on. | 30% AI helps |
| Assist educational specialists or clinical psychologists in administering situational or diagnostic tests to measure client's abilities or progress. Test administration is in person; scoring could be automated. | 30% AI helps |
| Instruct patients and families in work, social, and living skills, the care and use of adaptive equipment, and other skills to facilitate home and work adjustment to disability. Live teaching is human; AI can help prepare handouts. | 25% AI helps |
| Evaluate the living skills and capacities of clients with physical, developmental, or mental health disabilities. Living skills assessment mixes observation, judgment, and documentation. | 25% AI helps |
| Prepare and maintain work area, materials, and equipment and maintain inventory of treatment and educational supplies. Physical setup and supplies handling is hands-on work. | 15% Needs a person |
| Manage intradepartmental infection control and equipment security. Infection control is hands-on; only logs are digital. | 15% Needs a person |
| Encourage patients and attend to their physical needs to facilitate the attainment of therapeutic goals. Hands-on encouragement and physical care needs in person. | 12% Needs a person |
Show the other 5 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Supervise patients in choosing and completing work assignments or arts and crafts projects. Supervising crafts happens in person with live judgment. | 12% Needs a person |
| Demonstrate therapy techniques, such as manual and creative arts and games. Demonstrating crafts and games is physical and interactive. | 10% Needs a person |
| Transport patients to and from the occupational therapy work area. Physical transport of patients requires a person present. | 5% Needs a person |
| Adjust and repair assistive devices and make adaptive changes to other equipment and to environments. Repairing devices and modifying spaces needs hands-on skill. | 5% Needs a person |
| Accompany patients on outings, providing transportation when necessary. Accompanying patients on outings is in person and physical. | 5% Needs a person |
How occupational therapy aides compare
All occupations (923)
Healthcare support (19)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $39,160 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 4,310 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +3.6% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Chart patient observations accurately in EMR software
- Adjust and repair assistive devices with hand tools
- Run patient scheduling and billing in MEDITECH
- Demonstrate manual and creative arts techniques in person
- Prepare patient handouts for home and work adjustment
- Support diagnostic test administration under psychologist supervision
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about occupational therapy aides and AI
Will AI replace occupational therapy aides?
Occupational therapy aides score 28 of 100 for AI exposure. 55% of their task time still needs a person. AI can do 7% today and speed up another 38%.
Will occupational therapy aides be replaced?
Partly. About 2 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly clerical work such as scheduling, ordering supplies, and paperwork, along with drafting progress reports from notes. What stays with people is hands-on patient care, transport, demonstrating crafts, and supervising projects in the room.
Which tasks will AI take from occupational therapy aides?
Clerical, administrative, and secretarial duties are the most exposed, with an exposure score of 62, covering phones, supplies, paperwork, and appointments. Scheduling and ordering are routine digital tasks that software handles well. Reporting to therapists scores 60 because drafting progress reports from notes is routine writing.
Which tasks stay with occupational therapy aides?
Transporting patients, accompanying them on outings, and adjusting assistive devices all score 5 on exposure, the lowest in the job. These need a person physically present, because moving patients and repairing equipment take hands-on skill. Supervising crafts also stays human, scoring 12.
How can occupational therapy aides stay valuable?
Learn EMR charting in MEDITECH so you can check AI-drafted notes for accuracy. Get hands-on with adaptive equipment fitting and repair, which scores 5 on exposure. Build live demonstration skills for manual and creative arts. Take on handout preparation and scheduling software work to become the person who runs the front-end workflow.
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