Will occupational therapy assistants be replaced by AI?
Updated
Occupational therapy assistants score 27 of 100 for AI exposure. 49% of their task time still needs a person. AI can do 8% today and speed up another 43%.
- 8% AI can do it
- 43% AI helps
- 49% Needs a person
Low exposure
Lower than 67% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 22 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 2 of them today, speeds up 9 and leaves 11 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Perform clerical duties, such as scheduling appointments, collecting data, or documenting health insurance billings. Scheduling, data collection, and billing paperwork are highly automatable. | 75% AI can do it |
| Order any needed educational or treatment supplies. Supply ordering is routine digital work with light approval. | 65% AI can do it |
| Report to supervisors, verbally or in writing, on patients' progress, attitudes, and behavior. AI can draft progress reports from notes; verbal reporting stays human. | 55% AI helps |
| Observe and record patients' progress, attitudes, and behavior and maintain this information in client records. Ambient note tools can draft records from observations and dictation. | 55% AI helps |
| Attend care plan meetings to review patient progress and update care plans. AI can update care plan documents; meeting attendance stays human. | 40% AI helps |
| Select therapy activities to fit patients' needs and capabilities. AI can suggest activities; clinician judges fit for each patient. | 35% AI helps |
| Communicate and collaborate with other healthcare professionals involved with the care of a patient. AI can draft handoff messages; live collaboration stays human. | 35% AI helps |
| Work under the direction of occupational therapists to plan, implement, or administer educational, vocational, or recreational programs that restore or enhance performance in individuals with functional impairments. AI can help plan programs; delivery and supervision stay human. | 30% AI helps |
| Alter treatment programs to obtain better results if treatment is not having the intended effect. AI can suggest alternative approaches; clinician decides changes. | 30% AI helps |
| Instruct, or assist in instructing, patients and families in home programs, basic living skills, or the care and use of adaptive equipment. AI can draft home program handouts; hands-on teaching stays in person. | 28% AI helps |
Show the other 12 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Evaluate the daily living skills or capacities of clients with physical, developmental, or mental health disabilities. Observed skill assessment is in person; AI helps score and document. | 25% AI helps |
| Assist educational specialists or clinical psychologists in administering situational or diagnostic tests to measure client's abilities or progress. Administering tests to clients is in-person; AI helps little. | 20% Needs a person |
| Implement, or assist occupational therapists with implementing, treatment plans designed to help clients function independently. Delivering treatment plans is hands-on, in-person therapy work. | 12% Needs a person |
| Attend continuing education classes. Attending classes is in person; AI only summarizes materials. | 12% Needs a person |
| Teach patients how to deal constructively with their emotions. Teaching emotional coping is live, relational, and person-centered. | 12% Needs a person |
| Monitor patients' performance in therapy activities, providing encouragement. Live observation and encouragement during physical activities. | 10% Needs a person |
| Design, fabricate, or repair assistive devices or make adaptive changes to equipment or environments. Fabricating and repairing devices is hands-on physical work. | 10% Needs a person |
| Assemble, clean, or maintain equipment or materials for patient use. Physical cleaning, assembling, and maintaining equipment is hands-on. | 8% Needs a person |
| Demonstrate therapy techniques, such as manual or creative arts or games. Physically demonstrating techniques and games requires in-person presence. | 8% Needs a person |
| Maintain and promote a positive attitude toward clients and their treatment programs. Relational attitude and rapport with clients is inherently human. | 5% Needs a person |
| Aid patients in dressing and grooming themselves. Physical hands-on assistance with dressing and grooming. | 3% Needs a person |
| Transport patients to and from the occupational therapy work area. Physically moving patients between areas requires in-person handling. | 3% Needs a person |
How occupational therapy assistants compare
All occupations (923)
Healthcare support (19)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $72,300 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 51,290 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +21.5% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Hold the NBCOT COTA credential and state license
- Document treatment progress in eClinicalWorks EHR software
- Demonstrate manual and creative arts techniques in person
- Assist patients with dressing and grooming hands-on
- Report patient progress verbally to supervising occupational therapists
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about occupational therapy assistants and AI
Will AI replace occupational therapy assistants?
Partly. About 3 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly clerical paperwork like scheduling and billing, plus progress documentation drafted from notes. Hands-on treatment, patient rapport, and live activity guidance stay with people because they need a person physically in the room.
Which tasks is AI taking over for occupational therapy assistants?
Clerical duties such as scheduling appointments and documenting insurance billings score 75 on exposure, the highest in this job. Supply ordering scores 65 because it is routine digital work with light approval, and progress records drafted from observation notes score 55 in the EHR.
Which tasks stay with occupational therapy assistants?
Dressing and grooming assistance scores 3 on exposure, and transporting patients also scores 3, because both need physical handling of a body. Demonstrating therapy techniques scores 8 since it requires physical presence, and encouraging patients during live activities scores 10 for the same reason.
How can occupational therapy assistants stay valuable?
Take on the review step for AI-drafted notes in eClinicalWorks, checking each entry against what you observed. Lead live activity groups and demonstrate techniques in person, and attend care plan meetings to report progress verbally to supervising occupational therapists. Keep your NBCOT COTA credential and state license current.
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