# Will ophthalmic medical technologists be replaced by AI? Updated October 2026 Ophthalmic medical technologists score 29 of 100 for AI exposure. 72% of their task time still needs a person. AI can do 6% today and speed up another 22%. - **6%** AI can do it - **22%** AI helps - **72%** Needs a person Low exposure Lower than 64% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 31 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 2 of them today, speeds up 7 and leaves 22 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Call patients to inquire about their post-operative status or recovery. Routine recovery check calls suit AI voice agents well. | 65% AI can do it | | Calculate corrections for refractive errors. Refraction math is routine software work that AI handles well. | 62% AI can do it | | Educate patients on ophthalmic medical procedures, conditions of the eye, and appropriate use of medications. AI can draft education materials; live explanation stays with staff. | 60% AI helps | | Take and document patients' medical histories. Patient interview and charting; AI scribes document much of it. | 55% AI helps | | Perform ophthalmic triage, in the office or by phone, to assess severity of patients' conditions. AI can draft triage; clinical liability and judgment stay human. | 50% AI helps | ## How ophthalmic medical technologists compare All occupations (923) Healthcare practitioners and technical (89) **Ophthalmic medical technologists score 29**, 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 $50,290 a year, May 2025 People employed 60,870 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs +5.9% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Perform manual retinoscopy to measure refractive error on patients - Run tonometry tests to measure intraocular pressure manually - Assist surgeons with aseptic setup and instrument preparation - Chart patient histories and triage findings accurately in EyeMD EMR - Capture ophthalmic photography with fundus camera equipment - Teach contact lens insertion and removal to patients in person ## Safer roles nearby 5 related occupations with lower scores. - [Ophthalmic medical technicians17 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/ophthalmic-medical-technicians/) - [Cardiovascular technologists27 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/cardiovascular-technologists/) - [Surgical assistants11 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/surgical-assistants/) - [Endoscopy technicians19 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/endoscopy-technicians/) - [Surgical technologists15 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/surgical-technologists/) ## Questions about ophthalmic medical technologists and AI Will AI replace ophthalmic medical technologists? Partly. About 2 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly post-operative recovery calls and refraction calculations. Hands-on work stays with people, including tonometry, retinoscopy, and assisting surgeons in the room. Which ophthalmic medical technologist tasks will AI take over? Post-operative recovery calls carry an exposure score of 65, the highest in this job, because a scripted check-in suits an AI voice agent. Refraction calculations score 62, since the math is routine software work. Patient history taking scores 55, and AI scribes can document much of the interview. Which ophthalmic medical technologist tasks stay human? Administering topical ophthalmic or oral medications scores 5, the lowest in this job, because drops must be placed physically in a patient's eye. Assisting physicians during procedures and surgery also scores 5, since it happens in the room. Tonometry scores 12 because the device needs physical contact with the eye. How can ophthalmic medical technologists stay valuable? Keep hands-on skills sharp in manual retinoscopy and tonometry, since these score 10 and 12 for exposure. Review AI-drafted patient education and triage notes in EyeMD EMR before patients see them. Train newer ophthalmic staff on aseptic setup and instrument preparation. Track recall outcomes in Microsoft Excel to show where automated calls still need a human follow-up. ## Related jobs - [Radiologic technologists29 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/radiologic-technologists/) - [Neurodiagnostic technologists35 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/neurodiagnostic-technologists/) - [Sonographers31 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/diagnostic-medical-sonographers/) - [Medical assistants32 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/medical-assistants/) ## Next steps for ophthalmic medical technologists - ### 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.