# Will AI replace surgeons? Updated October 2026 Orthopedic surgeons score 29 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 53%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 7% outright, and 40% stays with people. - **7%** AI can do it - **53%** AI helps - **40%** Needs a person Low exposure Lower than 64% 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 8 and leaves 6 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Prepare case histories. Ambient scribes and LLMs can draft case histories from notes. | 70% AI can do it | | Manage surgery services, including planning, scheduling and coordination, determination of procedures, or procurement of supplies and equipment. AI can draft schedules and procurement lists; managers decide. | 55% AI helps | | Analyze patient's medical history, medication allergies, physical condition, and examination results to verify operation's necessity and to determine best procedure. Synthesizes history and exam data; surgeon still decides necessity. | 45% AI helps | | Order and interpret the results of laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging procedures. AI reads imaging and suggests lab workups; physician confirms results. | 40% AI helps | | Prescribe preoperative and postoperative treatments and procedures, such as sedatives, diets, antibiotics, or preparation and treatment of the patient's operative area. Order sets and decision support help; prescribing stays accountable. | 40% AI helps | ## How orthopedic surgeons compare All occupations (923) Healthcare practitioners and technical (89) **Orthopedic surgeons 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 $358,550 a year, May 2025 People employed 14,100 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs +4.0% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Draft and sign off case histories in Epic Systems - Check AI-drafted orders and imaging reads in EMR software - Plan implant placement in image-guided surgery software - Perform hands-on fracture repair and joint reconstruction surgery - Lead operating room teams through live case coordination - Hold board certification from the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery ## Safer roles nearby 3 related occupations with lower scores. - [Anesthesiologists28 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/anesthesiologists/) - [Oral surgeons14 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/oral-surgeons/) - [Anesthesiologist assistants19 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/anesthesiologist-assistants/) ## Questions about orthopedic surgeons and AI Will surgeons be replaced by AI? Partly. About 3 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly preparing case histories and scheduling surgery services. Physical surgery, patient examination and leading the operating room team stay with surgeons because they need a person in the room. Which orthopedic surgeon tasks is AI taking over? Preparing case histories has an exposure score of 70, the highest in this job. Ambient scribes and LLMs can draft histories from notes, and AI can draft surgery schedules and procurement lists for managers to approve. Which orthopedic surgeon tasks stay human? Operating on the musculoskeletal system scores 2 for exposure, the lowest in this job. Surgery on living tissue needs a surgeon's hands, and following surgical technique in the operating room scores 3. Examining patients and leading live teams also stay human, scoring 10 and 15. How do orthopedic surgeons stay valuable as AI spreads? Keep operating hands-on, since surgery is the least exposed task. Check every AI-drafted case history in Epic Systems or MEDITECH before signing. Use image-guided surgery software for implant planning, and lead the operating room team through live case coordination. ## Related jobs - [Urologists34 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/urologists/) - [Physiatrists35 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/physiatrists/) - [General internal medicine physicians44 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/general-internal-medicine-physicians/) - [Medical assistants32 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/medical-assistants/) ## Next steps for orthopedic surgeons - ### 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.