# Will physical therapist assistants be replaced by AI? Updated October 2026 Physical therapist assistants score 19 of 100 for AI exposure. 63% of their task time still needs a person. AI can do 10% today and speed up another 27%. - **10%** AI can do it - **27%** AI helps - **63%** Needs a person Low exposure Lower than 82% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 21 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 2 of them today, speeds up 5 and leaves 14 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Document patient information, such as notes on their progress. Progress notes are drafted well from structured treatment data. | 78% AI can do it | | Perform clerical duties, such as taking inventory, ordering supplies, answering telephone, taking messages, or filling out forms. Inventory, ordering, forms and messages are largely digital tasks. | 70% AI can do it | | Monitor operation of equipment and record use of equipment and administration of treatment. Equipment logs and treatment records are automatable; monitoring is not. | 40% AI helps | | Confer with physical therapy staff or others to discuss and evaluate patient information for planning, modifying, or coordinating treatment. Team discussions benefit from AI summaries of patient records. | 35% AI helps | | Communicate with or instruct caregivers or family members on patient therapeutic activities or treatment plans. Caregiver teaching is live, though AI can draft handouts. | 30% AI helps | ## How physical therapist assistants compare All occupations (923) Healthcare support (19) **Physical therapist assistants score 19**, 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 26 for healthcare support. ## Pay and outlook in the US Median pay $68,380 a year, May 2025 People employed 112,430 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs +23.0% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Hold a current state physical therapist assistant licence - Review AI-drafted progress notes in eClinicalWorks EHR software - Transfer and position patients safely onto therapy equipment - Fit patients for braces, crutches and supportive devices - Teach caregivers home exercise programs and treatment plans - Present observation findings to supervising physical therapists ## Safer roles nearby A related occupation with a lower score. - [Surgical assistants11 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/surgical-assistants/) ## Questions about physical therapist assistants and AI Will AI replace physical therapist assistants? Partly. About 2 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly drafting progress notes and handling clerical work. Hands-on treatment, patient safety and in-person observation stay with people because they need a physical presence in the room. Which tasks will AI take from physical therapist assistants? Progress note drafting and clerical work lead the list. Documenting patient information scores 78 on exposure, so AI can draft notes from structured treatment data. Clerical duties score 70, covering inventory, supply orders, forms and messages, which are largely digital. Which tasks stay with physical therapist assistants? Hands-on treatment stays with people. Securing patients onto equipment, transferring them, fitting braces and applying postural drainage each score 3 or 4 on exposure. Each needs a person physically present to measure, lift and adjust the patient safely. How can physical therapist assistants stay valuable at work? Review every AI-drafted progress note against what you observed in the session. Lead caregiver teaching for home exercise programs, since that stays live. Bring patient observations into team discussions with supervising physical therapists. Keep your state licence current. ## Related jobs - [Occupational therapy assistants27 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/occupational-therapy-assistants/) - [Psychiatric technicians22 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/psychiatric-technicians/) - [Respiratory therapists24 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/respiratory-therapists/) - [Medical assistants32 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/medical-assistants/) ## Next steps for physical therapist assistants - ### 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.