# Will surgical technologists be replaced by AI? Updated October 2026 Surgical technologists score 15 of 100 for AI exposure. 74% of their task time still needs a person. AI can do 9% today and speed up another 17%. - **9%** AI can do it - **17%** AI helps - **74%** Needs a person Low exposure Lower than 89% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 16 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 2 of them today, speeds up 3 and leaves 11 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Maintain files and records of surgical procedures. Procedure records are digital and easily drafted by AI tools. | 70% AI can do it | | Order surgical supplies. Supply ordering is digital and can be automated with review. | 65% AI can do it | | Count sponges, needles, and instruments before and after operation. Physical counting stays manual; software can reconcile count records. | 25% AI helps | | Maintain supply of fluids, such as plasma, saline, blood, or glucose, for use during operations. Ordering fluids is digital; stocking and checking supplies is physical. | 25% AI helps | | Prepare, care for, and dispose of tissue specimens taken for laboratory analysis. Handling specimens is physical; requisition paperwork can be automated. | 20% AI helps | ## How surgical technologists compare All occupations (923) Healthcare practitioners and technical (89) **Surgical technologists score 15**, 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 $64,650 a year, May 2025 People employed 117,460 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs +5.0% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Check AI-drafted procedure records in MEDITECH EMR software - Reconcile surgical supply orders in Microsoft Excel - Count sponges, needles, and instruments before and after operations - Reconcile instrument count records in database software - Hold the NBSTSA Certified Surgical Technologist (CST) credential - Maintain the sterile field and hand instruments during operations ## 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 surgical technologists and AI Will AI replace surgical technologists? Partly. About 2 in 10 working hours of a surgical technologist's time goes to tasks AI can already do, mostly maintaining procedure records and ordering surgical supplies. Scrubbing, positioning patients, and passing instruments stay with people because they need a person physically in the operating room. Which tasks is AI taking over for surgical technologists? Maintaining files and records of surgical procedures is the most exposed task, with an exposure score of 70, because procedure records are digital and easily drafted by AI tools. Ordering surgical supplies follows at 65 and can be automated with a person reviewing each order before it goes out. Which tasks stay human for surgical technologists? Scrubbing arms and hands, positioning patients under sterile drapes, and maintaining the sterile field stay with people. They score 3, 5, and 6 on exposure because each one needs a person physically present in the room, coordinating hands and body during surgery. How can surgical technologists stay valuable as AI takes on records? Shift toward checking the records AI drafts. Review procedure entries in MEDITECH or EMR software, reconcile supply orders in Microsoft Excel, and keep the hands-on count of sponges, needles, and instruments, which stays manual. Hold the NBSTSA CST credential to show you can do the physical work. ## Related jobs - [Cardiovascular technologists27 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/cardiovascular-technologists/) - [Endoscopy technicians19 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/endoscopy-technicians/) - [Medical equipment preparers25 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/medical-equipment-preparers/) - [Radiologic technologists29 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/radiologic-technologists/) ## Next steps for surgical 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.