# Will veterinary assistants be replaced by AI? Updated October 2026 Veterinary assistants score 27 of 100 for AI exposure. 63% of their task time still needs a person. AI can do 18% today and speed up another 19%. - **18%** AI can do it - **19%** AI helps - **63%** Needs a person Low exposure Lower than 67% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 28 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 5 of them today, speeds up 5 and leaves 18 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Perform accounting duties, such as bookkeeping, billing customers for services, or maintaining inventories. Billing, bookkeeping, and inventory tracking are routine software tasks. | 82% AI can do it | | Write reports, maintain research information, or perform clerical duties. Report writing and clerical records are highly suited to AI drafting. | 80% AI can do it | | Place orders to restock inventory of hospital or laboratory supplies. Automated reorder systems handle most restocking with light oversight. | 75% AI can do it | | Record information relating to animal genealogy, feeding schedules, appearance, behavior, or breeding. Record keeping is digital and easily drafted or dictated by AI. | 72% AI can do it | | Perform office reception duties, such as scheduling appointments or helping customers. Scheduling and client questions are largely handled by software now. | 70% AI can do it | ## How veterinary assistants compare All occupations (923) Healthcare support (19) **Veterinary assistants score 27**, 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 $38,150 a year, May 2025 People employed 126,580 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs +9.1% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Restrain and handle animals safely during veterinary procedures - Perform gavage and ear flushes under veterinary supervision - Groom and clip animal coats with clippers and scissors - Run IDEXX Cornerstone and AVImark for patient records - Prepare lab samples for technologist examination - Sterilize surgical instruments and monitor autoclave cycles ## Safer roles nearby 5 related occupations with lower scores. - [Veterinary technicians22 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/veterinary-technicians/) - [Paramedics19 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/paramedics/) - [Surgical assistants11 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/surgical-assistants/) - [Emergency medical technicians17 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/emergency-medical-technicians/) - [Nursing assistants16 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/nursing-assistants/) ## Questions about veterinary assistants and AI Will AI replace veterinary assistants? Partly. About 3 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly billing, bookkeeping, inventory tracking, and clerical report writing. Hands-on care stays with people, since restraining, grooming, and assisting with procedures on live animals needs a person in the room. Which tasks of veterinary assistants does AI take over? Billing and bookkeeping lead, with an exposure score of 82. Automated billing, inventory tracking, and reorder systems handle routine records and restocking with light oversight. Reception scheduling, with an exposure score of 70, is largely handled by software now, and feeding and breeding records, with a score of 72, are digital and easily drafted by AI. Which tasks of veterinary assistants stay human? Restraining animals, with an exposure score of 5, needs direct handling and presence. Invasive work such as gavage, catheterization, and ear flushes, scoring 4, needs skilled hands on live animals. Grooming and exercising animals, scoring 3, need physical presence and tool skill. Euthanasia assistance and carcass handling, scoring 4, stay with people because they are physical, emotional, and legally sensitive. How can veterinary assistants stay valuable? Learn IDEXX Cornerstone and AVImark well enough to run patient records, since software now handles much of the billing and scheduling. Get skilled at restraint and handling, and build competence in oral and topical medication under a veterinarian's supervision. Use Microsoft Excel to track supply levels so you can check automated reorders before stock runs short. Take on lab sample preparation for technologists. ## Related jobs - [Animal caretakers29 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/animal-caretakers/) - [Medical assistants32 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/medical-assistants/) - [Phlebotomists21 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/phlebotomists/) - [Licensed practical nurses22 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/licensed-practical-nurses/) ## Next steps for veterinary 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.