AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 29-1171.00

Will AI replace Nurse Practitioners?

Nurse Practitioners: AI can already handle 5 of 27 tasks; the work mostly needs a frontier-tier model.

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Every task, scored

The 27 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Nurse Practitioners, from most to least exposed. 5 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.

Task AI exposure Evidence Model tier Importance
Counsel patients about drug regimens and possible side effects or interactions with other substances, such as food supplements, over-the-counter (OTC) medications, or herbal remedies. 86 Observed Standard 4.6
Order, perform, or interpret the results of diagnostic tests, such as complete blood counts (CBCs), electrocardiograms (EKGs), and radiographs (x-rays). 65 Estimated Standard 4.6
Recommend interventions to modify behavior associated with health risks. 65 Observed Frontier 4.5
Recommend diagnostic or therapeutic interventions with attention to safety, cost, invasiveness, simplicity, acceptability, adherence, and efficacy. 60 Estimated Frontier 4.7
Consult with, or refer patients to, appropriate specialists when conditions exceed the scope of practice or expertise. 60 Estimated Standard 4.5
Provide patients with information needed to promote health, reduce risk factors, or prevent disease or disability. 55 Estimated Standard 4.8
Detect and respond to adverse drug reactions, with special attention to vulnerable populations such as infants, children, pregnant and lactating women, or older adults. 55 Estimated Standard 4.7
Educate patients about self-management of acute or chronic illnesses, tailoring instructions to patients' individual circumstances. 55 Estimated Standard 4.6
Treat or refer patients for primary care conditions, such as headaches, hypertension, urinary tract infections, upper respiratory infections, and dermatological conditions. 55 Estimated Efficient 4.5
Advocate for accessible health care that minimizes environmental health risks. 55 Estimated Frontier 4.2
Perform primary care procedures such as suturing, splinting, administering immunizations, taking cultures, and debriding wounds. 55 Estimated Efficient 4.2
Keep abreast of regulatory processes and payer systems, such as Medicare, Medicaid, managed care, and private sources. 55 Estimated Standard 3.8
Maintain complete and detailed records of patients' health care plans and prognoses. 50 Estimated Efficient 4.9
Develop treatment plans, based on scientific rationale, standards of care, and professional practice guidelines. 50 Estimated Frontier 4.9
Read current literature, talk with colleagues, or participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in nursing. 50 Estimated Standard 4.5
Supervise or coordinate patient care or support staff activities. 50 Estimated Frontier 3.8
Analyze and interpret patients' histories, symptoms, physical findings, or diagnostic information to develop appropriate diagnoses. 40 Observed Efficient 4.8
Provide patients or caregivers with assistance in locating health care resources. 40 Observed Frontier 3.9
Maintain current knowledge of state legal regulations for nurse practitioner practice, including reimbursement of services. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.5
Maintain departmental policies and procedures in areas such as safety and infection control. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.4
Diagnose or treat complex, unstable, comorbid, episodic, or emergency conditions in collaboration with other health care providers as necessary. 10 Estimated No tier 4.8
Prescribe medication dosages, routes, and frequencies, based on such patient characteristics as age and gender. 10 Estimated No tier 4.8
Diagnose or treat chronic health care problems, such as high blood pressure and diabetes. 10 Estimated No tier 4.7
Prescribe medications based on efficacy, safety, and cost as legally authorized. 10 Estimated No tier 4.7
Diagnose or treat acute health care problems, such as illnesses, infections, or injuries. 10 Estimated No tier 4.7
Schedule follow-up visits to monitor patients or evaluate health or illness care. 10 Estimated No tier 4.5
Perform routine or annual physical examinations. 10 Estimated No tier 4.5

Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 4 of 27 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 23 of 27. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.

The model tier this role needs

A frontier-tier model or lower covers 73% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 73% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 27% is hands-on.

Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.

Wages, employment and outlook

US employment
323,040
Median annual wage
$132,300
Middle half of earners
$117,990 to $156,700
Projected change, 2024 to 2034
+40.1%

Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.

Adjacent roles

The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.

Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.

Questions about Nurse Practitioners and AI

Will AI replace Nurse Practitioners?

AI already handles 5 of the 27 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 41 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by +40.1% from 2024 to 2034.

What is the AI exposure of Nurse Practitioners?

41 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 4 of the 27 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 23 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.

Which Nurse Practitioners tasks can AI already do?

The tasks with the highest exposure are: Counsel patients about drug regimens and possible side effects or interactions with other substances, such as food supplements, over-the-counter (OTC) medications, or herbal remedies; Order, perform, or interpret the results of diagnostic tests, such as complete blood counts (CBCs), electrocardiograms (EKGs), and radiographs (x-rays); Recommend interventions to modify behavior associated with health risks. They are three of the 5 tasks that reach 60 or more.

What AI model tier does this role need?

A frontier-tier model or lower covers 73% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 27% is hands-on work that no model tier covers. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.

How many people work as Nurse Practitioners, and what do they earn?

323,040 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $132,300 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +40.1% from 2024 to 2034.

How to cite

Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.

JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Nurse Practitioners. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/nurse-practitioners

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