AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 29-1122.00
Will AI replace Occupational Therapists?
Occupational Therapists: AI can already handle 5 of 17 tasks; the work mostly needs a frontier-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 17 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Occupational Therapists, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evaluate patients' progress and prepare reports that detail progress. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Test and evaluate patients' physical and mental abilities and analyze medical data to determine realistic rehabilitation goals for patients. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Consult with rehabilitation team to select activity programs or coordinate occupational therapy with other therapeutic activities. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Recommend changes in patients' work or living environments, consistent with their needs and capabilities. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Advise on health risks in the workplace or on health-related transition to retirement. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Select activities that will help individuals learn work and life-management skills within limits of their mental or physical capabilities. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Help clients improve decision making, abstract reasoning, memory, sequencing, coordination, and perceptual skills, using computer programs. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Conduct research in occupational therapy. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Provide patients with assistance in locating or holding jobs. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Plan, organize, and conduct occupational therapy programs in hospital, institutional, or community settings to help rehabilitate persons with disabilities because of illness, injury or psychological or developmental problems. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Plan and implement programs and social activities to help patients learn work or school skills and adjust to handicaps. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Design and create, or requisition, special supplies and equipment, such as splints, braces, and computer-aided adaptive equipment. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Develop and participate in health promotion programs, group activities, or discussions to promote client health, facilitate social adjustment, alleviate stress, and prevent physical or mental disability. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Train caregivers in providing for the needs of a patient during and after therapy. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Provide training and supervision in therapy techniques and objectives for students or nurses and other medical staff. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Complete and maintain necessary records. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Lay out materials such as puzzles, scissors and eating utensils for use in therapy, and clean and repair these tools after therapy sessions. | Estimated | Efficient |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 17 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 17 of 17. 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 100% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 100% of the work is something AI can address at some tier.
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
- 162,450
- Median annual wage
- $100,330
- Middle half of earners
- $82,510 to $116,670
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +13.8%
Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034. BLS publishes these figures by SOC code, so O*NET occupations that share a SOC code show the same figures.
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.
- Occupational Therapy Assistants 79% skill overlap, about 7 months to move Exposure34
- Physical Therapists 75% skill overlap, about 9 months to move Exposure63
- Occupational Therapy Aides 75% skill overlap, about 9 months to move Exposure31
- Recreational Therapists 71% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure47
- Art Therapists 68% skill overlap, about 12 months to move Exposure45
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Occupational Therapists and AI
Will AI replace Occupational Therapists?
AI already handles 5 of the 17 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 50 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 +13.8% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Occupational Therapists?
50 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. 0 of the 17 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 17 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Occupational Therapists tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Evaluate patients' progress and prepare reports that detail progress; Test and evaluate patients' physical and mental abilities and analyze medical data to determine realistic rehabilitation goals for patients; Consult with rehabilitation team to select activity programs or coordinate occupational therapy with other therapeutic activities. 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 100% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 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 Occupational Therapists, and what do they earn?
162,450 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $100,330 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +13.8% 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: Occupational Therapists. 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/occupational-therapists
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