AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 31-2011.00

Will AI replace Occupational Therapy Assistants?

Occupational Therapy Assistants: AI can already handle 2 of 22 tasks; the work mostly needs a standard-tier model.

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Every task, scored

The 22 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Occupational Therapy Assistants, from most to least exposed. 2 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.

Task AI exposure Evidence Model tier Importance
Evaluate the daily living skills or capacities of clients with physical, developmental, or mental health disabilities. 65 Estimated Standard 4.6
Attend care plan meetings to review patient progress and update care plans. 65 Estimated Standard 4.3
Implement, or assist occupational therapists with implementing, treatment plans designed to help clients function independently. 50 Estimated Efficient 4.8
Work under the direction of occupational therapists to plan, implement, or administer educational, vocational, or recreational programs that restore or enhance performance in individuals with functional impairments. 50 Estimated Efficient 4.6
Design, fabricate, or repair assistive devices or make adaptive changes to equipment or environments. 50 Estimated Efficient 4.4
Teach patients how to deal constructively with their emotions. 35 Estimated Efficient 4.2
Instruct, or assist in instructing, patients and families in home programs, basic living skills, or the care and use of adaptive equipment. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.8
Report to supervisors, verbally or in writing, on patients' progress, attitudes, and behavior. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.8
Select therapy activities to fit patients' needs and capabilities. 30 Estimated Standard 4.7
Attend continuing education classes. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.7
Aid patients in dressing and grooming themselves. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.7
Communicate and collaborate with other healthcare professionals involved with the care of a patient. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.6
Alter treatment programs to obtain better results if treatment is not having the intended effect. 30 Estimated Standard 4.5
Transport patients to and from the occupational therapy work area. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.4
Demonstrate therapy techniques, such as manual or creative arts or games. 30 Estimated Efficient 4.2
Order any needed educational or treatment supplies. 30 Estimated Standard 4.0
Perform clerical duties, such as scheduling appointments, collecting data, or documenting health insurance billings. 30 Estimated Efficient 3.8
Assist educational specialists or clinical psychologists in administering situational or diagnostic tests to measure client's abilities or progress. 30 Estimated Efficient 3.7
Maintain and promote a positive attitude toward clients and their treatment programs. 20 Estimated Frontier 4.8
Observe and record patients' progress, attitudes, and behavior and maintain this information in client records. 20 Estimated Standard 4.7
Assemble, clean, or maintain equipment or materials for patient use. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.5
Monitor patients' performance in therapy activities, providing encouragement. 10 Estimated No tier 4.8

Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 22 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 22 of 22. 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 standard-tier model or lower covers 90% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 95% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 5% 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
51,290
Median annual wage
$72,300
Middle half of earners
$61,710 to $79,160
Projected change, 2024 to 2034
+19.2%

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 Occupational Therapy Assistants and AI

Will AI replace Occupational Therapy Assistants?

AI already handles 2 of the 22 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 34 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 +19.2% from 2024 to 2034.

What is the AI exposure of Occupational Therapy Assistants?

34 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 22 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 22 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.

Which Occupational Therapy Assistants tasks can AI already do?

The tasks with the highest exposure are: Evaluate the daily living skills or capacities of clients with physical, developmental, or mental health disabilities; Attend care plan meetings to review patient progress and update care plans. They are the tasks that reach 60 or more.

What AI model tier does this role need?

A standard-tier model or lower covers 90% 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 Therapy Assistants, and what do they earn?

51,290 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $72,300 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +19.2% 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 Therapy Assistants. 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-therapy-assistants

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