AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 29-1041.00
Will AI replace Optometrists?
Optometrists: AI can already handle 1 of 10 tasks; the work mostly needs a standard-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 10 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Optometrists, from most to least exposed. 1 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consult with and refer patients to ophthalmologist or other health care practitioner if additional medical treatment is determined necessary. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Educate and counsel patients on contact lens care, visual hygiene, lighting arrangements, and safety factors. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Remove foreign bodies from the eye. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Provide patients undergoing eye surgeries, such as cataract and laser vision correction, with pre- and post-operative care. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Provide vision therapy and low-vision rehabilitation. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Analyze test results and develop a treatment plan. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Examine eyes, using observation, instruments, and pharmaceutical agents, to determine visual acuity and perception, focus, and coordination and to diagnose diseases and other abnormalities, such as glaucoma or color blindness. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Prescribe, supply, fit and adjust eyeglasses, contact lenses, and other vision aids. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Prescribe medications to treat eye diseases if state laws permit. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Prescribe therapeutic procedures to correct or conserve vision. | Estimated | No tier |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 10 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 10 of 10. 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 48% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 59% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 41% 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
- 42,790
- Median annual wage
- $136,570
- Middle half of earners
- $109,400 to $165,120
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +8.0%
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.
- Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric 77% skill overlap, about 8 months to move Exposure46
- Orthoptists 75% skill overlap, about 9 months to move Exposure46
- Opticians, Dispensing 71% skill overlap, about 10 months to move Exposure61
- Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians 65% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure23
- Ophthalmic Medical Technicians 64% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure32
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Optometrists and AI
Will AI replace Optometrists?
AI already handles 1 of the 10 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 37 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 +8.0% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Optometrists?
37 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 10 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 10 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Optometrists tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Consult with and refer patients to ophthalmologist or other health care practitioner if additional medical treatment is determined necessary. It is the only task that reach 60 or more.
What AI model tier does this role need?
A standard-tier model or lower covers 48% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 41% 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 Optometrists, and what do they earn?
42,790 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $136,570 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +8.0% 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: Optometrists. 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/optometrists
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