AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 31-2021.00
Will AI replace Physical Therapist Assistants?
Physical Therapist Assistants: AI can already handle 2 of 21 tasks; the work mostly needs an efficient-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 21 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Physical Therapist 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Observe patients during treatments to compile and evaluate data on their responses and progress and provide results to physical therapist in person or through progress notes. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Confer with physical therapy staff or others to discuss and evaluate patient information for planning, modifying, or coordinating treatment. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Communicate with or instruct caregivers or family members on patient therapeutic activities or treatment plans. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Document patient information, such as notes on their progress. | Observed | Efficient | |
| Instruct, motivate, safeguard, and assist patients as they practice exercises or functional activities. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Train patients in the use of orthopedic braces, prostheses, or supportive devices. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Perform postural drainage, percussions, or vibrations or teach deep breathing exercises to treat respiratory conditions. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Instruct patients in proper body mechanics and in ways to improve functional mobility, such as aquatic exercise. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Secure patients into or onto therapy equipment. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Administer active or passive manual therapeutic exercises, therapeutic massage, aquatic physical therapy, or heat, light, sound, or electrical modality treatments, such as ultrasound. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Measure patients' range-of-joint motion, body parts, or vital signs to determine effects of treatments or for patient evaluations. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Monitor operation of equipment and record use of equipment and administration of treatment. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Prepare treatment areas and electrotherapy equipment for use by physiotherapists. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Administer traction to relieve neck or back pain, using intermittent or static traction equipment. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Assist patients to dress, undress, or put on and remove supportive devices, such as braces, splints, or slings. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Attend or conduct continuing education courses, seminars, or in-service activities. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Fit patients for orthopedic braces, prostheses, or supportive devices, such as crutches. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Perform clerical duties, such as taking inventory, ordering supplies, answering telephone, taking messages, or filling out forms. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Perform therapeutic wound care. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Clean work area and check and store equipment after treatment. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Transport patients to and from treatment areas, lifting and transferring them according to positioning requirements. | Estimated | No tier |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 1 of 21 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 20 of 21. 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
An efficient-tier model or lower covers 74% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 90% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 10% 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
- 112,430
- Median annual wage
- $68,380
- Middle half of earners
- $59,820 to $78,680
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +22.0%
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.
- Physical Therapist Aides 81% skill overlap, about 7 months to move Exposure36
- Physical Therapists 81% skill overlap, about 7 months to move Exposure63
- Occupational Therapy Assistants 77% skill overlap, about 8 months to move Exposure34
- Physician Assistants 71% skill overlap, about 10 months to move Exposure41
- Occupational Therapy Aides 65% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure31
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Physical Therapist Assistants and AI
Will AI replace Physical Therapist Assistants?
AI already handles 2 of the 21 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 35 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 +22.0% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Physical Therapist Assistants?
35 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. 1 of the 21 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 20 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Physical Therapist Assistants tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Observe patients during treatments to compile and evaluate data on their responses and progress and provide results to physical therapist in person or through progress notes; Confer with physical therapy staff or others to discuss and evaluate patient information for planning, modifying, or coordinating treatment. They are the tasks that reach 60 or more.
What AI model tier does this role need?
An efficient-tier model or lower covers 74% 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 Physical Therapist Assistants, and what do they earn?
112,430 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $68,380 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +22.0% 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: Physical Therapist 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/physical-therapist-assistants
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