AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 29-1071.00
Will AI replace Physician Assistants?
Physician Assistants: AI can already handle 1 of 12 tasks; the work mostly needs a frontier-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 12 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Physician Assistants, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interpret diagnostic test results for deviations from normal. | Observed | Standard | |
| Administer or order diagnostic tests, such as x-ray, electrocardiogram, and laboratory tests. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Perform therapeutic procedures, such as injections, immunizations, suturing and wound care, and infection management. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Visit and observe patients on hospital rounds or house calls, updating charts, ordering therapy, and reporting back to physician. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Provide physicians with assistance during surgery or complicated medical procedures. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Order medical and laboratory supplies and equipment. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Supervise and coordinate activities of technicians and technical assistants. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Make tentative diagnoses and decisions about management and treatment of patients. | Observed | Frontier | |
| Instruct and counsel patients about prescribed therapeutic regimens, normal growth and development, family planning, emotional problems of daily living, and health maintenance. | Observed | Standard | |
| Examine patients to obtain information about their physical condition. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Obtain, compile, and record patient medical data, including health history, progress notes, and results of physical examination. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Prescribe therapy or medication with physician approval. | Estimated | No tier |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 3 of 12 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 9 of 12. 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
- 162,150
- Median annual wage
- $135,880
- Middle half of earners
- $120,670 to $163,980
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +20.4%
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.
- Physical Therapist Assistants 71% skill overlap, about 10 months to move Exposure35
- Anesthesiologist Assistants 70% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure35
- Medical Assistants 66% skill overlap, about 12 months to move Exposure31
- Nurse Practitioners 64% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure41
- Family Medicine Physicians 62% skill overlap, about 14 months to move Exposure35
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Physician Assistants and AI
Will AI replace Physician Assistants?
AI already handles 1 of the 12 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 +20.4% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Physician Assistants?
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. 3 of the 12 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 9 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Physician Assistants tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Interpret diagnostic test results for deviations from normal. It is the only task 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 Physician Assistants, and what do they earn?
162,150 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $135,880 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +20.4% 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: Physician 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/physician-assistants
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