AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 29-1131.00
Will AI replace Veterinarians?
Veterinarians: AI can already handle 1 of 21 tasks; the work mostly needs a standard-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 21 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Veterinarians, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operate diagnostic equipment, such as radiographic or ultrasound equipment, and interpret the resulting images. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Plan or execute animal nutrition or reproduction programs. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Advise animal owners regarding sanitary measures, feeding, general care, medical conditions, or treatment options. | Observed | Frontier | |
| Train or supervise workers who handle or care for animals. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Treat sick or injured animals by prescribing medication, setting bones, dressing wounds, or performing surgery. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Inoculate animals against various diseases, such as rabies or distemper. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Examine animals to detect and determine the nature of diseases or injuries. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Collect body tissue, feces, blood, urine, or other body fluids for examination and analysis. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Educate the public about diseases that can be spread from animals to humans. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Counsel clients about the deaths of their pets or about euthanasia decisions for their pets. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Specialize in a particular type of treatment, such as dentistry, pathology, nutrition, surgery, microbiology, or internal medicine. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Direct the overall operations of animal hospitals, clinics, or mobile services to farms. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Euthanize animals. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Attend lectures, conferences, or continuing education courses. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Establish or conduct quarantine or testing procedures that prevent the spread of diseases to other animals or to humans and that comply with applicable government regulations. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Research diseases to which animals could be susceptible. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Determine the effects of drug therapies, antibiotics, or new surgical techniques by testing them on animals. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Conduct postmortem studies and analyses to determine the causes of animals' deaths. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Inspect and test horses, sheep, poultry, or other animals to detect the presence of communicable diseases. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Perform administrative or business management tasks, such as scheduling appointments, accepting payments from clients, budgeting, or maintaining business records. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Provide care to a wide range of animals or specialize in a particular species, such as horses or exotic birds. | 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
A standard-tier model or lower covers 87% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 96% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 4% 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
- 83,900
- Median annual wage
- $130,100
- Middle half of earners
- $101,460 to $166,120
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +9.6%
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.
- Veterinary Technologists and Technicians 77% skill overlap, about 8 months to move Exposure50
- Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers 74% skill overlap, about 9 months to move Exposure32
- Animal Scientists 66% skill overlap, about 12 months to move Exposure67
- Animal Caretakers 65% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure48
- Dermatologists 62% skill overlap, about 14 months to move Exposure39
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Veterinarians and AI
Will AI replace Veterinarians?
AI already handles 1 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 32 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 +9.6% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Veterinarians?
32 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 Veterinarians tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Operate diagnostic equipment, such as radiographic or ultrasound equipment, and interpret the resulting images. 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 87% 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 Veterinarians, and what do they earn?
83,900 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $130,100 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +9.6% 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: Veterinarians. 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/veterinarians
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