Will AI replace licensed practical nurses?

Part of the work, not the whole job. AI could take on about 16% of the working time in a typical licensed practical nurse job today. The other 84% still needs a person.

Licensed practical nurse at work

84% of the work still needs a person.

Needs a person: 84%A person checking AI: 7%AI alone: 9%

The bracket under the bar is the evidence range for the share AI could take on: 11 to 16%. One end comes from how well AI did each responsibility in real use, or a second rating where that isn't measured. The other is our figure, which also follows research across the industry.

22 responsibilities in a typical licensed practical nurse job. Median pay $64,400 a year in the U.S. (BLS, May 2025).

Still needs a person

  • Watch for changes in patients
  • Assess, plan and give patient care
  • Provide hands-on patient treatments
  • Care for patients in their homes
  • Take and record vital signs
  • Give medications and IV fluids

AI can do or help with

  • Review care results with the team AI helps
  • Track patient food and fluid intake AI helps
  • Handle scheduling and clinic paperwork AI can do it
  • Track and reorder medical supplies AI helps

The biggest responsibilities on each side, ranked by a person's time on the left. "AI helps" means AI takes on part of the work, or most of it with a person checking what it produces, so one can show on both sides. See all 22, with the reason for each and the cost of handing them to AI.

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Questions people ask

Will AI replace licensed practical nurses?

Part of the work, not the whole job. AI could take on about 16% of the working time in a typical licensed practical nurse job today. The other 84% still needs a person. That is a split of the work, not a forecast of jobs lost.

Which parts of the job can AI do?

The biggest ones AI can do or help with: review care results with the team, track patient food and fluid intake, handle scheduling and clinic paperwork, track and reorder medical supplies.

Which parts still need a person?

The biggest ones: watch for changes in patients, assess, plan and give patient care, provide hands-on patient treatments, care for patients in their homes, take and record vital signs, give medications and IV fluids.

How is this measured?

The U.S. Department of Labor lists 22 responsibilities for this job (O*NET 31.0). Each is scored on 4 questions: can AI do it, does it get it right, must a person sign for it, and do people need to deal with a real person. The split is weighted by how much of the job each responsibility takes up. The evidence range for the share AI could take on is 11 to 16%. One end comes from how well AI did each responsibility in real use, or a second rating where that isn't measured. The other is our figure, which also follows research across the industry. Scores version 0.8.8, updated November 13, 2026.

Responsibilities from O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor). Pay from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025. Scores are calibrated to published research and updated every month. How it works.

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