Will AI replace occupational therapy assistants?

Part of the work, not the whole job. AI could take on about 20% of the working time in a typical occupational therapy assistant job today. The other 80% still needs a person.

80% of the work still needs a person.

Needs a person: 80%A person checking AI: 8%AI alone: 12%

The bracket under the bar is the evidence range for the share AI could take on: 14 to 20%. 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 occupational therapy assistant job. Median pay $72,300 a year in the U.S. (BLS, May 2025).

Still needs a person

  • Keep a positive attitude with clients
  • Carry out therapists' treatment plans
  • Monitor and encourage patients in therapy
  • Help patients with dressing and grooming
  • Teach patients and families home programs
  • Evaluate clients' daily living skills

AI can do or help with

  • Record patient progress and behavior AI helps
  • Report patient progress to supervisors AI helps
  • Handle scheduling and billing paperwork AI can do it
  • Order treatment and educational supplies AI can do it

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 occupational therapy assistants?

Part of the work, not the whole job. AI could take on about 20% of the working time in a typical occupational therapy assistant job today. The other 80% 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: record patient progress and behavior, report patient progress to supervisors, handle scheduling and billing paperwork, order treatment and educational supplies.

Which parts still need a person?

The biggest ones: keep a positive attitude with clients, carry out therapists' treatment plans, monitor and encourage patients in therapy, help patients with dressing and grooming, teach patients and families home programs, evaluate clients' daily living skills.

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 14 to 20%. 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 0.7.17, updated October 28, 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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