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AI exposure Healthcare practitioners and technical

Will AI replace acupuncturists?

Acupuncturists. US occupation 29-1291.

0.0%

of the time acupuncturists spend on their work goes on tasks where AI is already being used to do that work.of acupuncturists' working hours go on tasks AI has already started taking off their plate.

Ranked 346 of 756 US occupations. No AI use seen in the work yet, along with 410 other occupations.No handover started yet, along with 410 other occupations.

Average US job 7.7%

Among the least exposed jobs there are.Still waiting for liberation.

What AI already does for acupuncturistsWhat acupuncturists no longer do alone

O*NET lists 18 tasks for acupuncturists. AI use at work shows up in 1 of them, though too little of the job's time goes on them to register in the exposure figure. Each score runs from 0.5, where every observed use helps a person with the task, to 1, where every use does the task outright.

  1. Collect medical histories and general health and lifestyle information from patients.Core task automated and assisted 0.72

What it does not touch, yetWhat still needs a human

17 of the 18 tasks show no AI use at work in the data.

  • Adhere to local, state, and federal laws, regulations, and statutes.Core task
  • Analyze physical findings and medical histories to make diagnoses according to Oriental medicine traditions.Core task
  • Apply heat or cold therapy to patients using materials, such as heat pads, hydrocollator packs, warm compresses, cold compresses, heat lamps, or vapor coolants.Core task
  • Apply moxibustion directly or indirectly to patients using Chinese, non-scarring, stick, or pole moxa.Core task
  • Assess patients' general physical appearance to make diagnoses.Core task
  • Consider Western medical procedures in health assessment, health care team communication, and care referrals.Core task
Show the other 11
  • Develop individual treatment plans and strategies.Core task
  • Dispense herbal formulas and inform patients of dosages and frequencies, treatment duration, possible side effects, and drug interactions.Core task
  • Educate patients on topics, such as meditation, ergonomics, stretching, exercise, nutrition, the healing process, breathing, or relaxation techniques.Core task
  • Evaluate treatment outcomes and recommend new or altered treatments as necessary to further promote, restore, or maintain health.Core task
  • Formulate herbal preparations to treat conditions considering herbal properties, such as taste, toxicity, effects of preparation, contraindications, and incompatibilities.Core task
  • Identify correct anatomical and proportional point locations based on patients' anatomy and positions, contraindications, and precautions related to treatments, such as intradermal needles, moxibustion, electricity, guasha, or bleeding.Core task
  • Insert needles to provide acupuncture treatment.Core task
  • Maintain and follow standard quality, safety, environmental, and infection control policies and procedures.Core task
  • Maintain detailed and complete records of health care plans and prognoses.Core task
  • Treat medical conditions, using techniques such as acupressure, shiatsu, or tuina.Core task
  • Treat patients using tools, such as needles, cups, ear balls, seeds, pellets, or nutritional supplements.Core task

How that compares

Among the 65 healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, acupuncturists rank 26. The group averages 4.1%, and its most exposed job is Medical Records Specialists at 66.7%. The average US occupation sits at 7.7%.

All 756 occupations, ranked

Just above in the ranking

  1. 343Agricultural Technicians 0.6%
  2. 343Special Education Teachers, Preschool 0.6%
  3. 345Surveyors 0.2%

What this does and does not mean

Exposure is observed use, not a forecast. Anthropic maps work conversations with Claude onto the tasks O*NET lists for each job and asks, of the tasks AI could speed up, which are actually being used for at work. A use that does the task outright counts in full and a use that assists a person counts half. The task scores are averaged into the occupation figure by the share of time spent on each task.

A high figure means AI is already part of how this work gets done. It does not mean anyone has been replaced. Anthropic's own reading of the labour market finds no systematic rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting exposed jobs.No measurable rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting these jobs. Gap years for everyone. Labor market impacts, 5 March 2026.

Task list and titles from O*NET 31.0 by the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Scores from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY). Checked 1 November 2026. How the ranking works.