AI exposure Personal care and service
Will AI replace manicurists and pedicurists?
Manicurists and Pedicurists. US occupation 39-5092.
The reading
0.0%
of the time manicurists and pedicurists spend on their work goes on tasks where AI is already being used to do that work.of manicurists and pedicurists' 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.
Per cent of working time Square-law scale
Average US job 7.7%
Among the least exposed jobs there are.Still waiting for liberation.
What AI already does for manicurists and pedicuristsWhat manicurists and pedicurists no longer do alone
O*NET lists 18 tasks for manicurists and pedicurists. 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.
- Schedule client appointments and accept payments.Core task mostly automated 1.00
What it does not touch, yetWhat still needs a human
17 of the 18 tasks show no AI use at work in the data.
- Advise clients on nail care and use of products and colors.Core task
- Apply undercoat and clear or colored polish onto nails with brush.Core task
- Assess the condition of clients' hands, remove dead skin, and massage hands.Core task
- Clean and sanitize tools and work environment.Core task
- Decorate clients' nails by piercing or attaching ornaments or designs.Core task
- Extend nails using powder, solvent, and paper forms attached to tips of customers' fingers to support and shape artificial nails.Core task
Show the other 11
- Maintain supply inventories and records of client services.Core task
- Polish nails, using powdered polish and buffer.Core task
- Prepare customers' nails in soapy water, using swabs, files, and orange sticks.Core task
- Prepare nail cuticles with water and oil, using cuticle knives to push back cuticles and scissors or nippers to trim cuticles.Core task
- Promote and sell nail care products.Core task
- Remove previously applied nail polish, using liquid remover and swabs.Core task
- Roughen surfaces of fingernails, using abrasive wheel.Core task
- Shape and smooth ends of nails, using scissors, files, or emery boards.Core task
- Treat nails to repair or improve strength and resilience by wrapping.Core task
- Use rotary abrasive wheels to shape and smooth nails or artificial extensions.Core task
- Whiten underside of nails with white paste or pencils.Core task
How that compares
Among the 27 personal care and service occupations, manicurists and pedicurists rank 21. The group averages 1.9%, and its most exposed job is Concierges at 18.8%. The average US occupation sits at 7.7%.
Level with 0.0%
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.