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AI exposure Healthcare practitioners and technical

Will AI replace opticians?

Opticians, Dispensing. US occupation 29-2081.

0.0%

of the time opticians spend on their work goes on tasks where AI is already being used to do that work.of opticians' 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 opticiansWhat opticians no longer do alone

O*NET lists 21 tasks for opticians. None of them shows meaningful AI use at work yet.

What it does not touch, yetWhat still needs a human

21 of the 21 tasks show no AI use at work in the data.

  • Arrange and maintain displays of optical merchandise.Core task
  • Assemble eyeglasses by cutting and edging lenses, and fitting the lenses into frames.Core task
  • Assist clients in selecting frames according to style and color, and ensure that frames are coordinated with facial and eye measurements and optical prescriptions.Core task
  • Determine clients' current lens prescriptions, when necessary, using lensometers or lens analyzers and clients' eyeglasses.Core task
  • Evaluate prescriptions in conjunction with clients' vocational and avocational visual requirements.Core task
  • Fabricate lenses to meet prescription specifications.Core task
Show the other 15
  • Grind lens edges, or apply coatings to lenses.Core task
  • Heat, shape, or bend plastic or metal frames to adjust eyeglasses to fit clients, using pliers and hands.Core task
  • Instruct clients in how to wear and care for eyeglasses.Core task
  • Maintain records of customer prescriptions, work orders, and payments.Core task
  • Measure clients' bridge and eye size, temple length, vertex distance, pupillary distance, and optical centers of eyes, using measuring devices.Core task
  • Obtain a customer's previous record, or verify a prescription with the examining optometrist or ophthalmologist.Core task
  • Order and purchase frames and lenses.Core task
  • Perform administrative duties, such as tracking inventory and sales, submitting patient insurance information, and performing simple bookkeeping.Core task
  • Prepare work orders and instructions for grinding lenses and fabricating eyeglasses.Core task
  • Recommend specific lenses, lens coatings, and frames to suit client needs.Core task
  • Repair damaged frames.Core task
  • Sell goods such as contact lenses, spectacles, sunglasses, and goods related to eyes, in general.Core task
  • Show customers how to insert, remove, and care for their contact lenses.Core task
  • Supervise the training of student opticians.Core task
  • Verify that finished lenses are ground to specifications.Core task

How that compares

Among the 65 healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, opticians rank 44. 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

Level with 0.0%

  1. 346Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians 0.0%
  2. 346Ophthalmic Medical Technicians 0.0%
  3. 346Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric 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.