AI exposure Healthcare support
Will AI replace pharmacy aides?
Pharmacy Aides. US occupation 31-9095.
The reading
2.2%
of the time pharmacy aides spend on their work goes on tasks where AI is already being used to do that work.of pharmacy aides' working hours go on tasks AI has already started taking off their plate.
Ranked 315 of 756 US occupations. More exposed than 57% of them.Further along than 57% of them.
Per cent of working time Square-law scale
Average US job 7.7%
Around the middle of the pack.Keeping pace with the average job.
What AI already does for pharmacy aidesWhat pharmacy aides no longer do alone
O*NET lists 17 tasks for pharmacy aides. AI use at work shows up in 2 of them. 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.
- Provide customers with information about the uses, effects, or interactions of drugs.Core task automated and assisted 0.85
- Perform clerical tasks, such as filing, compiling and maintaining prescription records, or composing letters.Core task automated and assisted 0.72
What it does not touch, yetWhat still needs a human
15 of the 17 tasks show no AI use at work in the data.
- Accept prescriptions for filling, gathering and processing necessary information.Core task
- Answer telephone inquiries, referring callers to pharmacist when necessary.Core task
- Calculate anticipated drug usage for a prescribed period.Core task
- Compound, package, and label pharmaceutical products, under direction of pharmacist.Core task
- Deliver medication to treatment areas, living units, residences, or clinics, using various means of transportation.Core task
- Greet customers and help them locate merchandise.Core task
Show the other 9
- Maintain and clean equipment, work areas, or shelves.Core task
- Operate capsule or tablet counting machine that automatically distributes a certain number of capsules or tablets into smaller containers.Core task
- Operate cash register to process cash or credit sales.Core task
- Prepare prescription labels by typing or operating a computer and printer.Core task
- Prepare, maintain, and record records of inventories, receipts, purchases, or deliveries, using a variety of computer screen formats.Core task
- Process medical insurance claims, posting bill amounts and calculating copayments.Core task
- Receive, store, and inventory pharmaceutical supplies or medications, check for out-of-date medications, and notify pharmacist when inventory levels are low.Core task
- Restock storage areas, replenishing items on shelves.Core task
- Unpack, sort, count, and label incoming merchandise, including items requiring special handling or refrigeration.Core task
How that compares
Among the 16 healthcare support occupations, pharmacy aides rank 4. The group averages 4.9%, and its most exposed job is Medical Transcriptionists at 63.7%. The average US occupation sits at 7.7%.
Level with 2.2%
- 315Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators 2.2%
- 315Forest and Conservation Technicians 2.2%
- 315Healthcare Diagnosing or Treating Practitioners, All Other 2.2%
Just below
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.