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AI exposure Healthcare practitioners and technical

Will AI replace physical therapists?

Physical Therapists. US occupation 29-1123.

1.7%

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

Ranked 328 of 756 US occupations. More exposed than 56% of them.Further along than 56% of them.

Average US job 7.7%

Around the middle of the pack.Keeping pace with the average job.

What AI already does for physical therapistsWhat physical therapists no longer do alone

O*NET lists 24 tasks for physical therapists. AI use at work shows up in 1 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.

  1. Provide educational information about physical therapy or physical therapists, injury prevention, ergonomics, or ways to promote health.Core task automated and assisted 0.85

What it does not touch, yetWhat still needs a human

23 of the 24 tasks show no AI use at work in the data.

  • Administer manual exercises, massage, or traction to help relieve pain, increase patient strength, or decrease or prevent deformity or crippling.Core task
  • Administer treatment involving application of physical agents, using equipment, moist packs, ultraviolet or infrared lamps, or ultrasound machines.Core task
  • Conduct or support research and apply research findings to practice.Core task
  • Confer with the patient, medical practitioners, or appropriate others to plan, implement, or assess the intervention program.Core task
  • Construct, maintain, or repair medical supportive devices.Core task
  • Direct, supervise, assess, and communicate with supportive personnel.Core task
Show the other 17
  • Discharge patient from physical therapy when goals or projected outcomes have been attained and provide for appropriate follow-up care or referrals.Core task
  • Evaluate effects of treatment at various stages and adjust treatments to achieve maximum benefit.Core task
  • Evaluate, fit, or adjust prosthetic or orthotic devices or recommend modification to orthotist.Core task
  • Identify and document goals, anticipated progress, and plans for reevaluation.Core task
  • Inform patients and refer to appropriate practitioners when diagnosis reveals findings outside physical therapy.Core task
  • Instruct patient and family in treatment procedures to be continued at home.Core task
  • Obtain patients' informed consent to proposed interventions.Core task
  • Participate in community or community agency activities or help to formulate public policy.Core task
  • Perform and document an initial exam, evaluating data to identify problems and determine a diagnosis prior to intervention.Core task
  • Plan, prepare, or carry out individually designed programs of physical treatment to maintain, improve, or restore physical functioning, alleviate pain, or prevent physical dysfunction in patients.Core task
  • Provide information to the patient about the proposed intervention, its material risks and expected benefits, and any reasonable alternatives.Core task
  • Record prognosis, treatment, response, and progress in patient's chart or enter information into computer.Core task
  • Refer clients to community resources or services.Core task
  • Review physician's referral and patient's medical records to help determine diagnosis and physical therapy treatment required.Core task
  • Teach physical therapy students or those in other health professions.Core task
  • Test and measure patient's strength, motor development and function, sensory perception, functional capacity, or respiratory or circulatory efficiency and record data.Core task
  • Direct group rehabilitation activities.

How that compares

Among the 65 healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, physical therapists rank 23. 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. 326Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers 1.8%
  2. 328Audio and Video Technicians 1.7%
  3. 328Cargo and Freight Agents 1.7%

Just below

  1. 331Roofers 1.6%
  2. 332Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 1.5%
  3. 333Industrial Production Managers 1.3%

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.