---
title: "Will AI Replace Animal Caretakers? (2026)"
description: "BLS rates animal caretakers' exposure to AI as moderate. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (+12.1% projected)."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-animal-caretakers"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Animal Caretakers? (2026)

**Short answer:** Unlikely. BLS rates the work's exposure to AI as moderate, below the middle of the pack, and still projects employment to grow faster than average.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places animal caretakers in its moderate AI exposure category, below the middle of the pack: some of the work overlaps with what AI can do, much of it does not. BLS projects employment to change by +12.1% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 62,800 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Moderate | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 56/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | +12.1% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 62,800 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $35,360 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |

## Exposure categories

| BLS category | Occupations |
| --- | --- |
| Low | 203 |
| Moderate (this job) | 194 |
| High | 190 |
| Very high | 199 |

Exposure means AI could be or has been used to assist with or complete some of the work. BLS says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. Method: https://www.bls.gov/emp/publications/ai-exposure-categories.htm

## What holds up

- Face-to-face discussions: 4.9/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Performing general physical activities: 4.2/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Handling and moving objects: 3.9/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Working outdoors in all weather: 4.0/5 (O\*NET work context)

## What AI reaches first

- Getting information: 4.4/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Documenting/recording information: 3.6/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Processing information: 3.5/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Communicating with supervisors, peers, or subordinates: 4.2/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## O\*NET tasks

- Respond to questions from patrons, and provide information about animals, such as behavior, habitat, breeding habits, or facility activities.
- Examine and observe animals to detect signs of illness, disease, or injury.
- Do facility laundry and clean, organize, maintain, and disinfect animal quarters, such as pens and stables, and equipment, such as saddles and bridles.
- Feed and water animals according to schedules and feeding instructions.
- Provide treatment to sick or injured animals, or contact veterinarians to secure treatment.
- Perform animal grooming duties, such as washing, brushing, clipping, and trimming coats, cutting nails, and cleaning ears.

## Related careers less exposed to AI than animal caretakers

- [Animal Trainer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/animal-trainer): BLS exposure Low, median $39,990
- [Shampooer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/shampooer): BLS exposure Low, median $32,600

## FAQ

**Will AI replace animal caretakers?**

Unlikely. BLS rates the work's exposure to AI as moderate, below the middle of the pack, and still projects employment to grow faster than average. BLS defines exposure as AI being able to assist with or complete some of the work, and says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains or wage effects. BLS projects employment to change by +12.1% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 62,800 openings a year.

**How exposed are animal caretakers to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Animal Caretakers are in the moderate category, alongside 193 other occupations. The categories combine five public measures of where AI could be or already is used, and they compare occupations with each other rather than giving an absolute risk.

**What parts of an animal caretaker's job can AI do?**

In O\*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are getting information, documenting/recording information and processing information. The parts that hold up best are face-to-face discussions, performing general physical activities and handling and moving objects. These come from O\*NET ratings of how important each activity is to the job, read through NueCareer's AI-resilience method.

**Is being an animal caretaker a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, animal caretakers score 56 out of 100, higher than 75% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $35,360 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No job is fully safe from technological change, but the federal exposure category and the projected openings are the two numbers worth weighing.

**What careers similar to animal caretakers are less exposed to AI?**

Animal Trainer (low exposure, $39,990 median), Shampooer (low exposure, $32,600 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than animal caretakers, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/animal-caretaker.

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology