---
title: "Will AI Replace Massage Therapists? (2026)"
description: "BLS rates massage therapists' exposure to AI as low. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (+15.3% projected)."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-massage-therapists"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Massage Therapists? (2026)

**Short answer:** Very unlikely. BLS rates massage therapists among the occupations least exposed to AI, and most of the work is the kind current AI tools cannot do.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places massage therapists in its low AI exposure category, among the occupations least exposed to current AI. BLS projects employment to change by +15.3% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 20,400 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Low | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 49/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | +15.3% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 20,400 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $58,450 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |

## Exposure categories

| BLS category | Occupations |
| --- | --- |
| Low (this job) | 203 |
| Moderate | 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

- Performing general physical activities: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Assisting and caring for others: 4.4/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Face-to-face discussions: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Hands-on work with tools and objects: 4.0/5 (O\*NET work context)

## What AI reaches first

- Repetitive motions: 4.4/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Documenting/recording information: 3.6/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Getting information: 4.3/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Repeating the same tasks: 3.6/5 (O\*NET work context)

## O\*NET tasks

- Apply finger and hand pressure to specific points of the body.
- Confer with clients about their medical histories and problems with stress or pain to determine how massage will be most helpful.
- Maintain massage areas by restocking supplies or sanitizing equipment.
- Treat clients in professional settings or travel to clients' offices and homes.
- Maintain treatment records.
- Assess clients' soft tissue condition, joint quality and function, muscle strength, and range of motion.

## Related careers that are also low-exposure

- [Physical Therapist Assistant](https://nuecareer.com/careers/physical-therapist-assistant): BLS exposure Low, median $68,380; [Will AI replace physical therapist assistants?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-physical-therapist-assistants)
- [Respiratory Therapist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/respiratory-therapist): BLS exposure Low, median $82,280; [Will AI replace respiratory therapists?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-respiratory-therapists)
- [Physical Therapist Aide](https://nuecareer.com/careers/physical-therapist-aide): BLS exposure Low, median $35,240
- [Dental Assistant](https://nuecareer.com/careers/dental-assistant): BLS exposure Low, median $48,070; [Will AI replace dental assistants?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-dental-assistants)
- [Medical Equipment Preparer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/medical-equipment-preparer): BLS exposure Low, median $47,700

## FAQ

**Will AI replace massage therapists?**

Very unlikely. BLS rates massage therapists among the occupations least exposed to AI, and most of the work is the kind current AI tools cannot do. 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 +15.3% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 20,400 openings a year.

**How exposed are massage therapists to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Massage Therapists are in the low category, alongside 202 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 a massage therapist's job can AI do?**

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

**Is being a massage therapist a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, massage therapists score 49 out of 100, higher than 59% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $58,450 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 massage therapists are less exposed to AI?**

Physical Therapist Assistant (low exposure, $68,380 median), Respiratory Therapist (low exposure, $82,280 median), Physical Therapist Aide (low exposure, $35,240 median), Dental Assistant (low exposure, $48,070 median). Each is also in the low category, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/massage-therapist.

---

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