---
title: "Will AI Replace Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists?"
description: "BLS rates medical and clinical laboratory technologists' exposure to AI as moderate. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-medical-and-clinical-laboratory-technologists"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists? (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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places medical and clinical laboratory technologists 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 +2.7% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 20,800 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Moderate | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 40/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | +2.7% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 20,800 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $62,930 | 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: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials: 4.8/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Repairing and maintaining mechanical equipment: 3.7/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Training and teaching others: 4.2/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## What AI reaches first

- Processing information: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Documenting/recording information: 4.5/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Repeating the same tasks: 4.4/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Evaluating information to determine compliance with standards: 4.8/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## O\*NET tasks

- Analyze laboratory findings to check the accuracy of the results.
- Set up, clean, and maintain laboratory equipment.
- Enter data from analysis of medical tests or clinical results into computer for storage.
- Analyze samples of biological material for chemical content or reaction.
- Provide technical information about test results to physicians, family members, or researchers.
- Collect and study blood samples to determine the number of cells, their morphology, or their blood group, blood type, or compatibility for transfusion purposes, using microscopic techniques.

## Related careers less exposed to AI than medical and clinical laboratory technologists

- [Surgical Technologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/surgical-technologist): BLS exposure Low, median $64,650; [Will AI replace surgical technologists?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-surgical-technologists)
- [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)
- [Dental Hygienist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/dental-hygienist): BLS exposure Low, median $98,100; [Will AI replace dental hygienists?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-dental-hygienists)
- [Phlebotomist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/phlebotomist): BLS exposure Low, median $45,230; [Will AI replace phlebotomists?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-phlebotomists)
- [Licensed Practical Nurse](https://nuecareer.com/careers/licensed-practical-nurse): BLS exposure Low, median $64,400; [Will AI replace licensed practical nurses?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-licensed-practical-nurses)
- [Physician Assistant](https://nuecareer.com/careers/physician-assistant): BLS exposure Low, median $135,880; [Will AI replace physician assistants?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-physician-assistants)

## FAQ

**Will AI replace medical and clinical laboratory technologists?**

Unlikely. BLS rates the work's exposure to AI as moderate, below the middle of the pack, and still projects employment to grow. 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 +2.7% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 20,800 openings a year.

**How exposed are medical and clinical laboratory technologists to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists 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 a medical and clinical laboratory technologist's job can AI do?**

In O\*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are processing information, documenting/recording information and repeating the same tasks. The parts that hold up best are face-to-face discussions, inspecting equipment, structures, or materials and repairing and maintaining mechanical equipment. 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 medical and clinical laboratory technologist a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, medical and clinical laboratory technologists score 40 out of 100, higher than 40% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $62,930 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 medical and clinical laboratory technologists are less exposed to AI?**

Surgical Technologist (low exposure, $64,650 median), Respiratory Therapist (low exposure, $82,280 median), Dental Hygienist (low exposure, $98,100 median), Phlebotomist (low exposure, $45,230 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than medical and clinical laboratory technologists, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/medical-and-clinical-laboratory-technologist.

---

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