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AI and jobs

Will AI Replace Medical Assistants? (2026)

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places medical assistants 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 +12.9% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 109,700 openings a year.

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.

BLS AI exposure
ModerateBLS EP supplemental table
AI-resilience score
41/100Higher than 42% of jobs · NueCareer
Projected change
+12.9%BLS EP 2025–2035; all jobs 3.5%
Openings a year
109,700BLS EP 2025–2035

The federal measure

How exposed medical assistants are to AI

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a relative AI exposure category for each occupation it projects, built from five public measures of where AI could be, or already is, used to assist with or complete the work. Medical Assistants land in the moderate category: below the middle of the pack: some of the work overlaps with what AI can do, much of it does not.

Where this job sits on the BLS scale

786 occupations in the NueCareer bank, in BLS's four relative categories; width shows how many fall in each

  1. Low203 occupations · 26%
  2. Moderate · this job194 occupations · 25%
  3. High190 occupations · 24%
  4. Very high199 occupations · 25%

Source: BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories supplemental table.

  1. Exposure is relative. The categories rank occupations against each other; they are not a probability that a job is automated.
  2. BLS says exposure does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. A highly exposed job can still grow if AI makes the people in it more productive.
  3. The classification reflects AI capabilities as the underlying studies measured them. Read the BLS method and limitations.

Inside the work

What AI can and cannot do in this job

O*NET rates how important each work activity is to an occupation and how often each working condition comes up. The ratings below are the ones that move the job's NueCareer AI-resilience score the most: the ones that pull it up, and the ones that pull it down. Only ratings clearly above the midpoint count.

What holds up

Physical, hands-on and person-to-person work

  • Assisting and caring for others4.6/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Face-to-face discussions4.3/5
    O*NET work context, frequency or level
  • Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials4.4/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Performing for or working directly with the public3.6/5
    O*NET work activity, importance

What AI reaches first

Routine, repeatable and screen-based work

  • Documenting/recording information4.7/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Processing information4.5/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Working with computers4.7/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Getting information4.9/5
    O*NET work activity, importance

The tasks O*NET lists for medical assistants

  • Interview patients to obtain medical information and measure their vital signs, weight, and height.
  • Prepare treatment rooms for patient examinations, keeping the rooms neat and clean.
  • Show patients to examination rooms and prepare them for the physician.
  • Perform general office duties, such as answering telephones, taking dictation, or completing insurance forms.
  • Clean and sterilize instruments and dispose of contaminated supplies.
  • Record patients' medical history, vital statistics, or information such as test results in medical records.

O*NET 31.0 Database task statements, most important first.

The jobs

Will there still be jobs?

Exposure says where AI meets the work. The BLS projection says what the labor market is expected to do over 2025–2035. BLS projects +12.9% change in employment over the decade, against 3.5% across all occupations, and about 109,700 openings a year once retirements and career changes are counted. About 817,870 people work in the job today, at a median of $45,690 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Full medical assistant profile: pay by state, entry route and skills

Options

Related careers less exposed to AI than medical assistants

Careers O*NET lists as related to the work, or in the same field at similar pay, that BLS places in a lower exposure category.

  1. Surgical Assistant

    Healthcare Practitioners and Technical

    Median pay
    $66,800median a year
    Growth
    +6.1%
    Openings / yr
    1,400
    Education
    Certificate
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    63/100
    resilience

    Assist in operations, under the supervision of surgeons.

  2. Physical Therapist Aide

    Healthcare Support

    Median pay
    $35,240median a year
    Growth
    +4.0%
    Openings / yr
    6,400
    Education
    High school
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    55/100
    resilience

    Under close supervision of a physical therapist or physical therapy assistant, perform only delegated, selected, or routine tasks in specific situations.

  3. Dental Assistant

    Healthcare Support

    Median pay
    $48,070median a year
    Growth
    +7.4%
    Openings / yr
    53,000
    Education
    Certificate
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    53/100
    resilience

    Perform limited clinical duties under the direction of a dentist.

  4. Nursing Assistant

    Healthcare Support

    Median pay
    $42,260median a year
    Growth
    +2.6%
    Openings / yr
    196,200
    Education
    Certificate
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    52/100
    resilience

    Provide or assist with basic care or support under the direction of onsite licensed nursing staff.

  5. Licensed Practical Nurse

    Healthcare Practitioners and Technical

    Median pay
    $64,400median a year
    Growth
    +3.0%
    Openings / yr
    51,800
    Education
    Certificate
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    46/100
    resilience

    Care for ill, injured, or convalescing patients or persons with disabilities in hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, private homes, group homes, and similar institutions.

  6. Ophthalmic Medical Technician

    Healthcare Practitioners and Technical

    Median pay
    $45,570median a year
    Growth
    +21.4%
    Openings / yr
    11,800
    Education
    Certificate
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    44/100
    resilience

    Assist ophthalmologists by performing ophthalmic clinical functions.

Will AI replace dental assistants?Will AI replace nursing assistants?Will AI replace licensed practical nurses?

Questions

Will AI Replace Medical Assistants? FAQ

Will AI replace medical assistants?

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 +12.9% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 109,700 openings a year.

How exposed are medical assistants to AI?

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Medical Assistants 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 assistant's job can AI do?

In O*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are documenting/recording information, processing information and working with computers. The parts that hold up best are assisting and caring for others, face-to-face discussions and inspecting equipment, structures, or materials. 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 assistant a safe career from AI?

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O*NET work activities, medical assistants score 41 out of 100, higher than 42% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $45,690 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 assistants are less exposed to AI?

Surgical Assistant (low exposure, $66,800 median), Physical Therapist Aide (low exposure, $35,240 median), Dental Assistant (low exposure, $48,070 median), Nursing Assistant (low exposure, $42,260 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than medical assistants, and most are listed by O*NET as related to the work.

The AI exposure category is the Bureau of Labor Statistics'. The AI-resilience score and the activity breakdown are NueCareer's analysis of O*NET 31.0 Database data (method), not a federal figure. More: jobs most exposed to AI, jobs least exposed to AI, or check any job.