Short answer
Not replaced, but changed. BLS rates the exposure as high, so AI can help with a real share of the work, yet it still projects employment to grow faster than average.
AI and jobs
Will AI Replace Nurse Practitioners? (2026)
The Bureau of Labor Statistics places nurse practitioners in its high AI exposure category, above the middle of the pack: a substantial share of the work overlaps with what AI can do. BLS projects employment to change by +41.0% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 29,400 openings a year.
- BLS AI exposure
- HighBLS EP supplemental table
- AI-resilience score
- 43/100Higher than 47% of jobs · NueCareer
- Projected change
- +41.0%BLS EP 2025–2035; all jobs 3.5%
- Openings a year
- 29,400BLS EP 2025–2035
The federal measure
How exposed nurse practitioners 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. Nurse Practitioners land in the high category: above the middle of the pack: a substantial share of the work overlaps with what AI can do.
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
- Low203 occupations · 26%
- Moderate194 occupations · 25%
- High · this job190 occupations · 24%
- Very high199 occupations · 25%
Source: BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories supplemental table.
- Exposure is relative. The categories rank occupations against each other; they are not a probability that a job is automated.
- 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.
- 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 others4.5/5O*NET work activity, importance
- Face-to-face discussions5.0/5O*NET work context, frequency or level
- Performing for or working directly with the public4.1/5O*NET work activity, importance
- Establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships4.3/5O*NET work activity, importance
What AI reaches first
Routine, repeatable and screen-based work
- Documenting/recording information4.7/5O*NET work activity, importance
- Processing information4.2/5O*NET work activity, importance
- Analyzing data or information4.3/5O*NET work activity, importance
- Getting information4.6/5O*NET work activity, importance
The tasks O*NET lists for nurse practitioners
- Maintain complete and detailed records of patients' health care plans and prognoses.
- Develop treatment plans, based on scientific rationale, standards of care, and professional practice guidelines.
- Provide patients with information needed to promote health, reduce risk factors, or prevent disease or disability.
- Analyze and interpret patients' histories, symptoms, physical findings, or diagnostic information to develop appropriate diagnoses.
- Diagnose or treat complex, unstable, comorbid, episodic, or emergency conditions in collaboration with other health care providers as necessary.
- Prescribe medication dosages, routes, and frequencies, based on such patient characteristics as age and gender.
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 +41.0% change in employment over the decade, against 3.5% across all occupations, and about 29,400 openings a year once retirements and career changes are counted. About 323,040 people work in the job today, at a median of $132,300 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Full nurse practitioner profile: pay by state, entry route and skills
Options
Related careers less exposed to AI than nurse practitioners
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.
Nurse Anesthetist
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Median pay
- $236,590median a year
- Growth
- +9.7%
- Openings / yr
- 2,400
- Education
- Master's
- Low
- BLS AI exposure
- 55/100
- resilience
Administer anesthesia, monitor patient's vital signs, and oversee patient recovery from anesthesia.
Anesthesiologist
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Median pay
- $391,490median a year
- Growth
- +3.6%
- Openings / yr
- 1,100
- Education
- Doctorate
- Low
- BLS AI exposure
- 50/100
- resilience
Administer anesthetics and analgesics for pain management prior to, during, or after surgery.
Anesthesiologist Assistant
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Median pay
- $135,880median a year
- Growth
- +21.1%
- Openings / yr
- 11,500
- Education
- Master's
- Low
- BLS AI exposure
- 47/100
- resilience
Assist anesthesiologists in the administration of anesthesia for surgical and non-surgical procedures.
Dentist
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Median pay
- $170,950median a year
- Growth
- +5.7%
- Openings / yr
- 4,200
- Education
- Doctorate
- Moderate
- BLS AI exposure
- 53/100
- resilience
Examine, diagnose, and treat diseases, injuries, and malformations of teeth and gums.
Orthodontist
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Median pay
- $289,140median a year
- Growth
- +6.0%
- Openings / yr
- 200
- Education
- Doctorate
- Moderate
- BLS AI exposure
- 49/100
- resilience
Examine, diagnose, and treat dental malocclusions and oral cavity anomalies.
Ophthalmologist, Except Pediatric
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Median pay
- $300,080median a year
- Growth
- +4.5%
- Openings / yr
- 200
- Education
- Doctorate
- Moderate
- BLS AI exposure
- 47/100
- resilience
Diagnose and perform surgery to treat and help prevent disorders and diseases of the eye.
Questions
Will AI Replace Nurse Practitioners? FAQ
Will AI replace nurse practitioners?
Not replaced, but changed. BLS rates the exposure as high, so AI can help with a real share of the work, yet it 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 +41.0% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 29,400 openings a year.
How exposed are nurse practitioners to AI?
BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Nurse Practitioners are in the high category, alongside 189 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 nurse practitioner'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 analyzing data or information. The parts that hold up best are assisting and caring for others, face-to-face discussions and performing for or working directly with the public. 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 nurse practitioner a safe career from AI?
On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O*NET work activities, nurse practitioners score 43 out of 100, higher than 47% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $132,300 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 nurse practitioners are less exposed to AI?
Nurse Anesthetist (low exposure, $236,590 median), Anesthesiologist (low exposure, $391,490 median), Anesthesiologist Assistant (low exposure, $135,880 median), Dentist (moderate exposure, $170,950 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than nurse practitioners, 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.