---
title: "Will AI Replace Optometrists? (2026)"
description: "BLS rates optometrists' exposure to AI as low. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (+9.5% projected)."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-optometrists"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Optometrists? (2026)

**Short answer:** Very unlikely. BLS rates optometrists 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 optometrists in its low AI exposure category, among the occupations least exposed to current AI. BLS projects employment to change by +9.5% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 2,000 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Low | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 40/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | +9.5% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 2,000 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $136,570 | 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

- Assisting and caring for others: 4.8/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Performing for or working directly with the public: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Face-to-face discussions: 5.0/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Hands-on work with tools and objects: 4.4/5 (O\*NET work context)

## What AI reaches first

- Processing information: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Documenting/recording information: 4.7/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Analyzing data or information: 4.5/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Getting information: 4.7/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## O\*NET tasks

- Examine eyes, using observation, instruments, and pharmaceutical agents, to determine visual acuity and perception, focus, and coordination and to diagnose diseases and other abnormalities, such as glaucoma or color blindness.
- Analyze test results and develop a treatment plan.
- Prescribe, supply, fit and adjust eyeglasses, contact lenses, and other vision aids.
- Prescribe medications to treat eye diseases if state laws permit.
- Educate and counsel patients on contact lens care, visual hygiene, lighting arrangements, and safety factors.
- Remove foreign bodies from the eye.

## Related careers that are also low-exposure

- [Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon](https://nuecareer.com/careers/oral-and-maxillofacial-surgeon): BLS exposure Low, median $352,220
- [Prosthodontist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/prosthodontist): BLS exposure Low, median $311,180
- [Nurse Anesthetist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/nurse-anesthetist): BLS exposure Low, median $236,590; [Will AI replace nurse anesthetists?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-nurse-anesthetists)
- [Anesthesiologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/anesthesiologist): BLS exposure Low, median $391,490; [Will AI replace anesthesiologists?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-anesthesiologists)
- [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 optometrists?**

Very unlikely. BLS rates optometrists 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 +9.5% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 2,000 openings a year.

**How exposed are optometrists to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Optometrists 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 an optometrist'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 analyzing data or information. The parts that hold up best are assisting and caring for others, performing for or working directly with the public 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 an optometrist a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, optometrists score 40 out of 100, higher than 40% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $136,570 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 optometrists are less exposed to AI?**

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon (low exposure, $352,220 median), Prosthodontist (low exposure, $311,180 median), Nurse Anesthetist (low exposure, $236,590 median), Anesthesiologist (low exposure, $391,490 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/optometrist.

---

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