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AI and jobs

Will AI Replace Radiologists? (2026)

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places radiologists 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 +3.4% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 700 openings a year.

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.

BLS AI exposure
HighBLS EP supplemental table
AI-resilience score
38/100Higher than 36% of jobs · NueCareer
Projected change
+3.4%BLS EP 2025–2035; all jobs 3.5%
Openings a year
700BLS EP 2025–2035

The federal measure

How exposed radiologists 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. Radiologists 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

  1. Low203 occupations · 26%
  2. Moderate194 occupations · 25%
  3. High · this job190 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 others4.9/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Face-to-face discussions4.6/5
    O*NET work context, frequency or level
  • Establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships4.4/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Hands-on work with tools and objects4.3/5
    O*NET work context, frequency or level

What AI reaches first

Routine, repeatable and screen-based work

  • Processing information4.4/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Documenting/recording information4.4/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Repeating the same tasks4.4/5
    O*NET work context, frequency or level
  • Working with computers4.5/5
    O*NET work activity, importance

The tasks O*NET lists for radiologists

  • Obtain patients' histories from electronic records, patient interviews, dictated reports, or by communicating with referring clinicians.
  • Confer with medical professionals regarding image-based diagnoses.
  • Participate in continuing education activities to maintain and develop expertise.
  • Review or transmit images and information using picture archiving or communications systems.
  • Perform or interpret the outcomes of diagnostic imaging procedures including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computer tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET), nuclear cardiology treadmill studies, mammography, or ultrasound.
  • Communicate examination results or diagnostic information to referring physicians, patients, or families.

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 +3.4% change in employment over the decade, against 3.5% across all occupations, and about 700 openings a year once retirements and career changes are counted. About 26,770 people work in the job today, at a median of $420,860 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Full radiologist profile: pay by state, entry route and skills

Options

Related careers less exposed to AI than radiologists

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. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon

    Healthcare Practitioners and Technical

    Median pay
    $352,220median a year
    Growth
    +5.6%
    Openings / yr
    200
    Education
    Doctorate
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    57/100
    resilience

    Perform surgery and related procedures on the hard and soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial regions to treat diseases, injuries, or defects.

  2. 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.

  3. Radiation Therapist

    Healthcare Practitioners and Technical

    Median pay
    $105,310median a year
    Growth
    +2.8%
    Openings / yr
    700
    Education
    Associate's
    Moderate
    BLS AI exposure
    53/100
    resilience

    Provide radiation therapy to patients as prescribed by a radiation oncologist according to established practices and standards.

  4. Radiologic Technologist and Technician

    Healthcare Practitioners and Technical

    Median pay
    $80,110median a year
    Growth
    +5.0%
    Openings / yr
    13,000
    Education
    Associate's
    Moderate
    BLS AI exposure
    52/100
    resilience

    Take x-rays and CAT scans or administer nonradioactive materials into patient's bloodstream for diagnostic or research purposes.

Will AI replace anesthesiologists?Will AI replace radiologic technologists and technicians?

Questions

Will AI Replace Radiologists? FAQ

Will AI replace radiologists?

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. 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 +3.4% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 700 openings a year.

How exposed are radiologists to AI?

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Radiologists 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 radiologist'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 assisting and caring for others, face-to-face discussions and establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships. 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 radiologist a safe career from AI?

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O*NET work activities, radiologists score 38 out of 100, higher than 36% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $420,860 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 radiologists are less exposed to AI?

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon (low exposure, $352,220 median), Anesthesiologist (low exposure, $391,490 median), Radiation Therapist (moderate exposure, $105,310 median), Radiologic Technologist and Technician (moderate exposure, $80,110 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than radiologists, 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.