---
title: "Will AI Replace Radiologists? (2026)"
description: "BLS rates radiologists' exposure to AI as high. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (+3.4% projected)."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-radiologists"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Radiologists? (2026)

**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.

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.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | High | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 38/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | +3.4% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 700 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $420,860 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |

## Exposure categories

| BLS category | Occupations |
| --- | --- |
| Low | 203 |
| Moderate | 194 |
| High (this job) | 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: 4.9/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Face-to-face discussions: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships: 4.4/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Hands-on work with tools and objects: 4.3/5 (O\*NET work context)

## What AI reaches first

- Processing information: 4.4/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Documenting/recording information: 4.4/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Repeating the same tasks: 4.4/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Working with computers: 4.5/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## O\*NET tasks

- 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.

## Related careers less exposed to AI than radiologists

- [Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon](https://nuecareer.com/careers/oral-and-maxillofacial-surgeon): BLS exposure Low, median $352,220
- [Anesthesiologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/anesthesiologist): BLS exposure Low, median $391,490; [Will AI replace anesthesiologists?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-anesthesiologists)
- [Radiation Therapist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/radiation-therapist): BLS exposure Moderate, median $105,310
- [Radiologic Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/radiologic-technologist-and-technician): BLS exposure Moderate, median $80,110; [Will AI replace radiologic technologists and technicians?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-radiologic-technologists-and-technicians)

## 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.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/radiologist.

---

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