---
title: "Will AI Replace Respiratory Therapists? (2026)"
description: "BLS rates respiratory therapists' exposure to AI as low. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (+8.5% projected)."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-respiratory-therapists"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Respiratory Therapists? (2026)

**Short answer:** Very unlikely. BLS rates respiratory therapists 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 respiratory therapists in its low AI exposure category, among the occupations least exposed to current AI. BLS projects employment to change by +8.5% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 8,600 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Low | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 56/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | +8.5% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 8,600 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $82,280 | 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: 4.9/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Face-to-face discussions: 5.0/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials: 4.8/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Performing general physical activities: 3.8/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## What AI reaches first

- Documenting/recording information: 4.7/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Processing information: 3.9/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Getting information: 4.8/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Evaluating information to determine compliance with standards: 4.2/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## O\*NET tasks

- Monitor patient's physiological responses to therapy, such as vital signs, arterial blood gases, or blood chemistry changes, and consult with physician if adverse reactions occur.
- Provide emergency care, such as artificial respiration, external cardiac massage, or assistance with cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
- Work as part of a team of physicians, nurses, or other healthcare professionals to manage patient care by assisting with medical procedures or related duties.
- Inspect, clean, test, and maintain respiratory therapy equipment to ensure equipment is functioning safely and efficiently, ordering repairs when necessary.
- Educate patients and their families about their conditions and teach appropriate disease management techniques, such as breathing exercises or the use of medications or respiratory equipment.
- Set up and operate devices, such as mechanical ventilators, therapeutic gas administration apparatus, environmental control systems, or aerosol generators, following specified parameters of treatment.

## Related careers that are also low-exposure

- [Paramedic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/paramedic): BLS exposure Low, median $60,600; [Will AI replace paramedics?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-paramedics)
- [Surgical Assistant](https://nuecareer.com/careers/surgical-assistant): BLS exposure Low, median $66,800
- [Physical Therapist Assistant](https://nuecareer.com/careers/physical-therapist-assistant): BLS exposure Low, median $68,380; [Will AI replace physical therapist assistants?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-physical-therapist-assistants)
- [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

## FAQ

**Will AI replace respiratory therapists?**

Very unlikely. BLS rates respiratory therapists 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 +8.5% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 8,600 openings a year.

**How exposed are respiratory therapists to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Respiratory Therapists 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 a respiratory therapist'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 getting information. 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 respiratory therapist a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, respiratory therapists score 56 out of 100, higher than 75% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $82,280 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 respiratory therapists are less exposed to AI?**

Paramedic (low exposure, $60,600 median), Surgical Assistant (low exposure, $66,800 median), Physical Therapist Assistant (low exposure, $68,380 median), Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon (low exposure, $352,220 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/respiratory-therapist.

---

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