---
title: "Will AI Replace Surgical Technologists? (2026)"
description: "BLS rates surgical technologists' exposure to AI as low. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (+5.0% projected)."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-surgical-technologists"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Surgical Technologists? (2026)

**Short answer:** Very unlikely. BLS rates surgical technologists 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 surgical technologists in its low AI exposure category, among the occupations least exposed to current AI. BLS projects employment to change by +5.0% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 7,100 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Low | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 65/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | +5.0% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 7,100 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $64,650 | 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

- Performing general physical activities: 4.7/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Assisting and caring for others: 4.5/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Handling and moving objects: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Face-to-face discussions: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work context)

## What AI reaches first

- Processing information: 4.2/5 (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)
- Repeating the same tasks: 3.9/5 (O\*NET work context)

## O\*NET tasks

- Maintain a proper sterile field during surgical procedures.
- Hand instruments and supplies to surgeons and surgeons' assistants, hold retractors and cut sutures, and perform other tasks as directed by surgeon during operation.
- Prepare patients for surgery, including positioning patients on the operating table and covering them with sterile surgical drapes to prevent exposure.
- Clean and restock operating room, gathering and placing equipment and supplies and arranging instruments according to instructions, such as a preference card.
- Count sponges, needles, and instruments before and after operation.
- Prepare dressings or bandages and apply or assist with their application following surgery.

## 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)

## FAQ

**Will AI replace surgical technologists?**

Very unlikely. BLS rates surgical technologists 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 +5.0% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 7,100 openings a year.

**How exposed are surgical technologists to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Surgical Technologists 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 surgical technologist'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, getting information and evaluating information to determine compliance with standards. The parts that hold up best are performing general physical activities, assisting and caring for others and handling and moving objects. 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 surgical technologist a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, surgical technologists score 65 out of 100, higher than 93% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $64,650 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 surgical technologists are less exposed to AI?**

Paramedic (low exposure, $60,600 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/surgical-technologist.

---

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