---
title: "Will AI Replace Ultrasound Technicians? (2026)"
description: "BLS rates ultrasound technicians' exposure to AI as moderate. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (+13.9%…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-ultrasound-technicians"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Ultrasound Technicians? (2026)

**Short answer:** Unlikely. BLS rates the work's exposure to AI as moderate, below the middle of the pack, and still projects employment to grow faster than average.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places ultrasound technicians in its moderate AI exposure category, below the middle of the pack: some of the work overlaps with what AI can do, much of it does not. BLS projects employment to change by +13.9% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 6,000 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Moderate | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 44/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | +13.9% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 6,000 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $96,590 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |

## Exposure categories

| BLS category | Occupations |
| --- | --- |
| Low | 203 |
| Moderate (this job) | 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: 4.7/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Face-to-face discussions: 4.8/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Hands-on work with tools and objects: 5.0/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Handling and moving objects: 3.9/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## What AI reaches first

- Documenting/recording information: 4.2/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Repetitive motions: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Repeating the same tasks: 4.1/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Processing information: 3.7/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## O\*NET tasks

- Observe screen during scan to ensure that image produced is satisfactory for diagnostic purposes, making adjustments to equipment as required.
- Operate ultrasound equipment to produce and record images of the motion, shape, and composition of blood, organs, tissues, or bodily masses, such as fluid accumulations.
- Observe and care for patients throughout examinations to ensure their safety and comfort.
- Provide sonogram and oral or written summary of technical findings to physician for use in medical diagnosis.
- Select appropriate equipment settings and adjust patient positions to obtain the best sites and angles.
- Prepare patient for exam by explaining procedure, transferring patient to ultrasound table, scrubbing skin and applying gel, and positioning patient properly.

## Related careers less exposed to AI than ultrasound technicians

- [Surgical Technologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/surgical-technologist): BLS exposure Low, median $64,650; [Will AI replace surgical technologists?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-surgical-technologists)
- [Surgical Assistant](https://nuecareer.com/careers/surgical-assistant): BLS exposure Low, median $66,800
- [Respiratory Therapist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/respiratory-therapist): BLS exposure Low, median $82,280; [Will AI replace respiratory therapists?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-respiratory-therapists)
- [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)
- [Dental Hygienist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/dental-hygienist): BLS exposure Low, median $98,100; [Will AI replace dental hygienists?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-dental-hygienists)
- [Anesthesiologist Assistant](https://nuecareer.com/careers/anesthesiologist-assistant): BLS exposure Low, median $135,880

## FAQ

**Will AI replace ultrasound technicians?**

Unlikely. BLS rates the work's exposure to AI as moderate, below the middle of the pack, and still projects employment to grow faster than average. 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 +13.9% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 6,000 openings a year.

**How exposed are ultrasound technicians to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Ultrasound Technicians are in the moderate category, alongside 193 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 diagnostic medical sonographer'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, repetitive motions and repeating the same tasks. The parts that hold up best are assisting and caring for others, face-to-face discussions and hands-on work with tools and 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 diagnostic medical sonographer a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, ultrasound technicians score 44 out of 100, higher than 49% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $96,590 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 ultrasound technicians are less exposed to AI?**

Surgical Technologist (low exposure, $64,650 median), Surgical Assistant (low exposure, $66,800 median), Respiratory Therapist (low exposure, $82,280 median), Nurse Anesthetist (low exposure, $236,590 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than ultrasound technicians, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/diagnostic-medical-sonographer.

---

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