JobBreak

Healthcare Support · United States (national)

Occupational Therapy Aides

How exposed this work is to automation, shown as ranges with the reasoning and sources.

The short version: this role is less exposed to automation, and a near-term shift looks unlikely. It is a sourced range, not a verdict, and the detail is below.

Built on O*NET tasks, BLS pay and projections, and peer-reviewed AI-exposure research. Sources shown. Data snapshot SNAPSHOT-2026-11-06. How it works
7.4 of 100
AI / softwarerange 0.0 to 19.4
36.2 of 100
Physical / roboticsrange 24.2 to 48.2

When the change is likely

unlikely soon 0y 5y 10y 15y 20+y

Largely unaffected local demand growing

What to do about it

Use AI to outpace AI.

Strategies to protect your livelihood, most important first.

1
Stay sharp; urgency is low
This role looks durable. Keep your skills current and watch for shifts in your field.
2
Pivot toward Psychiatric Technicians
It is skill-adjacent and less exposed (34.0 vs 36). A lateral move now beats a forced one later.
3
Build a financial buffer
Keep 6 to 12 months of expenses and diversify your income, so a disruption is a setback rather than a catastrophe.
4
Add a recognised credential
A certification or license raises the bar against automation and signals value in a tightening market.

Which of my tasks are exposed

Encourage patients and attend to their physical needs to facilitate the attainment of therapeutic goals.
36.2
Report to supervisors or therapists, verbally or in writing, on patients' progress, attitudes, attendance, and accomplishments.
50.0
Observe patients' attendance, progress, attitudes, and accomplishments and record and maintain information in client records.
50.0
Prepare and maintain work area, materials, and equipment and maintain inventory of treatment and educational supplies.
36.2
Transport patients to and from the occupational therapy work area.
36.2
Instruct patients and families in work, social, and living skills, the care and use of adaptive equipment, and other skills to facilitate home and work adjustment to disability.
100.0
Assist occupational therapists in planning, implementing, and administering therapy programs to restore, reinforce, and enhance performance, using selected activities and special equipment.
100.0
Demonstrate therapy techniques, such as manual and creative arts and games.
36.2

Longer, orange bars are more automatable; short green bars are resistant.

What is driving my result

lowers risk
raises risk
Task: Instruct patients and families in work, social, and living skills, the care and use of adaptive equipment, and other skills to facilitate home and work adjustment to disability.
Task: Assist occupational therapists in planning, implementing, and administering therapy programs to restore, reinforce, and enhance performance, using selected activities and special equipment.
Local demand is growing

Lower-risk adjacent roles

Psychiatric Technicians
34.0
Psychiatric Aides
34.4

A full, ranked mitigation plan is part of the paid tiers.

How this score is calculated

  1. Map Occupational Therapy Aides to its standard O*NET task list (8 core tasks).
  2. Score each task for AI/software exposure (Eloundou et al. 2023) and physical/robotics exposure (an O*NET work-context proxy), each 0 to 100.
  3. The two axis scores are the task averages: AI 7.4, robotics 36.2.
  4. The timeline comes from the higher axis (36.2), shifted for local demand (growing), and seniority. It is read against your remaining working years.
  5. Ranges are about ±12 points. A backtest against real BLS employment change shows the risk ranking holds in aggregate, but individual outcomes are predicted weakly, so results are ranges, never a flat verdict.

Sources: O*NET, Eloundou et al. (2023), GPTs are GPTs, O*NET Work Context, BLS CPI-U, BLS OEWS. Snapshot SNAPSHOT-2026-11-06. Full method and backtest on How it works.

Check another job

Stay ahead of the curve. Get notified when the automation outlook for your job shifts.