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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Medical Assistants?
Task-level automation exposure for Medical Assistants: 20 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
33%
weighted task index
20 of 20 tasks scored
Median Salary
$45,690 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Very High
817,870 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+12.9%
employment change
109,700 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 54 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$33,570 – $59,290
Highest medians
Washington $59,290
Alaska $52,560
District of Columbia $51,050
Minnesota $50,480
Oregon $50,410
Lowest medians
Guam $33,570
Mississippi $35,360
Alabama $36,100
Louisiana $36,320
West Virginia $37,180
State figures come from the 31-9092 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.
What the score is made of
Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.
Automation potential 33%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 30%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 41%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 19%
Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.
Rewritten by O*NET 0%
Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.
Consequence of error 26/100
Moderate
O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.
Constituent Task Mix
20 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.
High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 24%
5 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 21%
4 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 56%
11 tasks
How would you survive?
Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.
Simulate Upskilling →Constituent Tasks
#2024 · Core · 30% automatable
Interview patients to obtain medical information and measure their vital signs, weight, and height.
interpersonal — Patient history-taking is relational clinical work
Interview patients to gather medical information. Assess physical conditions of patients to aid in diagnosis or treatment.
#2033 · Core · 8% automatable
Clean and sterilize instruments and dispose of contaminated supplies.
physical manipulation — Hands-on cleaning of medical equipment
Dispose of biomedical waste in accordance with standards. Clean medical equipment.
#2026 · Core · 70% automatable
Record patients' medical history, vital statistics, or information such as test results in medical records.
data analysis — Vital stats entry; clinical accuracy human-owned
Record vital statistics or other health information.
#2029 · Core · 48% automatable
Explain treatment procedures, medications, diets, or physicians' instructions to patients.
interpersonal — Explaining medical tech needs patient-adaptive dialogue
Explain technical medical information to patients.
#2032 · Core · 8% automatable
Prepare treatment rooms for patient examinations, keeping the rooms neat and clean.
physical manipulation — Physical setup of patient treatment areas
Clean patient rooms or patient treatment rooms. Prepare patient treatment areas for use.
#2028 · Core · 38% automatable
Collect blood, tissue, or other laboratory specimens, log the specimens, and prepare them for testing.
data analysis — Vital stats entry; clinical accuracy human-owned
Collect biological specimens from patients. Record vital statistics or other health information.
#2025 · Core · 5% automatable
Show patients to examination rooms and prepare them for the physician.
physical manipulation — Physical preparation of patients
Move patients to or from treatment areas. Prepare patients physically for medical procedures.
#2030 · Core · 8% automatable
Help physicians examine and treat patients, handing them instruments or materials or performing such tasks as giving injections or removing sutures.
physical manipulation — Hands-on assistance during medical procedures
Give medications or immunizations. Administer basic health care or medical treatments. Assist practitioners to perform medical procedures.
#2040 · Core · 20% automatable
Perform routine laboratory tests and sample analyses.
physical manipulation — Diagnostic tests require physical patient procedures
Conduct diagnostic tests to determine patient health.
#2036 · Core · 30% automatable
Greet and log in patients arriving at office or clinic.
interpersonal — Customer service is relational and accountability-bearing
Provide customer service to clients or users. Greet customers, patrons, or visitors.
#2038 · Core · 66% automatable
Perform general office duties, such as answering telephones, taking dictation, or completing insurance forms.
data analysis — Medical billing coded and processed; human audits denials
Perform clerical work in medical settings. Process medical billing information.
#2027 · Core · 5% automatable
Prepare and administer medications as directed by a physician.
physical manipulation — Administering meds/injections requires hands-on clinical action
Give medications or immunizations.
#2031 · Core · 55% automatable
Authorize drug refills and provide prescription information to pharmacies.
decision support — Refill authorization rules automatable; clinician signs off
Control prescription refills or authorizations.
#2035 · Core · 6% automatable
Change dressings on wounds.
physical manipulation — Applying bandages and splints needs manual dexterity
Apply bandages, dressings, or splints.
#2034 · Core · 62% automatable
Schedule appointments for patients.
decision support — Clinical scheduling needs human verification of constraints
Schedule patient procedures or appointments.
#2039 · Core · 55% automatable
Inventory and order medical, lab, or office supplies or equipment.
data analysis — Records trackable; physical verification of medical stock human
Inventory medical supplies or equipment.
#2037 · Core · 62% automatable
Contact medical facilities or departments to schedule patients for tests or admission.
decision support — Clinical scheduling needs human verification of constraints
Schedule patient procedures or appointments.
#2043 · Core · 18% automatable
Operate x-ray, electrocardiogram (EKG), or other equipment to administer routine diagnostic tests.
physical manipulation — Medical equipment operated hands-on on patients
Operate medical equipment.
#2041 · Core · 15% automatable
Set up medical laboratory equipment.
physical manipulation — Hands-on instrument preparation and sterilization
Prepare medical instruments or equipment for use.
#2042 · Supplemental · 72% automatable
Keep financial records or perform other bookkeeping duties, such as handling credit or collections or mailing monthly statements to patients.
data analysis — Medical billing coded and processed; human audits denials
Process medical billing information.
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How this was scored
- 1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
- 2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
- 3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
- 4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.
Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.
Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast
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