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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Mental Health Counselors?
Task-level automation exposure for Mental Health Counselors: 27 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
42%
weighted task index
27 of 27 tasks scored
Median Salary
$60,320 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — 21-1010 group row
Employment Level
Very High
1,035,300 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+10.9%
employment change
97,700 openings a year · BLS roll-up 21-1010
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 42%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 0%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 76%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 14%
Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.
Rewritten by O*NET 5%
Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.
Consequence of error 25/100
Low
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
27 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) 14%
3 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 56%
16 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 29%
8 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 →Emerging & rewritten tasks
Tasks O*NET added or rewrote for this occupation in its recent updates (05/2025 – 08/2026), with who proposed them. Additions are not in the scored task inventory — they are new work O*NET is still measuring, so they appear here and nowhere in the index. A Revision replaces a task that is scored, which is why only those move the "Rewritten by O*NET" share.
- Revision 08/2025 · Occupational Expert
Guide clients in the development of skills or strategies for dealing with their problems and coping with triggering factors.
Replaced: Guide clients in the development of skills or strategies for dealing with their problems.
- New 08/2025 · Occupational Expert
Respond to client communications by monitoring voicemail and email, returning phone calls, and making follow-up calls for missed appointments.
Constituent Tasks
#1591 · Core · 75% automatable
Maintain confidentiality of records relating to clients' treatment.
text generation — Maintain client records; human verifies accuracy
Maintain client information or service records. Maintain client records.
#1592 · Core · 42% automatable
Encourage clients to express their feelings and discuss what is happening in their lives, helping them to develop insight into themselves or their relationships.
interpersonal — Personal counseling needs live emotional presence and accountability
Counsel clients or patients regarding personal issues.
#1595 · Core · 30% automatable
Counsel clients or patients, individually or in group sessions, to assist in overcoming dependencies, adjusting to life, or making changes.
interpersonal — Substance abuse counseling needs trust and accountability
Counsel clients or patients with substance abuse issues.
#23908 · Core · 8% automatable
Perform crisis interventions to help ensure the safety of the patients and others.
situated mobility — Emergency response needs physical action in the world
Respond to emergencies to provide assistance. Provide first aid or rescue assistance in emergencies.
#18484 · Core · 77% automatable
Fill out and maintain client-related paperwork, including federal- and state-mandated forms, client diagnostic records, and progress notes.
text generation — Maintain client records; human verifies accuracy
Maintain client records. Complete documentation required by programs or regulations.
#18483 · Core · 38% automatable
Assess patients for risk of suicide attempts.
decision support — Functional assessment aided by data, exam human
Collect medical information from patients, family members, or other medical professionals. Evaluate patient functioning, capabilities, or health.
#20402 · Core · 15% automatable
Perform crisis interventions with clients.
interpersonal — Crisis intervention requires live presence and action
Intervene in crisis situations to assist clients.
#1593 · Core · 28% automatable
Revision
Guide clients in the development of skills or strategies for dealing with their problems.
interpersonal — Teaching life skills to families needs human modeling
Teach life skills or strategies to clients or their families.
#1594 · Core · 74% automatable
Prepare and maintain all required treatment records and reports.
text generation — Complete program documentation from inputs
Write reports or evaluations. Complete documentation required by programs or regulations.
#1598 · Core · 40% automatable
Develop and implement treatment plans based on clinical experience and knowledge.
decision support — AI drafts plans; clinician assesses and owns treatment
Develop treatment plans for patients or clients.
#1596 · Core · 38% automatable
Collect information about clients through interviews, observation, or tests.
interpersonal — Client info gathering needs human relationship and trust
Collect information about clients. Interview clients to gather information about their backgrounds, needs, or progress.
#1606 · Core · 45% automatable
Modify treatment activities or approaches as needed to comply with changes in clients' status.
decision support — Draft modifications possible; clinician owns clinical judgment
Modify treatment plans to accommodate client needs.
#1604 · Core · 49% automatable
Evaluate the effectiveness of counseling programs on clients' progress in resolving identified problems and moving towards defined objectives.
data analysis — Outcome data analysis with human interpretation
Monitor clients to evaluate treatment progress. Evaluate the effectiveness of counseling or educational programs.
#1600 · Core · 55% automatable
Evaluate clients' physical or mental condition, based on review of client information.
decision support — Eligibility judgment from records, but accountability stays human
Evaluate characteristics of individuals to determine needs or eligibility.
#18485 · Core · 28% automatable
Supervise other counselors, social service staff, assistants, or graduate students.
interpersonal — Client/patient service supervision is relational
Supervise workers providing client or patient services.
#1608 · Core · 42% automatable
Discuss with individual patients their plans for life after leaving therapy.
interpersonal — Personal counseling needs live emotional presence and accountability
Counsel clients or patients regarding personal issues.
#1602 · Core · 55% automatable
Refer patients, clients, or family members to community resources or to specialists as necessary.
decision support — AI can match programs; human handles eligibility nuance
Refer clients to community or social service programs.
#1597 · Core · 25% automatable
Act as client advocates to coordinate required services or to resolve emergency problems in crisis situations.
interpersonal — Advocacy requires relationships and accountability
Advocate for individual or community needs. Intervene in crisis situations to assist clients.
#23909 · Core · 44% automatable
Collaborate with mental health professionals and other staff members to perform clinical assessments or develop treatment plans.
decision support — Assessment methods drafted; clinical validation human
Develop treatment plans for patients or clients. Develop health assessment methods or programs. Collaborate with other professionals to assess client needs or plan treatments.
#1607 · Core · 51% automatable
Learn about new developments in counseling by reading professional literature, attending courses and seminars, or establishing and maintaining contact with other social service agencies.
information retrieval — AI summarizes social services knowledge; human applies
Maintain professional social services knowledge. Develop working relationships with others to facilitate program activities.
#1605 · Core · 45% automatable
Plan, organize, or lead structured programs of counseling, work, study, recreation, or social activities for clients.
decision support — Drafts program plans; community engagement and clinical input human
Plan programs to address community mental wellness needs.
#1609 · Core · 50% automatable
Gather information about community mental health needs or resources that could be used in conjunction with therapy.
data analysis — Survey data analysis aided; community engagement human
Collect information about community health needs.
#1610 · Core · 8% automatable
Monitor clients' use of medications.
physical manipulation — Basic health care services require hands-on delivery
Provide basic health care services.
#1603 · Core · 30% automatable
Counsel family members to assist them in understanding, dealing with, or supporting clients or patients.
interpersonal — Family counseling needs live emotional presence
Counsel family members of clients or patients.
#1612 · Core · 45% automatable
Plan or conduct programs to prevent substance abuse or improve community health or counseling services.
decision support — Drafts health program plans; stakeholder and epidemiological judgment human
Plan programs to address community health issues.
#1601 · Core · 39% automatable
Meet with families, probation officers, police, or other interested parties to exchange necessary information during the treatment process.
interpersonal — Client assessment collaboration is professional judgment
Confer with family members to discuss client treatment plans or progress. Collaborate with other professionals to assess client needs or plan treatments.
#18486 · Core · 35% automatable
Coordinate or direct employee workshops, courses, or training about mental health issues.
interpersonal — Leading live classes/events requires human presence
Lead classes or community events. Train staff members in social services skills.
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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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