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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Orthoptists?
Task-level automation exposure for Orthoptists: 16 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
35%
weighted task index
16 of 16 tasks scored
Median Salary
$115,210 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Medium
28,630 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+5.5%
employment change
1,900 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 44 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$81,280 – $164,670
Highest medians
Maryland $164,670
District of Columbia $151,990
New York $127,360
Georgia $126,300
California $125,550
Lowest medians
Rhode Island $81,280
Arkansas $81,330
New Hampshire $82,550
Puerto Rico $83,350
Vermont $83,740
State figures come from the 29-1299 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 35%
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 56%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 8%
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 6/100
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
16 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) 6%
1 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 48%
8 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 46%
7 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
#18430 · Core · 28% automatable
Evaluate, diagnose, or treat disorders of the visual system with an emphasis on binocular vision or abnormal eye movements.
decision support — AI suggests differentials; clinician examines and owns diagnosis
Diagnose medical conditions. Treat chronic diseases or disorders.
#18429 · Core · 14% automatable
Examine patients with problems related to ocular motility, binocular vision, amblyopia, or strabismus.
physical manipulation — Vision tests require hands-on patient examination
Test patient vision. Examine patients to assess general physical condition.
#18428 · Core · 15% automatable
Perform diagnostic tests or measurements, such as motor testing, visual acuity testing, lensometry, retinoscopy, and color vision testing.
physical manipulation — Vision tests require hands-on patient examination
Test patient vision.
#18426 · Core · 15% automatable
Provide nonsurgical interventions, including corrective lenses, patches, drops, fusion exercises, or stereograms, to treat conditions such as strabismus, heterophoria, and convergence insufficiency.
decision support — Chronic disease management needs clinical judgment
Treat chronic diseases or disorders.
#18427 · Core · 38% automatable
Develop nonsurgical treatment plans for patients with conditions such as strabismus, nystagmus, and other visual disorders.
decision support — Medical plans need exam, liability, and clinical judgment
Develop medical treatment plans.
#18432 · Core · 40% automatable
Provide instructions to patients or family members concerning diagnoses or treatment plans.
interpersonal — Results delivery needs empathy and clinical judgment
Explain medical procedures or test results to patients or family members.
#18431 · Core · 58% automatable
Interpret clinical or diagnostic test results.
visual inspection — Image interpretation assists; radiologist owns diagnosis
Analyze test data or images to inform diagnosis or treatment.
#18433 · Core · 55% automatable
Refer patients to ophthalmic surgeons or other physicians.
decision support — Clinical referral judgment needs licensed human accountability
Refer patients to other healthcare practitioners or health resources.
#18434 · Core · 50% automatable
Develop or use special test and communication techniques to facilitate diagnosis and treatment of children or patients with disabilities.
decision support — Assessment methods drafted; clinical validation human
Develop health assessment methods or programs.
#18440 · Core · 30% automatable
Provide training related to clinical methods or orthoptics to students, resident physicians, or other health professionals.
interpersonal — Provider training is clinical, hands-on, accountable
Train medical providers.
#18435 · Core · 40% automatable
Collaborate with ophthalmologists, optometrists, or other specialists in the diagnosis, treatment, or management of conditions such as glaucoma, cataracts, and retinal diseases.
interpersonal — Treatment planning collaboration is accountable clinical work
Collaborate with healthcare professionals to plan or provide treatment.
#18436 · Core · 68% automatable
Prepare diagnostic or treatment reports for other medical practitioners or therapists.
text generation — Summarize diagnostic and care activities into reports
Prepare reports summarizing patient diagnostic or care activities.
#18437 · Core · 40% automatable
Participate in clinical research projects.
information retrieval — Literature review aided; wet-lab and clinical research human
Conduct research to increase knowledge about medical issues.
#18425 · Core · 10% automatable
Assist ophthalmologists in diagnostic ophthalmic procedures, such as ultrasonography, fundus photography, and tonometry.
physical manipulation — Hands-on assistance during examinations
Assist healthcare practitioners during examinations or treatments.
#18438 · Supplemental · 52% automatable
Present or publish scientific papers.
interpersonal — Medical research presentation needs human delivery
Present medical research reports.
#18439 · Supplemental · 15% automatable
Perform vision screening of children in schools or community health centers.
physical manipulation — Vision tests require hands-on patient examination
Test patient vision.
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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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