Will AI replace Physical Therapist Assistants?

Not as a job, but it is already doing parts of the work. Across the 21 official task statements scored for Physical Therapist Assistants (United States, SOC 31-2021), 6% of the importance-weighted core work is made of tasks today's AI could already do most of. The overall exposure score is 12 out of 100 (range 9–17, band: minimal). That is a statement about tasks, not about headcount: this measures what AI could do, not whether any employer adopts it, whether the law allows it, or whether doing the routine parts faster creates more demand for the human parts. Figures are from release 2026-q4.1.

Which tasks in “Physical Therapist Assistants” can AI already do?

The highest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Document patient information, such as notes on their progress” (66/100, high); “Perform clerical duties, such as taking inventory, ordering supplies, answering telephone, taking messages, or filling out forms” (48/100, partial); “Monitor operation of equipment and record use of equipment and administration of treatment” (33/100, low). Each score comes from five published 0–4 ratings turned into a number by a published formula, and each carries the model's one-sentence reason on the page.

Which tasks in “Physical Therapist Assistants” stay human?

About 91% of this job's task weight sits in work that scores low for AI exposure. The lowest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Perform therapeutic wound care” (0/100, minimal); “Administer active or passive manual therapeutic exercises, therapeutic massage, aquatic physical therapy, or heat, light, sound, or electrical modality treat…” (0/100, minimal); “Prepare treatment areas and electrotherapy equipment for use by physiotherapists” (0/100, minimal). Low scores usually mean the task needs a body in a room, a legally accountable human, or trust built in real time. Those are the three things the scoring rubric treats as gates rather than obstacles.

What should someone working in “Physical Therapist Assistants” do about AI?

Start from the ledger rather than the headline: 6% of this job's weighted core work is exposed, and roughly 91% is not. The practical move is to spend more of your week on the tasks that score low, the ones above, and to get fluent at directing AI through the tasks that score high, because those are the parts that change whether or not you are ready for them. This page does not predict your job, and nothing here is career advice tailored to you: the score describes the occupation, not the person.

How is the AI exposure score for Physical Therapist Assistants calculated?

Each official task statement for the occupation is rated on five published 0–4 dimensions (output replicability, physical embodiment, licensed accountability, real-time human trust, and data availability) by claude-opus-5 using scoring prompt task_scoring_v1.0. The model never writes the score; a published formula turns the five ratings into a 0–100 number, so every score can be recomputed by hand. The occupation figure is the importance-weighted mean across 21 scored tasks. The prompt, the rubric, the formula and the full dataset are published at https://futureproof.collab365.com/method and https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1 under CC BY 4.0.

US dataswitch to UK

Physical Therapist Assistants

documenting patient information, such as notes on their progress, transporting patients to and from treatment areas and cleaning work area and checking and storing equipment after treatment. If that's your week, this page is about your job.

The honest answer

AI changes the edges of this job, not the middle: instructing motivate, safeguard and assisting patients as they practice exercises or functional activities is work software can't reach.

Your move: what you can actually do about this ↓

Where the work sits, by task weight

shifting to AI: 6%
changing shape: 3%
staying human: 91%

These bars are tasks changing hands, not people being counted out. The ledger below shows which.

Whole-job exposure score 12 out of 100 (9–17 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, across 21 scored tasks. The number is the support for the sentence above it, not a headline about anyone’s future.

How we know this

What is measured: Every published task statement for physical therapist assistants is rated on five dimensions: can a model produce the output, does the work need a body in a room, does it need a legally accountable person, does it depend on a person being trusted in the moment, and how much data exists. A published formula turns those five ratings into the score; the model never writes the number.

How the bar is built: Each task’s share of the bar is its published importance weight, so a task you do all day counts for more than one you do twice a year.

Release: 2026-q4.1, scores computed 2026-08-04. Read the full method.

What shifts is documenting patient information, such as notes on their progress: the paper around the work, not the work.

Your week, as this page understands it

Assist physical therapists in providing physical therapy treatments and procedures. May, in accordance with state laws, assist in the development of treatment plans, carry out routine functions, document the progress of treatment, and modify specific treatments in accordance with patient status and within the scope of treatment plans established by a physical therapist. Generally requires formal training. The job title says “physical therapist assistants”. The real job is the part underneath: instructing motivate, safeguard and assisting patients as they practice exercises or functional activities. That is the thing someone has to be right about.

The exposed part of this job is specific, and we won’t pretend it is coming back. But physical therapist assistants is not one task. It is 21 scored ones, and they are nowhere near equally exposed. The most durable of them, on this evidence, is instructing motivate, safeguard and assisting patients as they practice exercises or functional activities, and the ledger below shows exactly why.

Where the work sits, by task weight

shifting to AI: 6%
changing shape: 3%
staying human: 91%

These bars are tasks changing hands, not people being counted out. The ledger below shows which.

How we know this

How the bar is built: Each task’s share of the bar is its published importance weight, so a task you do all day counts for more than one you do twice a year.

Release: 2026-q4.1, scores computed 2026-08-04. Read the full method.

Your job, task by task

These are the official task statements for this occupation, in plain English, sorted by what the evidence says is happening to each one. The official wording sits under every line so you can check the rewrite against it.

2 tasks scored differently between repeat runs, so their range on this page is wider. We would rather show the wobble than hide it.
5 of this occupation's scored task statements carry a score that was measured under a different occupation's context, because the statement is shared between jobs and has only been scored once so far. Each one names the occupation it was measured under in the free routes below; none is presented as a measurement for this job.
Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.

Shifting to AI

1 task

Tasks today’s tools can already do most of. This is the part we will not soften: where these rows are the bulk of your week, the week changes.

Documenting patient information, such as notes on their progress
This is reading one thing and writing another: patient information in, a record out. That is the shape today's tools are built for.
importance 5 · Core
Source: “Document patient information, such as notes on their progress.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 66 out of 100 (62–70 allowing for uncertainty): high exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.
The rating behind it: Progress notes are structured writing built from information already in the record, which software drafts well.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 0/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

Changing shape

1 task

Tasks where the machine takes the producing and a person keeps the checking, the deciding, or the answering-for-it. For most jobs this is the biggest group, and it is where "transformation, not termination" is literally visible.

Performing clerical duties, such as taking inventory, ordering supplies, answering telephone, taking messages or filling out forms
The software now makes the first pass at clerical duties, but the deciding part still needs a person. So the job becomes checking and deciding rather than producing.
importance 3 · Core
Source: “Perform clerical duties, such as taking inventory, ordering supplies, answering telephone, taking messages, or filling out forms.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 48 out of 100 (44–52 allowing for uncertainty): partial exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.
The rating behind it: Ordering, forms, messages and inventory are routine office jobs that software handles well.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

Staying human

19 tasks

Tasks that stay with a person, because they happen in the physical world, because the rules need someone accountable, or because the value is that a specific person does them.

Instructing motivate, safeguard and assisting patients as they practice exercises or functional activities
This work happens in the physical world: motivate, safeguard and assisting patients, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · Core
Source: “Instruct, motivate, safeguard, and assist patients as they practice exercises or functional activities.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it; the value is that a specific person does it.
The rating behind it: This is hands-on work beside a patient, guiding and steadying them as they move.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 3/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Observing patients during treatments to compile and evaluate data on their responses and progress and provide results to physical therapist in person or through progress notes
This work happens in the physical world: patients during treatments, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · Core
Source: “Observe patients during treatments to compile and evaluate data on their responses and progress and provide results to physical therapist in person or through progress notes.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 6 out of 100 (2–10 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Watching how a patient responds during treatment means being in the room with them.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Instructing patients in proper body mechanics and in ways to improve functional mobility
This work happens in the physical world: patients, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · Core
Source: “Instruct patients in proper body mechanics and in ways to improve functional mobility, such as aquatic exercise.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 7 out of 100 (0–14 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it; the value is that a specific person does it.
The rating behind it: Teaching safe movement means demonstrating and correcting in person, even though the ideas can be explained on video.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 2/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 2/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Securing patients into or onto therapy equipment
This work happens in the physical world: patients, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · Core
Source: “Secure patients into or onto therapy equipment.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–7 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence, and it moved between repeat runs, so the range is widened.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Strapping a patient into therapy equipment is hands-on and has to happen at the machine.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Conferring with physical therapy staff or others to discuss and evaluate patient information
The rules require a named, qualified person to answer for physical therapy staff, and that person cannot be a piece of software.
importance 5 · Core
Source: “Confer with physical therapy staff or others to discuss and evaluate patient information for planning, modifying, or coordinating treatment.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 22 out of 100 (15–29 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: someone qualified has to answer for it; the value is that a specific person does it.
The rating behind it: Treatment planning decisions rest with a licensed therapist, though the case information can be pulled together automatically.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 0/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 2/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Transporting patients to and from treatment areas
This work happens in the physical world: patients, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Transport patients to and from treatment areas, lifting and transferring them according to positioning requirements.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Lifting and moving patients is physical work that only a person present can do.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Cleaning work area and checking and storing equipment after treatment
This work happens in the physical world: work area, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Clean work area and check and store equipment after treatment.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Cleaning up and storing equipment happens in the treatment room.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Communicating with or instructing caregivers or family members on patient therapeutic activities or treatment plans
The rules require a named, qualified person to answer for or instructing caregivers, and that person cannot be a piece of software.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Communicate with or instruct caregivers or family members on patient therapeutic activities or treatment plans.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 20 out of 100 (13–27 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: someone qualified has to answer for it; the value is that a specific person does it.
The rating behind it: Showing family members how to help usually happens face to face, though the instructions themselves can be prepared.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 2/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 2/4 · how much data exists 2/4.

Show the other 11 tasks

Monitoring operation of equipment and recording use of equipment and administration of treatment
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: operation of equipment, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Monitor operation of equipment and record use of equipment and administration of treatment.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 33 out of 100 (26–40 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Recording equipment use and treatments is straightforward record-keeping, though the checks happen at the machine.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 2/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Attending or conducting continuing education courses
staying human
The ratings behind this row put education courses well outside what today's tools can do on their own.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Attend or conduct continuing education courses, seminars, or in-service activities.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 32 out of 100 (25–39 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.
The rating behind it: Course content is easy to produce automatically, but the credit for attending belongs to the person.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Training patients in the use of orthopedic braces
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: patients, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Train patients in the use of orthopedic braces, prostheses, or supportive devices.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 7 out of 100 (0–14 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it; the value is that a specific person does it.
The rating behind it: Fitting and practicing with a brace or crutches has to be done with the person wearing it.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 2/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 2/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Performing postural drainage, percussions or vibrations or teaching deep breathing exercises to treat respiratory conditions
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: postural drainage, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Perform postural drainage, percussions, or vibrations or teach deep breathing exercises to treat respiratory conditions.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 4 out of 100 (0–11 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it; the value is that a specific person does it.
The rating behind it: Chest therapy is delivered by hand, though the breathing coaching part could be explained without a person present.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 2/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Measuring patients' range-of-joint motion, body parts or vital signs to determine effects of treatments or for patient evaluations
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: patients' range-of-joint motion, body parts or vital signs, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Measure patients' range-of-joint motion, body parts, or vital signs to determine effects of treatments or for patient evaluations.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Measuring joint movement and vital signs means physically handling a patient.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Fitting patients for orthopedic braces
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: patients, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Fit patients for orthopedic braces, prostheses, or supportive devices, such as crutches.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Fitting a brace or crutches to someone's body has to be done in person.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Assisting patients to dress, undress or put on and removing supportive devices
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: patients, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Assist patients to dress, undress, or put on and remove supportive devices, such as braces, splints, or slings.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–7 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence, and it moved between repeat runs, so the range is widened.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Helping someone dress or put on a splint is direct physical assistance.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Administering traction to relieve neck or back pain
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: traction, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Supplemental
Source: “Administer traction to relieve neck or back pain, using intermittent or static traction equipment.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Traction is applied to a patient using equipment in the room.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Preparing treatment areas and electrotherapy equipment for use by physiotherapists
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: treatment areas, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Supplemental
Source: “Prepare treatment areas and electrotherapy equipment for use by physiotherapists.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Setting up a treatment room and its equipment is physical preparation on site.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Administering active or passive manual therapeutic exercises
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: active, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Administer active or passive manual therapeutic exercises, therapeutic massage, aquatic physical therapy, or heat, light, sound, or electrical modality treatments, such as ultrasound.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it; the value is that a specific person does it.
The rating behind it: Hands-on exercises, massage and machine treatments are done with hands on a patient.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 2/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Performing therapeutic wound care
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: therapeutic wound care, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 3 · Supplemental
Source: “Perform therapeutic wound care.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it; the value is that a specific person does it.
The rating behind it: Wound care is direct hands-on treatment.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 2/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

What this job pays, and how many people do it

Median pay: $68,380a year, the middle of the range, so half earn more and half earn less.bls-oews, 2025 · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
How we know this
Source: bls-oews
Reference period: May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
Rounding: Shown as published.
People doing this job: 112,430in the US, 2025.bls-oews · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)

What is deliberately not here: a forecast of how many of these jobs exist in ten years. Where an official projection exists for a market we publish it with its vintage; where it does not, we leave the space empty rather than borrow the other country’s number.

Why this is shifting

The reason is boringly specific. Most of what is shifting here is reading one thing and writing another: patient information in, a record out. The rows above are exactly that shape: documenting patient information, such as notes on their progress and performing clerical duties, such as taking inventory. What it cannot do is be answerable: motivate, safeguard and assisting patients need a named person the rules will accept, and software cannot be that person. Which is why this page talks about your tasks changing, not your job ending.

Your move

Over a pint: what I’d tell you if you were my friend

Start with what does not change: instructing motivate, safeguard and assisting patients as they practice exercises or functional activities is the middle of this job, and the evidence on this page says it stays with a person.

So, given all that: 6% of this job's task weight sits in rows the software is already learning, 3% in rows that change shape rather than disappear, and 91% in rows it is nowhere near. That is the position, measured across 21 scored tasks. It is not a forecast about you.

So the thing worth your attention is not the job going away. It is the layer around it. Documenting patient information, such as notes on their progress is the part turning into software, and being the person who understands that layer is worth money.

This week: one thing

Ask the one question. Find whoever is bringing new software into your workplace (the manager, the office, whoever runs the system) and ask them what it is meant to do to patient information, and what it is not meant to touch. Ten minutes, this week, before anyone decides it for you.

What you end up holding: a straight answer about what is actually being rolled out, and when
How long it takes: ten minutes

If there’s nobody obvious to ask, or you’d rather not ask your manager: Put the same question to your union rep, your shift lead or the person who has been there longest, in person, over a break. Same ten minutes, same answer, and you will usually get a straighter one. Write down what they say. The note is the artifact, and it tells you whether motivate, safeguard and assisting patients are in scope or not. Nothing to log into, no license needed.

Over the next 90 days

Get inside the tool rollout rather than waiting for it. Over the next ninety days, ask to be in the group that tests, checks or signs off whatever new system arrives near performing clerical duties, such as taking inventory, ordering supplies, answering telephone, taking messages or filling out forms. It is usually an unglamorous seat that nobody fights for, and it is the one that decides how the software is used on your job rather than to it.

Over the next 12 months

On this evidence I would not retrain out of this job, and I will say that plainly rather than hedge it. The task list here is dominated by work that stays with a person. What I would do with a year is get formally recognised for the layer around it (the systems, the compliance, the planning), so you are the one who understands the software instead of the one it is done to. Before you pay for anything, use CareerOneStop - Find local training. It is free, it is the Labor Department's own service, and it is listed below with the rest of the free routes.

The roads out of here, and why I am not sending you down them

I looked at the obvious moves out of this job, and here is what I found.

I checked the 12 nearest US occupations to physical therapist assistants (nearest by the work that AI is not taking, not by job title), and none of them survived. The closest was physical therapist aides: it pays 48.5% less. And on the numbers you do not need one. This job scores 12/100 here, with only 6% of the task list in the top band, and “instruct, motivate, safeguard, and assist patients as they practice exercises or functional…” is not work that hands over cleanly. None of them beats deepening what you already have.

How that was checked: this job was compared against all 830 US occupations in this release on their official task statements, and the 12 nearest were examined one by one. A move that turns on an industry, an employer or a qualification rather than on the work itself will not show up in a check like that. And this release carries no licence register, so anything you are weighing needs that looked up separately.

3 moves I checked and rejected

These are the obvious-looking jumps. They are here with their reasons rather than quietly dropped, because the ones that fail are worth knowing about. It is one less thing to turn over at night.

Physical Therapist Aides
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour because one of your tasks is on their list in the same words: “secure patients into or onto therapy equipment”. Across the whole of both lists that adds up to about 51% of the work in that job the software is not taking.
Why I am not recommending it: It is a pay cut, in those words: $35,240 against your $68,380, 48.5% less (OEWS May 2025 (both)). Retraining to earn less is a decision, not advice.
Look at that job’s page anyway →
Occupational Therapy Assistants
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already attend or conduct continuing education courses, seminars, or in-service activities, and their equivalent is to attend continuing education classes. Across both published task lists that is about 6% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 6% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step.
Look at that job’s page anyway →
Physical Therapists
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already communicate with or instruct caregivers or family members on patient therapeutic activities or…, and their equivalent is to instruct patient and family in treatment procedures to be continued at home. Across both published task lists that is about 5% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 5% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step.
Look at that job’s page anyway →

What I’d stop worrying about

A friend tells you what not to spend fear on. This is that list.

The headline number you read somewhere
The big “X% of jobs” figures are about the whole economy, not about you. The number that describes your job is on this page: 6% of its task weight, across 21 scored tasks. Every row behind it is printed above with the source. Check ours; ignore theirs.
The headlines about your trade disappearing
They are usually about the technology, not the timetable. Changes to work like instructing motivate, safeguard and assisting patients as they practice exercises or functional activities arrive through rules, insurance and money, slowly and visibly. This page tracks the task evidence and will move when it moves.
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On this evidence I would not spend money leaving. Spend it on the layer around the job instead: the tools, the paperwork, the planning. That is where the change actually is.
The “obvious” next job everyone suggests
I checked the obvious moves and most of them did not survive. The reasons are printed with the routes above, including the pay and the gate. A move that fails on the numbers is worth knowing about so you can stop turning it over at night.

You are reading the United States figures

The United Kingdom splits this work across more than one official group, of which Complementary health associate professionals is the closest. The pay and employment figures are not directly comparable, and we do not average them together.

Switch to the United Kingdom page →partial match

In UK official statistics this job is counted as Complementary health associate professionals. Pay and employment stay on this page’s own group; the task list and the scores do not cross over.

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No Space for this job, but one for what is happening to it

Nothing Collab365 runs is built for physical therapist assistants, and we are not going to point you at the nearest one and call it a fit.

There is one that is not about a job title at all. The AI Authority is about being the person who directs these tools at work rather than the person they get compared to. That is worth saying here, because 6% of the work on this page is already inside what they can do.

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The AI Authority is a general community about working with AI, not a course for physical therapist assistants. You do not need it to act on anything here: the moves above cost nothing and stand on their own. The data on this page is the same either way.

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No Space for physical therapist assistants yet. Should there be one?

Collab365 Spaces is built by the same people as this site. We find the problems that AI and automation are creating inside one kind of work, then solve them as short courses, briefings and Blueprints. Each Space is the community too, so the research and the people doing your job are in the same place.

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Collab365 launches new communities where the need is real. If one for physical therapist assistants existed, with researched problems, courses and people in the same boat, would you want in?

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Questions people ask about this job

Will AI replace Physical Therapist Assistants?: Not as a job, but it is already doing parts of the work. Across the 21 official task statements scored for Physical Therapist Assistants (United States, SOC 31-2021), 6% of the importance-weighted core work is made of tasks today's AI could already do most of. The overall exposure score is 12 out of 100 (range 9–17, band: minimal). That is a statement about tasks, not about headcount: this measures what AI could do, not whether any employer adopts it, whether the law allows it, or whether doing the routine parts faster creates more demand for the human parts. Figures are from release 2026-q4.1.
Which tasks in “Physical Therapist Assistants” can AI already do?: The highest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Document patient information, such as notes on their progress” (66/100, high); “Perform clerical duties, such as taking inventory, ordering supplies, answering telephone, taking messages, or filling out forms” (48/100, partial); “Monitor operation of equipment and record use of equipment and administration of treatment” (33/100, low). Each score comes from five published 0–4 ratings turned into a number by a published formula, and each carries the model's one-sentence reason on the page.
Which tasks in “Physical Therapist Assistants” stay human?: About 91% of this job's task weight sits in work that scores low for AI exposure. The lowest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Perform therapeutic wound care” (0/100, minimal); “Administer active or passive manual therapeutic exercises, therapeutic massage, aquatic physical therapy, or heat, light, sound, or electrical modality treat…” (0/100, minimal); “Prepare treatment areas and electrotherapy equipment for use by physiotherapists” (0/100, minimal). Low scores usually mean the task needs a body in a room, a legally accountable human, or trust built in real time. Those are the three things the scoring rubric treats as gates rather than obstacles.
What should someone working in “Physical Therapist Assistants” do about AI?: Start from the ledger rather than the headline: 6% of this job's weighted core work is exposed, and roughly 91% is not. The practical move is to spend more of your week on the tasks that score low, the ones above, and to get fluent at directing AI through the tasks that score high, because those are the parts that change whether or not you are ready for them. This page does not predict your job, and nothing here is career advice tailored to you: the score describes the occupation, not the person.
How is the AI exposure score for Physical Therapist Assistants calculated?: Each official task statement for the occupation is rated on five published 0–4 dimensions (output replicability, physical embodiment, licensed accountability, real-time human trust, and data availability) by claude-opus-5 using scoring prompt task_scoring_v1.0. The model never writes the score; a published formula turns the five ratings into a 0–100 number, so every score can be recomputed by hand. The occupation figure is the importance-weighted mean across 21 scored tasks. The prompt, the rubric, the formula and the full dataset are published at https://futureproof.collab365.com/method and https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1 under CC BY 4.0.

Where these numbers come from

About the data on this page

2 tasks scored differently between repeat runs, so their range on this page is wider. We would rather show the wobble than hide it.
The match between this job and its counterpart in the other country is partial, so the two pages count slightly different groups of people.
5 of this occupation's scored task statements carry a score that was measured under a different occupation's context, because the statement is shared between jobs and has only been scored once so far. Each one names the occupation it was measured under in the free routes below; none is presented as a measurement for this job.
Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.

Task statements: onet-dbProcessing: catalogue-bridge → onet-im-rt-weighting → task-scoring → score-aggregation
Task weights: onet-db (im-rt)
Scores: Rubric task_scoring_v1.0, model claude-opus-5, computed 2026-08-05.
Pay and employment: bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))

Figures on this page come from release 2026-q4.1, published 2026-08-05. Every release keeps its own permanent address, so a figure you cite in March is still there, unchanged, in November.

The plain-English wording on this page is assembled directly from the task statements and the published ratings, not written by hand for this occupation. That is why it is specific, and it is also why we say so.

The routes and free resources further up are today’s, not the release’s (last reviewed 2026-08-05). A route is an offer, not a historical fact, so it moves on its own clock.

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Plain text

Collab365 (2026). Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1 (methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0). https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Built with O*NET data (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); ONS data (Open Government Licence v3.0); GAISI task framework (arXiv:2507.22748, MIT); BLS data (public domain).

BibTeX

@misc{collab365futureproof2026q41,
  title        = {Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1},
  author       = {{Collab365}},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1},
  note         = {Release 2026-q4.1, methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0, CC BY 4.0}
}

Permalink

https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1

Data as of release 2026-q4.1, published 2026-08-05. Releases never change after publication; when the figures move, a new dated release is published beside this one and this one stays exactly where it is.