Occupation baseline · Research consensus
Will AI replace Nursing Assistants?
Baseline AI displacement risk for Nursing Assistants, aggregated from 9 research sources.
What this score means
Nursing Assistants is among the least exposed roles in Healthcare. Most of what the job involves still sits outside what current AI can do, even as the tools around it keep changing. At 12 out of 100 it scores 10 points below the Healthcare average of 22. Across the 9 sources behind this baseline, individual estimates run from 5 to 16, so the score is a weighted consensus rather than any single figure.
The number is a consensus estimate for the typical version of the role, built from published academic and industry research scored occupation by occupation. It is not a prediction about any individual. How scoring works
What this job actually involves
Exposure follows the work itself rather than the job title, so it is worth seeing what the role is made of. These are the tasks O*NET records for Nursing Assistants, most central first, showing 12 of 33.
- 01Turn or reposition bedridden patients.
- 02Answer patient call signals, signal lights, bells, or intercom systems to determine patients' needs.
- 03Feed patients or assist patients to eat or drink.
- 04Measure and record food and liquid intake or urinary and fecal output, reporting changes to medical or nursing staff.
- 05Provide physical support to assist patients to perform daily living activities, such as getting out of bed, bathing, dressing, using the toilet, standing, walking, or exercising.
- 06Document or otherwise report observations of patient behavior, complaints, or physical symptoms to nurses.
- 07Remind patients to take medications or nutritional supplements.
- 08Review patients' dietary restrictions, food allergies, and preferences to ensure patient receives appropriate diet.
- 09Undress, wash, and dress patients who are unable to do so for themselves.
- 10Observe or examine patients to detect symptoms that may require medical attention, such as bruises, open wounds, or blood in urine.
- 11Lift or assist others to lift patients to move them on or off beds, examination tables, surgical tables, or stretchers.
- 12Supply, collect, or empty bedpans.
Task statements from O*NET by the National Center for O*NET Development, used under CC BY 4.0. The tasks are descriptive; the exposure score above is ours.
The research behind this score
This baseline aggregates 9 research sources that scored Nursing Assistants for AI and automation exposure. More recent, higher confidence studies carry more weight in the final number.
- 01Anthropic Economic Index 2026 - AI Task Exposure · 2026Anthropic
- 02Crashing Waves vs. Rising Tides: Preliminary Findings on AI Automation from Thousands of Worker Evaluations of Labor Market Tasks · 2026Mertens, Thompson et al., MIT FutureTech (2026)
- 03Global Automation Atlas: Task Substitution Exposure by Occupation · 2026Garg, Crosta, Baier (2026), arXiv:2605.17086
- 04The AI Jobs Transition Framework: Mapping AI's Near-Term Impact on Jobs · 2026OpenAI Economic Research (2026)
- 05Working with AI: Measuring the Applicability of Generative AI to Occupations · 2025Tomlinson, Jaffe et al., Microsoft Research (2025)
- 06A new future of work: The race to deploy AI and raise skills in Europe and beyond · 2024McKinsey Global Institute (2024)
- 07GPTs are GPTs: Labor Market Impact Potential of LLMs · 2024Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin, Rock (Science, 2024)
- 08AI Occupational Exposure to Language Modeling · 2023Felten, Raj, Seamans (2023)
- 09Generative AI and the Future of Work in America · 2023McKinsey Global Institute (2023)
Common questions
- How likely is AI to replace Nursing Assistants?
- Published research puts Nursing Assistants at 12 out of 100 for AI displacement risk, in the lower risk band. The number is a weighted consensus of 9 research sources and describes the typical version of the role, not any individual.
- Do researchers agree on the risk for Nursing Assistants?
- Broadly, yes. Individual estimates for Nursing Assistants run from 5 to 16 out of 100 across the 9 sources behind this score, a fairly tight range. More recent and higher confidence studies carry more weight in the final number.
- Which healthcare roles face similar AI exposure?
- The closest published healthcare roles to Nursing Assistants by score are Dental Hygienists (12/100), Emergency Medical Technicians (12/100), and Endoscopy Technicians (12/100). Each has its own page with the research behind its number.
Also covers
Birth Attendant · Certified Medication Aide (CMA) · Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) · Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) · Certified Nurses Aide (CNA) · Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) · Certified Nursing Attendant (CNA) · Certified Residential Medication Aide (CRMA) and related titles
Estimated displacement window
The dated estimate for this role is included in the full personalised report.
Your number is not the baseline
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More healthcare occupations
- Dental Hygienists12/100
- Emergency Medical Technicians12/100
- Endoscopy Technicians12/100
- Optometrists12/100
- Paramedics12/100
- Physical Therapist Assistants12/100
- Psychiatric Aides12/100
- Surgical Assistants12/100
Informational guidance based on published research, not professional career or financial advice. Scores update as new research is ingested.