Occupational therapists

Assess and record clients' activities and progress for evaluations and billing

AI can extract structured data from session notes, auto-populate progress metrics, generate billing codes from documented activities, and draft evaluation reports, substantially reducing documentation burden though therapists still review for clinical accuracy.

BLS evidence: Therapists 'assess and record clients' activities and progress for client evaluations, billing, and other purposes.'

Collaborate with employers to modify work environments and schedules for clients

AI can draft accommodation recommendations based on ADA guidelines and job descriptions, but negotiating with employers, assessing actual workplace dynamics, and problem-solving practical implementation barriers require human relationship-building and contextual judgment.

BLS evidence: Therapists 'evaluate the workspace, recommend modifications, and meet with the client's employer to collaborate on changes to the client's work environment or schedule.'

Evaluate home, school, or workplace environments and identify accessibility improvements

AI with computer vision could identify some accessibility barriers and suggest modifications from building codes, but evaluating functional fit for specific patient capabilities, spatial problem-solving in varied environments, and creative adaptation solutions still require substantial human expertise.

BLS evidence: Therapists 'evaluate a client's home, school, or workplace to identify potential accessibility improvements, such as labeling kitchen cabinets for an older person with poor memory.'

Educate clients' families about accommodation and care techniques

AI can generate educational materials and standard care protocols, but effective family education requires reading emotional states, adapting explanations to health literacy levels, demonstrating physical techniques, and building trust relationships that AI cannot fully replicate.

BLS evidence: Therapists 'educate a client's family about how to accommodate and care for them.'

Develop and implement treatment plans with specific activities to help clients achieve goals

AI can suggest evidence-based interventions and draft treatment frameworks, but developing individualized plans requires integrating complex physical assessments, patient preferences, environmental factors, and clinical experience that demand human therapeutic judgment.

BLS evidence: Therapists 'develop and implement treatment plans that have specific activities to help clients work toward their goals.'

Recommend and instruct clients on use of special adaptive equipment and mobility aids

AI can recommend equipment from databases and generate instructions, but proper fitting, hands-on training for safe use, real-time adjustment based on patient body mechanics, and physical demonstration require human presence and clinical judgment.

BLS evidence: Therapists 'recommend special equipment, such as mobility aids and eating aids, and instruct clients and families on how to use it.'

Oversee the work of occupational therapy assistants and aides

Requires real-time supervision of hands-on patient care, evaluating clinical decision-making in dynamic situations, providing mentorship, and managing interpersonal team dynamics that AI cannot adequately monitor or guide in physical therapy settings.

BLS evidence: The page states that 'occupational therapists also oversee the work of occupational therapy assistants and aides.'

Demonstrate therapeutic exercises to relieve pain and improve function

Demands physical demonstration with proper body mechanics, real-time observation and correction of patient form, tactile cueing, and adaptive instruction based on immediate pain or compensation patterns that AI-robotics cannot adequately perform.

BLS evidence: Therapists 'demonstrate exercises—for example, stretching the joints for arthritis relief—to help relieve clients' pain.'

Evaluate clients' conditions by reviewing medical history, interviewing, and observing task performance

Requires in-person physical assessment, observation of motor skills and functional performance in real-time, and nuanced clinical judgment about physical capabilities that AI cannot reliably assess remotely or through sensors in unpredictable patient presentations.

BLS evidence: Occupational therapists 'evaluate clients' conditions by reviewing their medical history, interviewing them, and observing them perform various tasks.'

Help clients relearn and perform daily living tasks such as dressing and eating

Requires hands-on physical guidance, real-time tactile feedback, adaptive physical assistance based on patient fatigue or pain responses, and fine motor manipulation in unpredictable human movement contexts that current robotics cannot safely replicate.

BLS evidence: Therapists 'help clients relearn and perform daily living tasks, such as teaching a person who has had a stroke how to get dressed.'