Will AI replace low vision therapists, orientation and mobility specialists, and vision rehabilitation therapists?

Not on current evidence. Less than 30 minutes of a typical shift goes to tasks that AI or robots are doing today. The other 7h 34m (95%) stays with people. Separately, BLS expects about 14.8% more of these jobs by 2035 (all jobs: +3.5%).

AI shows up regularly in 1 of 21 tasks, about 26m of a typical shift. The biggest ones:

• Provide consultation, support, or education to groups such as parents and teachers. (26m a shift, AI mostly does it alone)

Not in workplaces like this one, based on a 2026 review of robot deployments. For 9 physical tasks, no robot has shown it can do the work yet.

7h 34m of a typical shift, or 95%, goes to tasks with no AI or robot evidence yet. No AI usage or robot deployment has shown up for these so far. The biggest:

• Write reports or complete forms to document assessments, training, progress, or follow-up outcomes. (58m a shift)
• Teach clients to travel independently, using a variety of actual or simulated travel situations or exercises. (39m a shift)
• Teach independent living skills or techniques, such as adaptive eating, medication management, diabetes management, and personal management. (39m a shift)
• Teach cane skills, including cane use with a guide, diagonal techniques, and two-point touches. (32m a shift)
• Assess clients' functioning in areas such as vision, orientation and mobility skills, social and emotional issues, cognition, physical abilities, and personal goals. (32m a shift)

Much of it comes down to where and how the work happens. In-person, hands-on and high-stakes work is where AI and robots have made the least headway so far. In the official O*NET survey of people in this job:

• 91% work at arm's length or closer to other people
• 83% talk face to face with others every day
• 61% say dealing with the public is very or extremely important

On Indeed, job postings in the Therapy sector are at 188% of their February 2020 level (all U.S. postings: 104%), up 3.2% from a year earlier, as of Oct 9, 2026. BLS separately expects about 10,000 openings a year in this job through 2035. Across all U.S. postings, 7.3% now mention AI skills. Sector postings cover more than this one job and move for many reasons besides AI.

The median pay is about $100,330 a year ($48.24 an hour), 97% above the median for all U.S. jobs ($50,980). Most people in this job earn between $71,690 and $131,950 a year; that range covers the middle 80%. Pay figures are from BLS, May 2025, and vary a lot by state and employer. Pick a state to compare:

BLS projects growth of 14.8% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% growth for all jobs. That's about 195,000 jobs in 2035. It expects about 10,000 openings a year, mostly from people retiring or changing careers. These projections don't single out AI as a cause.

About 162,000 people in the U.S., roughly 0.10% of all workers (BLS, May 2025). That makes it the 199th largest of the 796 jobs on this site. BLS expects about 195,000 in 2035.

The most common requirement is a master's degree: about 57% of people in the job said so in the official O*NET survey. O*NET rates the job at level 5 of 5 for preparation, which usually means: graduate degree. Requirements vary by state and employer, especially for licensed work.

These come from the job's official skill ratings and from the tasks that AI and robots touch least today. Building them keeps you strong in the parts of the work that still need a person:

• Skills that matter more here than in most jobs: Learning Strategies, Instructing, Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness
• Get strong at the parts of the job that stay with people (listed above), which take 7h 34m of a typical shift
• Tools employers list: Amazon Web Services AWS software, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook
• Learn to use AI well on the tasks where it already shows up in this job (listed above)

These use similar skills. Matches come from 109 official ratings of skills, knowledge and work activities, and each needs the same or less preparation unless the official list relates the jobs directly:

• Speech-Language Pathologists (0m touched, $98k median pay)
• Occupational Therapy Assistants (0m touched, $72k median pay)
• Recreational Therapists (1h 14m touched, $62k median pay)
• Occupational Therapists (19m touched, $100k median pay)

Each task carries its own evidence label. For this job: 1 observed in real AI use, 20 with no AI or robot evidence found. The minutes per task are estimates, not measured hours, and "no evidence" doesn't prove a task is safe.