Will AI replace personal care aides?

Unlikely, though parts of the work are changing. About 37m of an 8-hour shift goes to tasks touched by robots. The breakdown: 7m done by people with AI help, 30m that robots have done in real workplaces. The other 7h 23m (92%) stays with people. Separately, BLS expects about 18.1% more of these jobs by 2035 (all jobs: +3.5%).

AI shows up regularly in 1 of 11 tasks, about 7m of a typical shift. The biggest ones:

• Provide clients with communication assistance, typing their correspondence or obtaining information for them. (7m a shift, people use AI to help)

For some tasks, yes. Robots have done 1 of this job's tasks in workplaces like this one, about 30m of a typical shift. 2 more tasks have only been done in factory setups built around the machine, so they stay with people here. For 3 physical tasks, no robot has shown it can do the work yet.

• Perform healthcare-related tasks, such as monitoring vital signs and medication, under the direction of registered nurses or physiotherapists. (30m a shift; e.g. Moxi, in use)

7h 23m of a typical shift, or 92%, 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:

• Administer bedside or personal care, such as ambulation or personal hygiene assistance. (1h 58m a shift)
• Care for individuals or families during periods of incapacitation, family disruption, or convalescence, providing companionship, personal care, or help in adjusting to new lifestyles. (1h 51m a shift)
• Perform housekeeping duties, such as cooking, cleaning, washing clothes or dishes, or running errands. (1h 14m a shift)
• Plan, shop for, or prepare nutritious meals or assist families in planning, shopping for, or preparing nutritious meals. (52m a shift)
• Prepare and maintain records of client progress and services performed, reporting changes in client condition to manager or supervisor. (30m 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:

• 97% work at arm's length or closer to other people
• 71% are exposed to disease or infection every day
• 66% say a mistake would be very or extremely serious

On Indeed, job postings in the Personal Care & Home Health sector are at 151% of their February 2020 level (all U.S. postings: 104%), up 2.1% from a year earlier, as of Oct 9, 2026. BLS separately expects about 761,000 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 $35,800 a year ($17.21 an hour), 30% below the median for all U.S. jobs ($50,980). Most people in this job earn between $27,040 and $45,040 a year; that range covers the middle 80%. Pay figures are from BLS, May 2025, and vary a lot by state and employer.

BLS projects growth of 18.1% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% growth for all jobs. That's about 5.5 million jobs in 2035. It expects about 761,000 openings a year, mostly from people retiring or changing careers. These projections don't single out AI as a cause.

About 4.3 million people in the U.S., roughly 2.8% of all workers (BLS, May 2025). That makes it the 2nd largest of the 796 jobs on this site. BLS expects about 5.5 million in 2035.

The most common requirement is a high school diploma: about 48% of people in the job said so in the official O*NET survey. O*NET rates the job at level 2 of 5 for preparation, which usually means: high school diploma, some training. 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: Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, Instructing, Coordination
• Get strong at the parts of the job that stay with people (listed above), which take 7h 23m of a typical shift
• Tools employers list: MEDITECH software
• 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:

• Nursing Assistants (26m touched, $42k median pay)
• Psychiatric Aides (0m touched, $45k median pay)
• Home Health Aides (14m touched, $36k median pay)

Each task carries its own evidence label. For this job: 1 observed in real AI use, 1 with robots in real deployments, 9 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.