All occupations › Healthcare practitionersCan AI Replace Respiratory Therapists in 2026? Lower exposure. AI could handle about 26% of today's respiratory therapists tasks by 2036, and there is a 5% chance the number of jobs falls by a fifth or more. AI mostly assists people in this role.
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Timeline Year 2030 Headcount (2025 = 100)
102
Chance of 20%+ fewer jobs
6% 2030 · 5% 2036
One person could cover, 2036
1.2 roles
0% 50% 100% 2026 2028 2030 2032 2034 2036 2026: 9% 2027: 9% 2028: 11% 2029: 12% 2030: 15% 2031: 17% 2032: 20% 2033: 22% 2034: 24% 2035: 25% 2036: 26% 15% Share of today's tasks AI can perform 40 80 120 2026 2028 2030 2032 2034 2036 2026: 101 2027: 101 2028: 102 2029: 102 2030: 102 2031: 102 2032: 103 2033: 103 2034: 103 2035: 104 2036: 104 102 Headcount index, 2025 = 100 (dashed line) Your survival map Not every part of your job is at the same risk. Tap a number to see what to do about each task.
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Tap a number on the map or a task below.
1 Provide emergency care, such as artificial respiration, external cardiac massage, or assistance with cardiopulmonary resuscitation. 2 Monitor patient's physiological responses to therapy, such as vital signs, arterial blood gases, or blood chemistry changes, and consult with physician if adverse… 3 Set up and operate devices, such as mechanical ventilators, therapeutic gas administration apparatus, environmental control systems, or aerosol generators, following… 4 Read prescription, measure arterial blood gases, and review patient information to assess patient condition. 5 Determine requirements for treatment, such as type, method and duration of therapy, precautions to be taken, or medication and dosages, compatible with physicians'… 6 Conduct tests, such as electrocardiograms (EKGs), stress testing, or lung capacity tests, to evaluate patients' cardiopulmonary functions. 7 Maintain charts that contain patients' pertinent identification and therapy information. 8 Relay blood analysis results to a physician. Based on 22 O*NET tasks for "Respiratory Therapists" (SOC 29-1126.00). LLM alone: 10% of tasks; with AI tools: 31%. Projections are a model, not official statistics. How we calculate this · Data version 2026-10
