Dietitians and Nutritionists
In short: today's best AI models could do about 21% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about 40% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 42% of the time, stays with people.
Plan and conduct food service or nutritional programs to assist in the promotion of health and control of disease. May supervise activities of a department providing quantity food services, counsel individuals, or conduct nutritional research.
77,570 people do this job in the US. $76,400 a year.
Reviewed on October 1, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on0 h
- A person checks AI's work8 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet15 h
- Stays with people17 h
Dietitians and Nutritionists, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 0 hours, 8 hours become checking its work, 15 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 17 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Make dietary care plans (about 2 h, a person checks); Read lab results for diets (about 1 h, a person checks); Take and record diet histories (under an hour, a person checks).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 55%
- 3%
- 5%
- 31%
- 7%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
What handing it over would take, now
The 21% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 13%. Today's estimate: 21%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, 0.24% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 88th largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 4 of its 28 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.17% to 0.4% (released February and March 2025); 0.31% to 0.4% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.24% to 0.24% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.17% | 107 of 708 | 8 of 28 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.4% | 41 of 703 | 6 of 28 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.31% | 58 of 655 | 7 of 28 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.36% | 48 of 672 | 8 of 28 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.4% | 53 of 677 | 8 of 28 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.24% | 88 of 434 | 4 of 28 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.24% | 88 of 447 | 4 of 28 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 9% of this job's working time as physical work. For 8% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 8% in a purpose-built cell. 0.08 of 3, the 538th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 91%
- No robot shown 1%
- In a purpose-built cell 8%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
41% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Counsel on healthy eating, the in-person work, 7%
- Hire and supervise food workers, the in-person work, 6%
- Make dietary care plans, the in-person work, 5%
- Conduct nutrition research, the in-person work, 4%
- Conduct nutrigenomic research, the hands-on work, 4%
- Advise patients on diets, the in-person work, 4%
What becomes checking the machine
34% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it. Another 3% is desk work that is small if wrong, which can be handed over with lighter checks.
- Conduct nutrition research, costly if wrong, 8%
- Conduct nutrigenomic research, costly if wrong, 6%
- Make dietary care plans, a licensed person signs, 5%
- Read lab results for diets, a licensed person signs, 3%
- Take and record diet histories, a licensed person signs, 2%
- Write research reports, costly if wrong, 2%
What to learn
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts. About 55% of the time is documents and data, the part models reach first: writing a clear brief, giving the right material, and checking what comes back.
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself. The tasks under What becomes checking the machine, where a mistake costs something, stay a person's to check or sign: spotting what a draft gets wrong is a skill of its own.
- Handling protected records. Much of the work touches protected personal records: knowing what may be shared with a model, and how, is part of the job.
- The conversations. About 35% of the time is conversation and in-person work, which this site leaves with people: listening, explaining, persuading, calming.
- Signing off under your license. Some tasks need a licensed, certified or sworn person to do or sign them. The license, and the judgment it stands for, stays with the person.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 28 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan, conduct, and evaluate dietary, nutritional, and epidemiological research.Design, analysis and writing, with data gathered from participants.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 20% | 3.3 work weeks4.2 work days to 2.3 work months | Documents 80%, in person 20% | 0%Desk part half by Dec 2028 |
| Plan, conduct, and evaluate nutrigenomic or nutrigenetic research.Analysis and writing, with laboratory work.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 20% | 4.2 work weeks1 work week to 3.2 work months | Documents 80%, hands-on 20% | 0%Desk part half by Mar 2029 |
| Assess nutritional needs, diet restrictions, and current health plans to develop and implement dietary-care plans and provide nutritional counseling.The assessment and the plan written, and counseling the patient.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 10% | 1.3 h38 min to 2.1 h | Documents 50%, in person 50% | 50%Desk part half by now |
| Select, train, and supervise workers who plan, prepare, and serve meals.Leading and training the staff in the kitchen.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 8% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.1 work days | In person 80%, documents 20% | 12%Desk part half by now |
| Counsel individuals and groups on basic rules of good nutrition, healthy eating habits, and nutrition monitoring to improve their quality of life.Sessions with individuals and groups, mostly in person.Done several times a day by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 7% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | In person 80%, conversation 20% | Stays with people |
| Record and evaluate patient and family health and food history, including symptoms, environmental toxic exposure, allergies, medication factors, and preventive health-care measures.Asking the patient and entering the history in the record.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 5% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Systems 50%, in person 50% | 50%Desk part half by now |
| Advise patients and their families on nutritional principles, dietary plans, diet modifications, and food selection and preparation.Talking the diet through with the patient and family.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 4% | 38 min17 min to 1.3 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Manage quantity food service departments or clinical and community nutrition services.Conversation with the staff on the floor, plus reading and deciding.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.1 work days | Documents 50%, in person 50% | 31%Desk part half by now |
| Evaluate laboratory tests in preparing nutrition recommendations.Reading the results and deciding what they mean for the diet.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 3% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Documents 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Develop curriculum and prepare manuals, visual aids, course outlines, and other materials used in teaching.Writing the course and its materials.Done more than yearly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 3% | 1.3 work days3.3 h to 3.1 work days | Documents 100% | 52%Half by now |
| Coordinate diet counseling services.Scheduling and directing the counseling, in conversation and on paper.Done daily by most who do it. | 2% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Conversation 60%, documents 40% | 40%Desk part half by now |
| Incorporate patient cultural, ethnic, or religious preferences and needs in the development of nutrition plans.Asking the patient and writing the preferences into the plan.Done daily by most who do it. | 2% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Documents 70%, in person 30% | 70%Desk part half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Dietitians and Nutritionists is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 21% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 40% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (27% to 54% across the three paces the site shows). Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Dietitians and Nutritionists come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Make dietary care plans (50% of the task's time now); Read lab results for diets (100% of the task's time now); and Take and record diet histories (50% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Dietitians and Nutritionists stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Counsel on healthy eating; Advise patients on diets; and Consult clinicians on patients' needs. Together such tasks are about 12% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Dietitians and Nutritionists learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are briefing a model and checking its drafts; reviewing work you did not do yourself; and handling protected records. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 41% of the working time stays with people, 34% becomes checking a model's work and 3% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Dietitians and Nutritionists?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.24% went to this job's tasks, the 88th largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 4 of its 28 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 13%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Dietitians and Nutritionists?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 9% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 8% of the working time. Its index is 0.08 of 3. One example: RoboEatz ARK (Fresh Take Eatery) for "develop and prepare special meals". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 28 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on October 1, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
This job in your state or metro area
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.
Your own version of this job
The page above is the occupation. Your job is your title and what you actually do: give both, and they are read against these tasks in your browser, nothing sent anywhere. The headline is free: how much of your working time is within reach now and by the end of 2028, and how many of the tasks your description names.
The full personal report is $19, to print or save as a PDF: every task with when it comes within reach, which ones your description names, the parts of your description the task list does not cover, what stays with you, what becomes checking the machine and what to learn.