Rehabilitation Counselors
In short: today's best AI models could do about 64% 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 the same by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 36% of the time, stays with people.
Counsel individuals to maximize the independence and employability of persons coping with personal, social, and vocational difficulties that result from birth defects, illness, disease, accidents, aging, or the stress of daily life. Coordinate activities for residents of care and treatment facilities. Assess client needs and design and implement rehabilitation programs that may include personal and vocational counseling, training, and job placement.
94,740 people do this job in the US. $46,850 a year.
Reviewed on September 30, 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 work25 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people15 h
Rehabilitation Counselors, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 0 hours, 25 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 15 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Develop rehabilitation plans (about 8 h, a person checks); Assess abilities and eligibility (about 6 h, a person checks); Keep case files (about 3 h, 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.
- 51%
- 12%
- 20%
- 16%
- 0%
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 64% 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, 45%. Today's estimate: 64%.
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, no reportable share went to this job's tasks in May 2026; 0 of its 17 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.01% to 0.0024% (released February and March 2025); 0.003% to 0.027% (August 2025 to February 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.01% | 534 of 708 | 3 of 17 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.0024% | 646 of 703 | 1 of 17 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.003% | 586 of 655 | 1 of 17 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.023% | 370 of 672 | 3 of 17 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.027% | 356 of 677 | 3 of 17 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 17 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 17 |
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 almost none of this job's working time as physical work, so robots do not reach it.
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
36% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Discuss options and goals with clients, the in-person work, 9%
- Develop jobs and place clients, the conversation, 7%
- Find and address employment barriers, the in-person work, 5%
- Maintain referral relationships, the conversation, 3%
- Collaborate with community agencies, the conversation, 3%
- Supervise counselors and staff, the conversation, 2%
What becomes checking the machine
63% 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.
- Develop rehabilitation plans, costly if wrong, 19%
- Assess abilities and eligibility, costly if wrong, 16%
- Keep case files, costly if wrong, 9%
- Manage case service budgets, costly if wrong, 5%
- Find and address employment barriers, costly if wrong, 3%
- Develop diagnostic procedures, costly if wrong, 3%
What to learn
- 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: spotting what a draft gets wrong is a skill of its own.
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts. About 51% 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.
- 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 36% of the time is conversation and in-person work, which this site leaves with people: listening, explaining, persuading, calming.
- Dealing with people outside the organization. Customers, patients, suppliers or the public: trust with them is built by a 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 . 17 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Develop rehabilitation plans that fit clients' aptitudes, education levels, physical abilities, and career goals.Plans written to the client's abilities and goals.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 19% | 1.7 h50 min to 3.3 h | Documents 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Analyze information from interviews, educational and medical records, consultation with other professionals, and diagnostic evaluations to assess clients' abilities, needs, and eligibility for services.Interview notes, records and evaluations analyzed.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 16% | 2.1 h50 min to 3.3 h | Documents 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Confer with clients to discuss their options and goals so that rehabilitation programs and plans for accessing needed services can be developed.Conversations with the client, mostly in person.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 9% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | In person 70%, conversation 30% | Stays with people |
| Prepare and maintain records and case files, including documentation, such as clients' personal and eligibility information, services provided, narratives of client contacts, or relevant correspondence.Case records kept and narratives written.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Systems 70%, documents 30% | 100%Half by now |
| Locate barriers to client employment, such as inaccessible work sites, inflexible schedules, or transportation problems, and work with clients to develop strategies for overcoming these barriers.Working the barriers through with the client, with strategies written.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | In person 60%, documents 40% | 40%Desk part half by now |
| Participate in job development and placement programs, contacting prospective employers, placing clients in jobs, and evaluating the success of placements.Calls and visits to employers, with placements followed up.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 7% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Conversation 70%, in person 30% | Stays with people |
| Manage budgets and direct case service allocations, authorizing expenditures and payments.Allocations worked out and payments authorized.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | Documents 50%, systems 50% | 100%Half by now |
| Collaborate with community agencies to establish facilities and programs for persons with disabilities.Conversations with agencies, with the proposals.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 2.5 h1.3 h to 1 work day | Conversation 60%, documents 40% | 39%Desk part half by now |
| Supervise rehabilitation counselors and staff.Conversation with the staff, with planning and review behind it.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Conversation 60%, documents 40% | 40%Desk part half by now |
| Develop and maintain relationships with community referral sources, such as schools or community groups.Calls and visits to schools and community groups.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 50 min25 min to 2.5 h | Conversation 60%, in person 40% | Stays with people |
| Develop diagnostic procedures to determine clients' needs.Procedures designed on paper.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 6.7 h | Documents 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Monitor and record clients' progress to ensure that goals and objectives are met.Progress recorded against the goals.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 25 min13 min to 1.1 h | Systems 60%, documents 40% | 100%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.
- Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers27% now, 43% by 2028
- Mental Health Counselors43% now, 43% by 2028
- Healthcare Social Workers32% now, 50% by 2028
- Child, Family, and School Social Workers32% now, 44% by 2028
- Occupational Therapy Aides8% now, 8% by 2028
- Psychiatric Technicians6% now, 6% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
- Vocational Rehabilitation Services33,400 people
- Individual and Family Services15,650 people
- State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals14,610 people
- Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Facilities11,090 people
- Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals3,670 people
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 Rehabilitation Counselors is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 64% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 64% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. 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 Rehabilitation Counselors 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: Develop rehabilitation plans (100% of the task's time now); Assess abilities and eligibility (100% of the task's time now); and Keep case files (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Rehabilitation Counselors stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Discuss options and goals with clients; Develop jobs and place clients; and Maintain referral relationships. Together such tasks are about 23% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Rehabilitation Counselors learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are reviewing work you did not do yourself; briefing a model and checking its drafts; and handling protected records. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 36% of the working time stays with people, 63% becomes checking a model's work and 0% 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 Rehabilitation Counselors?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026, no reportable share went to this job's tasks. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 0%. 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 Rehabilitation Counselors?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds almost none of the working time is physical work, so robots do not reach it.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 17 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 September 30, 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.
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