Speech-Language Pathologists
In short: today's best AI models could do about 54% 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 56% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 44% of the time, stays with people.
Assess and treat persons with speech, language, voice, and fluency disorders. May select alternative communication systems and teach their use. May perform research related to speech and language problems.
183,390 people do this job in the US. $97,870 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 on2 h
- A person checks AI's work19 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet1 h
- Stays with people18 h
Speech-Language Pathologists, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 2 hours, 19 hours become checking its work, 1 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 18 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Develop school activities and programs (about 4 h, a person checks); Write reports and keep records (about 3 h, a person checks); Develop and carry out treatment plans (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.
- 48%
- 8%
- 2%
- 39%
- 3%
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 54% 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, 48%. Today's estimate: 54%.
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 23 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.025% to 0.014% (released February and March 2025); none to 0.008% (August 2025 to February 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.025% | 411 of 708 | 3 of 23 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.014% | 467 of 703 | 5 of 23 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | none | n/a | 0 of 23 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.0041% | 596 of 672 | 1 of 23 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.008% | 526 of 677 | 2 of 23 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 23 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 23 |
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
43% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Administer speech and hearing evaluations, the in-person work, 5%
- Develop and carry out treatment plans, the in-person work, 5%
- Teach oral muscle and breathing control, the in-person work, 5%
- Instruct in communication techniques, the in-person work, 5%
- Run lessons and therapeutic games, the in-person work, 4%
- Attend and report for progress meetings, the in-person work, 4%
What becomes checking the machine
50% 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 6% is desk work that is small if wrong, which can be handed over with lighter checks.
- Develop school activities and programs, a licensed person signs, 9%
- Write reports and keep records, severe if wrong, 8%
- Develop and carry out treatment plans, a licensed person signs, 7%
- Evaluate results to diagnose and plan, a licensed person signs, 5%
- Develop speech exercise programs, a licensed person signs, 5%
- Attend and report for progress meetings, costly if wrong, 4%
What to learn
- 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.
- 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.
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts. About 48% 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.
- Judgment where errors are severe. Some tasks are severe if wrong. Knowing when not to trust an output matters more there than speed.
- The conversations. About 41% of the time is conversation and in-person work, which this site leaves with people: listening, explaining, persuading, calming.
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 . 23 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Develop or implement treatment plans for problems such as stuttering, delayed language, swallowing disorders, or inappropriate pitch or harsh voice problems, based on own assessments and recommendations of physicians, psychologists, or social workers.Writing the plan and carrying it out with the patient.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 12% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Documents 60%, in person 40% | 60%Desk part half by now |
| Develop individual or group activities or programs in schools to deal with behavior, speech, language, or swallowing problems.Planning activities and programs on paper.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 1.3 h38 min to 2.5 h | Documents 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Write reports and maintain proper documentation of information, such as client Medicaid or billing records or caseload activities, including the initial evaluation, treatment, progress, and discharge of clients.Writing evaluation and progress reports and keeping the billing and case records.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Documents 50%, systems 50% | 100%Half by now |
| Participate in and write reports for meetings regarding patients' progress, such as individualized educational planning (IEP) meetings, in-service meetings, or intervention assistance team meetings.IEP and team meetings in person, and the reports written for them.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 7% | 1.1 h38 min to 2.1 h | Documents 50%, in person 50% | 50%Desk part half by now |
| Monitor patients' progress and adjust treatments accordingly.Watching the patient in session and changing the treatment on paper.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Documents 50%, in person 50% | 50%Desk part half by now |
| Complete administrative responsibilities, such as coordinating paperwork, scheduling case management activities, or writing lesson plans.Coordinating paperwork, scheduling in the system and writing lesson plans.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 42 min21 min to 1.7 h | Documents 50%, systems 50% | 100%Half by now |
| Evaluate hearing or speech and language test results, barium swallow results, or medical or background information to diagnose and plan treatment for speech, language, fluency, voice, or swallowing disorders.Reading test results and history to diagnose and plan the treatment.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 5% | 50 min25 min to 2.1 h | Documents 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Administer hearing or speech and language evaluations, tests, or examinations to patients to collect information on type and degree of impairments, using written or oral tests or special instruments.Testing the patient in person, with instruments for part of it.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 5% | 1.3 h38 min to 2.5 h | In person 70%, hands-on 30% | Stays with people |
| Teach clients to control or strengthen tongue, jaw, face muscles, or breathing mechanisms.Working with the patient in person, with hands-on cueing.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 33 min17 min to 1.1 h | In person 70%, hands-on 30% | Stays with people |
| Develop speech exercise programs to reduce disabilities.Designing exercise programs on paper.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 5% | 50 min25 min to 2.1 h | Documents 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Instruct clients in techniques for more effective communication, such as sign language, lip reading, or voice improvement.Teaching sign, lip reading or voice technique in person.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 5% | 33 min17 min to 1.3 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Conduct lessons or direct educational or therapeutic games to assist teachers dealing with speech problems.Leading lessons and games with children in person.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 4% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
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 Speech-Language Pathologists is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 54% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 56% 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 Speech-Language Pathologists 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 school activities and programs (100% of the task's time now); Write reports and keep records (100% of the task's time now); and Develop and carry out treatment plans (60% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Speech-Language Pathologists stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Administer speech and hearing evaluations; Teach oral muscle and breathing control; and Instruct in communication techniques. 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 Speech-Language Pathologists learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are signing off under your license; reviewing work you did not do yourself; and briefing a model and checking its drafts. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 43% of the working time stays with people, 50% becomes checking a model's work and 6% 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 Speech-Language Pathologists?
- 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 Speech-Language Pathologists?
- 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 23 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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