Speech-Language Pathology Assistants
In short: today's best AI models could do about 44% 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 56% of the time, stays with people.
Assist speech-language pathologists in the assessment and treatment of speech, language, voice, and fluency disorders. Implement speech and language programs or activities as planned and directed by speech-language pathologists. Monitor the use of alternative communication devices and systems.
$48,430 a year (for the broader BLS group this job sits in).
Reviewed on October 18, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on5 h
- A person checks AI's work12 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people23 h
Speech-Language Pathology Assistants, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 5 hours, 12 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 23 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Compile client performance data (about 6 h, a person checks); Document client progress (about 3 h, a person checks); Perform support duties (about 2 h).
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.
- 23%
- 20%
- 0%
- 49%
- 8%
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 44% 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, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 42%. Today's estimate: 44%.
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 11 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.0052% to 0.026% (released February and March 2025).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.0052% | 599 of 708 | 1 of 11 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.026% | 385 of 703 | 3 of 11 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | none | n/a | 0 of 11 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.0019% | 653 of 672 | 1 of 11 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 11 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 11 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 11 |
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 24% of this job's working time as physical work. For 19% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 19% in a purpose-built cell. 0.19 of 3, the 444th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 76%
- No robot shown 4%
- In a purpose-built cell 19%
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
56% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Assist in speech therapy sessions, the in-person work, 20%
- Carry out treatment plans, the in-person work, 20%
- Give training and family education, the in-person work, 5%
- Perform support duties, the hands-on work, 4%
- Prepare therapy materials, the hands-on work, 3%
- Assist with screenings and assessments, the in-person work, 2%
What becomes checking the machine
31% 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 13% is desk work that is small if wrong, which can be handed over with lighter checks.
- Compile client performance data, costly if wrong, 16%
- Document client progress, severe if wrong, 8%
- Chart client performance, costly if wrong, 4%
- Help with research projects, costly if wrong, 2%
- Assist with screenings and assessments, severe if wrong, 0.5%
What to learn
- 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 49% 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.
- 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.
- 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 . 11 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assist speech-language pathologists in the remediation or development of speech and language skills.Working with the client on speech and language alongside the pathologist.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 20% | 42 min25 min to 1.3 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Implement treatment plans or protocols as directed by speech-language pathologists.Working through the plan with the client in the room, under the pathologist's direction.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 20% | 42 min25 min to 1.3 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Collect and compile data to document clients' performance or assess program quality.Pulling the session data together into the record and the program's figures.Done daily by most who do it. | 16% | 38 min17 min to 1.3 h | Documents 60%, systems 40% | 100%Half by now |
| Perform support duties, such as preparing materials, keeping records, maintaining supplies, and scheduling activities.Scheduling, records and supplies, with materials set out by hand.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, RightPick (RightHand Robotics) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 10% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Systems 60%, hands-on 40% | 60%Desk part half by now |
| Document clients' progress toward meeting established treatment objectives.Notes on each session's progress typed into the client record.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 8% | 17 min8 min to 33 min | Systems 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Select or prepare speech-language instructional materials.Choosing and making the cards, pictures and worksheets a session needs.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, RightPick 4 (RightHand Robotics) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 8% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Documents 60%, hands-on 40% | 60%Desk part half by now |
| Conduct in-service training sessions, or family and community education programs.Presenting to staff, families and community groups, with the material prepared.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 8% | 1.7 h50 min to 3.3 h | In person 70%, documents 30% | 30%Desk part half by now |
| Prepare charts, graphs, or other visual displays to communicate clients' performance information.Turning the session data into charts and graphs for the pathologist and the family.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 33 min17 min to 1.1 h | Documents 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Assist speech-language pathologists in the conduct of speech-language research projects.Gathering and tabulating the data, some of it with clients in the room.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 3% | 1.7 h38 min to 3.3 h | Documents 70%, in person 30% | 70%Desk part half by now |
| Assist speech-language pathologists in the conduct of client screenings or assessments of language, voice, fluency, articulation, or hearing.Helping run the screening with the client present, and scoring the forms.Done more than yearly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 50 min25 min to 2.1 h | In person 80%, documents 20% | 20%Desk part half by now |
| Test or maintain equipment to ensure correct performance.Checking the devices work and keeping them in order.Done more than monthly by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, MATT (Adapta Robotics) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 0.5% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Hands-on 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). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Speech-Language Pathology Assistants is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 44% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 44% 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 Pathology Assistants 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: Compile client performance data (100% of the task's time now); Document client progress (100% of the task's time now); and Perform support duties (60% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Speech-Language Pathology Assistants stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Assist in speech therapy sessions; Carry out treatment plans; and Test and maintain equipment. Together such tasks are about 41% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Speech-Language Pathology Assistants learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are judgment where errors are severe; the conversations; and signing off under your license. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 56% of the working time stays with people, 31% becomes checking a model's work and 13% 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 Pathology Assistants?
- 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 Pathology Assistants?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 24% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 19% of the working time. Its index is 0.19 of 3. One example: RightPick for "perform support duties". 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 11 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 18, 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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