Veterinarians
In short: today's best AI models could do about 14% 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 26% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 70% of the time, stays with people.
Diagnose, treat, or research diseases and injuries of animals. Includes veterinarians who conduct research and development, inspect livestock, or care for pets and companion animals.
83,900 people do this job in the US. $130,100 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 work5 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet7 h
- Stays with people28 h
Veterinarians, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 0 hours, 5 hours become checking its work, 7 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 28 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Run the hospital or clinic (about 2 h, a person checks); Run nutrition and breeding programs (under an hour, a person checks); Educate the public on zoonoses (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.
- 30%
- 1%
- 1%
- 19%
- 50%
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 14% 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, 6%. Today's estimate: 14%.
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, 0.011% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 415th largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 1 of its 21 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.022% to 0.033% (released February and March 2025); 0.038% to 0.048% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.011% to 0.011% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.022% | 428 of 708 | 3 of 21 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.033% | 345 of 703 | 2 of 21 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.038% | 278 of 655 | 4 of 21 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.04% | 271 of 672 | 4 of 21 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.048% | 254 of 677 | 4 of 21 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.011% | 401 of 434 | 1 of 21 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.011% | 415 of 447 | 1 of 21 |
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 69% of this job's working time as physical work. For 0% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere. 0.00 of 3.
- Not physical 31%
- No robot shown 69%
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
69% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Treat and operate on animals, the hands-on work, 11%
- Test treatments on animals, the hands-on work, 9%
- Run the hospital or clinic, the in-person work, 9%
- Practice a specialty, the hands-on work, 8%
- Examine animals, the hands-on work, 6%
- Train and supervise animal staff, the in-person work, 4%
What becomes checking the machine
25% 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.
- Research animal diseases, costly if wrong, 8%
- Run the hospital or clinic, costly if wrong, 6%
- Test treatments on animals, a licensed person signs, 5%
- Run nutrition and breeding programs, costly if wrong, 2%
- Educate the public on zoonoses, costly if wrong, 2%
- Run the practice's administration, costly if wrong, 1%
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.
- Judgment where errors are severe. Some tasks are severe if wrong. Knowing when not to trust an output matters more there than speed.
- The hands-on craft. About 50% of the time is hands-on work, which no model here does; robots are rated separately on this page.
- 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 30% 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.
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 . 21 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Determine the effects of drug therapies, antibiotics, or new surgical techniques by testing them on animals.The trials on animals and the analysis of results.Done more than yearly by most who do it.Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 18% | 4.2 work days3.3 h to 3.5 work weeks | Documents 50%, hands-on 50% | 2%Desk part half by Oct 2028 |
| Direct the overall operations of animal hospitals, clinics, or mobile services to farms.Mostly conversation with the people in the clinic, plus reading and deciding.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 15% | 3.3 h50 min to 6.7 h | In person 60%, documents 40% | 37%Desk part half by now |
| Treat sick or injured animals by prescribing medication, setting bones, dressing wounds, or performing surgery.Treatment and surgery by hand.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 11% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Research diseases to which animals could be susceptible.Reading, analysis and writing, with some laboratory work.Done daily by most who do it. | 10% | 2.1 work days3.3 h to 1.7 work weeks | Documents 80%, hands-on 20% | 12%Desk part half by Oct 2027 |
| Specialize in a particular type of treatment, such as dentistry, pathology, nutrition, surgery, microbiology, or internal medicine.Specialist treatment by hand.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 8% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.7 work days | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Examine animals to detect and determine the nature of diseases or injuries.Hands on the animal, with the owner there.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 33 min13 min to 1.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Train or supervise workers who handle or care for animals.Leading and teaching the staff in the clinic.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 50 min17 min to 1.7 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Educate the public about diseases that can be spread from animals to humans.Talks and written material for the public.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | Documents 50%, in person 50% | 50%Desk part half by now |
| Plan or execute animal nutrition or reproduction programs.The program planned on paper and carried out with the animals.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Documents 60%, hands-on 40% | 57%Desk part half by now |
| Inoculate animals against various diseases, such as rabies or distemper.Giving the shot with the animal on the table.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 17 min8 min to 33 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Advise animal owners regarding sanitary measures, feeding, general care, medical conditions, or treatment options.Talking the owner through care and options, mostly in the exam room.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 3% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | In person 70%, conversation 30% | Stays with people |
| Inspect and test horses, sheep, poultry, or other animals to detect the presence of communicable diseases.Looking the animals over and testing them on the farm.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | 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.
- Veterinary Technologists and Technicians11% now, 11% by 2028
- Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers17% now, 17% by 2028
- Allergists and Immunologists39% now, 52% by 2028
- Physicians, Pathologists42% now, 57% by 2028
- Emergency Medicine Physicians42% now, 42% by 2028
- Dermatologists25% now, 41% by 2028
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 Veterinarians is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 14% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 26% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (20% to 29% 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 Veterinarians 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: Run the hospital or clinic (37% of the task's time now); Run nutrition and breeding programs (57% of the task's time now); and Educate the public on zoonoses (50% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Veterinarians stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Treat and operate on animals; Practice a specialty; and Examine animals. Together such tasks are about 45% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Veterinarians 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; judgment where errors are severe; and the hands-on craft. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 69% of the working time stays with people, 25% 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 Veterinarians?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.011% went to this job's tasks, the 415th largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 1 of its 21 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 9%. 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 Veterinarians?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 69% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 0% of the working time. Its index is 0.00 of 3. 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 21 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.
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