Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers
In short: today's best AI models could do about 17% 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 83% of the time, stays with people.
Feed, water, and examine pets and other nonfarm animals for signs of illness, disease, or injury in laboratories and animal hospitals and clinics. Clean and disinfect cages and work areas, and sterilize laboratory and surgical equipment. May provide routine postoperative care, administer medication orally or topically, or prepare samples for laboratory examination under the supervision of veterinary or laboratory animal technologists or technicians, veterinarians, or scientists.
126,580 people do this job in the US. $38,150 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 on5 h
- A person checks AI's work2 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people33 h
Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 5 hours, 2 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 33 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Write reports and clerical work (about 2 h); Bookkeeping and billing (about 2 h, a person checks); Record animal information (about 1 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.
- 3%
- 14%
- 1%
- 7%
- 75%
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 17% 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, 16%. Today's estimate: 17%.
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 28 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.039% to 0.037% (released February and March 2025); 0.048% to 0.04% (August 2025 to February 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.039% | 317 of 708 | 3 of 28 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.037% | 320 of 703 | 3 of 28 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.048% | 250 of 655 | 3 of 28 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.038% | 276 of 672 | 4 of 28 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.04% | 279 of 677 | 4 of 28 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 28 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 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 81% of this job's working time as physical work. For 39% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 39% in a purpose-built cell. 0.39 of 3, the 349th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 19%
- No robot shown 42%
- In a purpose-built cell 39%
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
83% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Clean kennels and rooms, the hands-on work, 15%
- Assist with examinations, the hands-on work, 10%
- Take x-rays and run routine tests, the hands-on work, 6%
- Restrain animals, the hands-on work, 6%
- Advise clients on animal care, the in-person work, 5%
- Administer and monitor anesthetics, the hands-on work, 4%
What becomes checking the machine
5% 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 11% is desk work that is small if wrong, which can be handed over with lighter checks.
- Bookkeeping and billing, costly if wrong, 5%
- Fill prescriptions, a licensed person signs, 0.7%
What to learn
- The hands-on craft. About 75% of the time is hands-on work, which no model here does; robots are rated separately on this page.
- Judgment where errors are severe. Some tasks are severe if wrong. Knowing when not to trust an output matters more there than speed.
- 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.
- Running AI inside the business systems. About 14% of the time is work inside business systems, which a model can do only once it is connected: knowing the systems well enough to set that up and watch it.
- 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.
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 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clean and maintain kennels, animal holding areas, examination or operating rooms, or animal loading or unloading facilities to control the spread of disease.Cleaning to control disease.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Getinge Cage Handling System (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 15% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Assist veterinarians in examining animals to determine the nature of illnesses or injuries.Helping the veterinarian examine the animal.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 10% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Perform routine laboratory tests or diagnostic tests, such as taking or developing x-rays.X-rays taken and developed, tests run.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Total laboratory automation (TLA) lines (Abbott, Roche, Siemens Healthineers, Beckman Coulter) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 38 min13 min to 1.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Write reports, maintain research information, or perform clerical duties.Reports written and records kept.Done hourly or more by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 6% | 33 min13 min to 1.3 h | Documents 50%, systems 50% | 100%Half by now |
| Hold or restrain animals during veterinary procedures.Holding the animal for the procedure.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 13 min4 min to 38 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Educate or advise clients on animal health care, nutrition, or behavior problems.Advice at the clinic and by phone.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 25 min8 min to 1.1 h | In person 70%, conversation 30% | Stays with people |
| Perform accounting duties, such as bookkeeping, billing customers for services, or maintaining inventories.Bills and books kept in the system.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 5% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Systems 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Administer anesthetics during surgery and monitor the effects on animals.Anesthetics given in surgery and the animal watched.Done more than weekly by most who do it.Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 1.3 h38 min to 2.5 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Clean, maintain, and sterilize instruments or equipment.Instruments and equipment sterilized.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Getinge Automatiq (Envoy mobile robot, Loaders, Hub) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 33 min13 min to 1.1 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Fill medication prescriptions.Medications filled, with the record.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, ScriptPro SP 200 robotic prescription dispensing system (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Hands-on 80%, systems 20% | 20%Desk part half by now |
| Perform hygiene-related duties, such as clipping animals' claws or cleaning and polishing teeth.Hygiene work by hand.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Record information relating to animal genealogy, feeding schedules, appearance, behavior, or breeding.Genealogy, feeding and behavior entered.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 17 min4 min to 50 min | Systems 100% | 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.
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 Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 17% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 17% 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 Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers 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: Write reports and clerical work (100% of the task's time now); Bookkeeping and billing (100% of the task's time now); and Record animal information (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Clean kennels and rooms; Assist with examinations; and Take x-rays and run routine tests. Together such tasks are about 78% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are the hands-on craft; judgment where errors are severe; and signing off under your license. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 83% of the working time stays with people, 5% becomes checking a model's work and 11% 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 Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers?
- 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 2%. 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 Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 81% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 39% of the working time. Its index is 0.39 of 3. One example: Getinge Cage Handling System for "clean kennels and rooms". 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 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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