← All 785 jobsFile 29-1041
Optometrists
Mostly untouched
AI barely touches this work so far. The BLS expects 9.5% more of these jobs by 2035, faster than the 3.5% average.
Clinical work often uses specialised medical AI tools that consumer Copilot data does not see, so this file probably understates how much AI touches it.
- Rank
- #424 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- +9.5% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $136,570 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 45,100 in the US, with about 2,000 openings a year
The work, 10 activities
The job description, marked up.
Every activity in this job, the biggest first. Tap a line for the evidence.
- deleAI does this
- +AIAI helps
- stetStill yours
Still yours: Prescribe medical treatments or devices23%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Treat injuries, illnesses, or diseases12%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Administer diagnostic tests to assess patient health10%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Analyze health or medical data9%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,718 conversations, and it got them there 85% of the time.
Still yours: Develop patient or client care or treatment plans9%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Fit assistive devices to patients or clients8%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Train others on health or medical topics8%
AI performed this in about 1 in 1,890 Copilot conversations and completed it 95% of the time.
Still yours: Monitor health conditions of humans or animals7%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Confer with healthcare or other professionals about patient care7%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Assist others to access additional services or resources7%
AI performed this in about 1 in 31 Copilot conversations and completed it 88% of the time.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 110 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
About 2,000 openings a year, from growth and from people who retire or move on.
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
Jobs that share the most work with this one, where AI does less of it.
- Shares 41% of the workEmergency Medicine Physicians9% AI does, against 15% here+3.2% by 2035 · $335,550 · Doctoral or professional degree
- Shares 36% of the workPediatric Surgeons9% AI does, against 15% here+2% by 2035 · $559,030 · Doctoral or professional degree
- Shares 35% of the workOrthopedic Surgeons4% AI does, against 15% here+4% by 2035 · $358,550 · Doctoral or professional degree
The wire
On the wire.
Nothing filed about this job yet. The latest from the Health front:
How to read this file.
deleAI does this. In US Bing Copilot conversations from January to September 2024, AI itself performed the activity, completed it and made a real difference often enough to count.
+AIAI helps. People brought the activity to AI as their own goal, and it usually got them there.
stetStill yours. It barely shows up in AI use, AI rarely finishes it, or in this job it needs hands.
Shares are weighted by how much each activity matters in the job, using O*NET. Microsoft’s own AI applicability score for this job is 0.07, higher than 18% of jobs.
Doing an activity is not doing a job. The researchers behind this data warn against reading it as job loss, and so do we. It is US data; the shape of the work travels.
Clinical work often uses specialised medical AI tools that consumer Copilot data does not see, so this file probably understates how much AI touches it.
Sources: Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025) · O*NET OnLine, 29-1041 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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