Will AI replace Naturopathic Physicians?
Work in Naturopathic Physicians sits in the in-between: AI reaches some of it (~46% in theory) but is only measured doing about 2% today — part human, part machine.
O*NET-SOC 29-1299
How your 35 core tasks split
Top = what GPT-4 judged AI could speed up. Bottom = how much AI was actually used for these tasks (Anthropic's March 2026 report, usage from Aug & Nov 2025). The gap is the real story.
Back in 2023, GPT-4 judged AI could, in theory, assist with a moderate share of this job's tasks (~46%). By late 2025, real-world AI use had reached about 2% of its task activity (still rare). The gap between that 2023 forecast and today is the real story.
Where this job sits among 738 jobs
Each dot is one of 738 U.S. jobs. Right = AI can do more of it. Up = AI is actually used more.
The signals here line up
Theoretical reach (~46%), real-world use (~2%) and the task-level picture mostly agree — so this read is more reliable than for jobs where the signals contradict each other. Even so, AI-risk estimates shift by model (a 2026 study saw the "high-risk" share swing 2.7%–51.5%), so treat these as directional, not destiny.
See all 35 tasks, ratedBased on real task-level AI scores — click to collapse
- Document patients' histories, including identifying data, chief complaints, illnesses, previous medical or family histories, or psychosocial characteristics.
- Interview patients to document symptoms and health histories.
- Maintain professional development through activities such as postgraduate education, continuing education, preceptorships, and residency programs.
- Report patterns of patients' health conditions, such as disease status and births, to public health agencies.
- Provide instructions to patients or family members concerning diagnoses or treatment plans.
- Prepare diagnostic or treatment reports for other medical practitioners or therapists.
- Present or publish scientific papers.
- Educate patients about health care management.
- Advise patients about therapeutic exercise and nutritional medicine regimens.
- Administer, dispense, or prescribe natural medicines, such as food or botanical extracts, herbs, dietary supplements, vitamins, nutraceuticals, and amino acids.
- Diagnose health conditions, based on patients' symptoms and health histories, laboratory and diagnostic radiology test results, or other physiological measurements, such as electrocardiograms and electroencephalographs.
- Consult with other health professionals to provide optimal patient care, referring patients to traditional health care professionals as necessary.
- Order diagnostic imaging procedures such as radiographs (x-rays), ultrasounds, mammograms, and bone densitometry tests, or refer patients to other health professionals for these procedures.
- Obtain medical records from previous physicians or other health care providers for the purpose of patient evaluation.
- Conduct periodic public health maintenance activities such as immunizations and screenings for diseases and disease risk factors.
- Monitor updates from public health agencies to keep abreast of health trends.
- Prescribe synthetic drugs under the supervision of medical doctors or within the allowances of regulatory bodies.
- Examine patients with problems related to ocular motility, binocular vision, amblyopia, or strabismus.
- Evaluate, diagnose, or treat disorders of the visual system with an emphasis on binocular vision or abnormal eye movements.
- Perform diagnostic tests or measurements, such as motor testing, visual acuity testing, lensometry, retinoscopy, and color vision testing.
- Provide nonsurgical interventions, including corrective lenses, patches, drops, fusion exercises, or stereograms, to treat conditions such as strabismus, heterophoria, and convergence insufficiency.
- Develop nonsurgical treatment plans for patients with conditions such as strabismus, nystagmus, and other visual disorders.
- Interpret clinical or diagnostic test results.
- Refer patients to ophthalmic surgeons or other physicians.
- Collaborate with ophthalmologists, optometrists, or other specialists in the diagnosis, treatment, or management of conditions such as glaucoma, cataracts, and retinal diseases.
- Perform vision screening of children in schools or community health centers.
- Participate in clinical research projects.
- Assist ophthalmologists in diagnostic ophthalmic procedures, such as ultrasonography, fundus photography, and tonometry.
- Conduct physical examinations and physiological function tests for diagnostic purposes.
- Administer treatments or therapies, such as homeopathy, hydrotherapy, Oriental or Ayurvedic medicine, electrotherapy, and diathermy, using physical agents including air, heat, cold, water, sound, or ultraviolet light to catalyze the body to heal itself.
- Perform venipuncture or skin pricking to collect blood samples.
- Perform mobilizations and high-velocity adjustments to joints or soft tissues, using principles of massage, stretching, or resistance.
- Treat minor cuts, abrasions, or contusions.
- Develop or use special test and communication techniques to facilitate diagnosis and treatment of children or disabled patients.
- Provide training related to clinical methods or orthoptics to students, resident physicians, or other health professionals.
How we measured this — and how fresh it is
AI's theoretical reach data: 2023
From GPTs-are-GPTs (Eloundou et al.), where GPT-4 rated how much of each task an AI tool could meaningfully speed up. This is the most recent open, commercially-usable occupation-level potential dataset — it dates to 2023. Newer multi-model re-runs exist but swing wildly (one 2026 study saw "high-risk" jobs range 2.7%–51.5% by model) and aren't openly licensed, so we show the stable 2023 baseline and pair it with newer real-world data.
Real-world AI use 2026 report
From the Anthropic Economic Index, which observes how real Claude conversations map onto each occupation's tasks. Published in Anthropic's March 2026 labor-market report, based on usage measured in Aug & Nov 2025 (Sonnet 4 / 4.5).
Task list & ratings O*NET 30.3
Tasks come from O*NET 30.3. Each task's "AI can do / speeds up / still on you" tier uses the real task-level exposure scores from GPTs-are-GPTs (E1 / E2 / E0) — not a guess from keywords.
Sources: O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0) · GPTs-are-GPTs (MIT, 2023) · Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY, Aug & Nov 2025). Page compiled June 2026. "O*NET" is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor.
This page is for general informational purposes only and is not career, financial, or employment advice. AI exposure reflects research estimates of task overlap, not predictions about any individual's job, employer, or future employment.