Will AI replace Animal Caretakers?
AI reaches little of this job’s work.
19/100
Low exposure
More exposed to AI than 32% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 0% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 21% of the work
What the job involves
Feed, water, groom, bathe, exercise, or otherwise provide care to promote and maintain the well-being of pets and other animals that are not raised for consumption, such as dogs, cats, race horses, ornamental fish or birds, zoo animals, and mice. Work in settings such as kennels, animal shelters, zoos, circuses, and aquariums. May keep records of feedings, treatments, and animals received or discharged. May clean, disinfect, and repair cages, pens, or fish tanks.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Within reach(4)
- Respond to questions from patrons, and provide information about animals, such as behavior, habitat, breeding habits, or facility activities.
- Collect and record animal information, such as weight, size, physical condition, treatments received, medications given, and food intake.
- Answer telephones and schedule appointments.
- Find homes for stray or unwanted animals.
Out of reach(18)
- Examine and observe animals to detect signs of illness, disease, or injury.
- Feed and water animals according to schedules and feeding instructions.
- Do facility laundry and clean, organize, maintain, and disinfect animal quarters, such as pens and stables, and equipment, such as saddles and bridles.
- Provide treatment to sick or injured animals, or contact veterinarians to secure treatment.
- Mix food, liquid formulas, medications, or food supplements according to instructions, prescriptions, and knowledge of animal species.
and 13 more
Also called
Dog Groomer · Aquarist · Dog Bather · Kennel Attendant · Pet Groomer · Kennel Technician (Kennel Tech) · Pet Stylist · Animal Care Technician
Related jobs
What these numbers mean
The score is the share of this job’s work, weighted by how important and frequent each task is, that AI could do in half the time: tasks an AI model could do alone count in full, tasks that need software built on AI count half.
“AI already used” is the share of the work in tasks where people are recorded using AI today. “As AI tools mature” counts every task AI could halve, with or without extra software.
The percentile compares the score with every job’s, weighted by how many people in the US do each one. Exposure means AI could change how the work is done, not that the job goes away. These are estimates for the typical job, not predictions.
Sources
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
- GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs (task labels), Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), OpenAI and University of Pennsylvania
- Anthropic Economic Index: labor market impacts (task penetration), Anthropic
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (national and metropolitan areas), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics