Will AI replace Histotechnologists?
AI reaches little of this job’s work.
7/100
Low exposure
More exposed to AI than 14% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 4% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 7% of the work
What the job involves
Apply knowledge of health and disease causes to evaluate new laboratory techniques and procedures to examine tissue samples. Process and prepare histological slides from tissue sections for microscopic examination and diagnosis by pathologists. May solve technical or instrument problems or assist with research studies.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Already happening(1)
- Identify tissue structures or cell components to be used in the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of diseases.
Within reach(1)
- Compile and maintain records of preventive maintenance and instrument performance checks according to schedule and regulations.
Out of reach(14)
- Embed tissue specimens into paraffin wax blocks, or infiltrate tissue specimens with wax.
- Cut sections of body tissues for microscopic examination, using microtomes.
- Stain tissue specimens with dyes or other chemicals to make cell details visible under microscopes.
- Compile materials for distribution to pathologists, such as surgical working drafts, requisitions, and slides.
- Operate computerized laboratory equipment to dehydrate, decalcify, or microincinerate tissue samples.
and 9 more
Also called
Clinical Lab Manager (Clinical Laboratory Manager) · Histology Lab Manager (Histology Laboratory Manager) · Histology Specialist · Histology Technologist · Histotechnologist · Clinical Lab Manager · Grossing Technician (Grossing Tech) · Grossing Tech
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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