Will AI replace Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians?
AI reaches little of this job’s work.
11/100
Low exposure
More exposed to AI than 22% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 6% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 22% of the work
What the job involves
Perform routine medical laboratory tests for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. May work under the supervision of a medical technologist.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Already happening(1)
- Analyze and record test data to issue reports that use charts, graphs, or narratives.
Within reach(2)
- Examine cells stained with dye to locate abnormalities.
- Consult with a pathologist to determine a final diagnosis when abnormal cells are found.
Out of reach(10)
- Conduct chemical analyses of body fluids, such as blood or urine, using microscope or automatic analyzer to detect abnormalities or diseases and enter findings into computer.
- Analyze the results of tests or experiments to ensure conformity to specifications, using special mechanical or electrical devices.
- Set up, maintain, calibrate, clean, and test sterility of medical laboratory equipment.
- Conduct blood tests for transfusion purposes and perform blood counts.
- Prepare standard volumetric solutions or reagents to be combined with samples, following standardized formulas or experimental procedures.
and 5 more
Also called
MLT (Medical Laboratory Technician) · MLT · Lab Tech (Laboratory Technician) · Specimen Processor · Lab Tech · Lab Assistant (Laboratory Assistant) · Medical Lab Assistant (Medical Laboratory Assistant) · Medical Technician (Medical Tech)
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