Acupuncturists
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations- O*NET-SOC code
- 29-1291.00
Diagnose, treat, and prevent disorders by stimulating specific acupuncture points within the body using acupuncture needles. May also use cups, nutritional supplements, therapeutic massage, acupressure, and other alternative health therapies.
- Data source: BLSPublished: 2026-08
Moderate· relative
LowFour relative bandsVery highGroup-level value
Scale, basis and source
Four relative bands (Low / Moderate / High / Very high)
831 detailed occupations in the BLS Employment Projections table. Assigned per National Employment Matrix (NEM) code, so occupations sharing a NEM code carry the same band
- Data source: AnthropicPublished: 2026-03
0.000
0.000Range of values carried here0.745Scale, basis and source
Observed exposure index, 0–1 as published
Mapped onto O*NET tasks
Published per SOC 2018 occupation; every O*NET occupation with the same SOC 2018 code carries this value
- Data source: ILOPublished: 2025
0.17–0.32· 3 ISCO-08 groups
Scale, basis and source
Generative AI exposure index, 0–1 as published
Published per ISCO-08 unit group. Linked to this occupation, wholly or in part, by applying U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to 2018 SOC) as published
What kind of figure this source publishes
The BLS category is a relative rank, not an absolute level, and it is not a first-hand measurement: it groups an occupation's percentile ranks across several published studies into four bands. It is not an employment or wage forecast, not a probability of adoption, and it does not separate automation from augmentation.
ILO value for each linked ISCO-08 group
- ISCO-08 2230Traditional and Complementary Medicine Professionals0.32
- ISCO-08 2269Health Professionals Not Elsewhere Classified0.20
- ISCO-08 3255Physiotherapy Technicians and Assistants0.17
Task-level exposure
Show 13 hidden tasks18 rated tasks · 3 tasks with β ≥ 0.5 (16.7%)
β = direct exposure (E1) + 0.5 × exposure when tools are available (E2), per the source repository's definition.
- Source unit: O*NET 27.2 tasks → O*NET 31.0 occupation code
- All rated tasks are in the O*NET 31.0 task list.
- Source
- OpenAI "GPTs are GPTs" exposure rubric
- Release
- gh-main-0471612
- License
- MIT License, Copyright (c) 2024 OpenAI
Tasks of O*NET-SOC 2010 occupation 29-1199.01 Acupuncturists, linked to this occupation by the O*NET-SOC 2010 to 2019 crosswalk
| Task (O*NET 20.1) | Claude.aiRaw / share % | APIRaw / share % |
|---|---|---|
Assess patients' general physical appearance to make diagnoses.29-1199.01 | 0.012045.0 | —0 |
Dispense herbal formulas and inform patients of dosages and frequencies, treatment duration, possible side effects and drug interactions.29-1199.01 | 0.004717.4 | —0 |
Formulate herbal preparations to treat conditions considering herbal properties such as taste, toxicity, effects of preparation, contraindications, and incompatibilities.29-1199.01 | 0.004617.1 | —0 |
Analyze physical findings and medical histories to make diagnoses according to Oriental medicine traditions.29-1199.01 | 0.003513.2 | 0.0026100.0 |
Evaluate treatment outcomes and recommend new or altered treatments as necessary to further promote, restore, or maintain health.29-1199.01 | 0.00207.4 | —0 |
Values in this tab are predicted labels, not observations. Eloundou et al. (2023) published two rating regimes — human raters and GPT-4 — and the β shown here is derived from the GPT-4 rater basis alone; the same task can take a different value under the other regime. The unit and the meaning differ from the observed shares (%) in the other tabs, so do not place them on the same axis.
| Task (O*NET 27.2) | βE1 + 0.5 × E2 |
|---|---|
Maintain detailed and complete records of health care plans and prognoses.O*NET Task ID 17358 | 1.0 |
Educate patients on topics, such as meditation, ergonomics, stretching, exercise, nutrition, the healing process, breathing, or relaxation techniques.O*NET Task ID 17363 | 1.0 |
Collect medical histories and general health and lifestyle information from patients.O*NET Task ID 17366 | 1.0 |
β = E1 + 0.5 × E2 · E1 = tasks where direct LLM access alone cuts time by at least 50%, E2 = tasks where software built on top of an LLM cuts time by at least 50%. Values take only 0 / 0.5 / 1.0.
Data sources & licenses — O*NET®, Anthropic Economic Index, Eloundou et al. (2023): see full notices on the Credits page
All O*NET 31.0 task statements (18)
All O*NET 31.0 task statements for this occupation (English, as published; task type core or supplemental). Exposure values are not listed here; they are in the table above, next to each task statement as worded in the O*NET version each source used.
| Task (O*NET 31.0) | Type |
|---|---|
| Formulate herbal preparations to treat conditions considering herbal properties, such as taste, toxicity, effects of preparation, contraindications, and incompatibilities. | Core |
| Maintain and follow standard quality, safety, environmental, and infection control policies and procedures. | Core |
| Maintain detailed and complete records of health care plans and prognoses. | Core |
| Dispense herbal formulas and inform patients of dosages and frequencies, treatment duration, possible side effects, and drug interactions. | Core |
| Consider Western medical procedures in health assessment, health care team communication, and care referrals. | Core |
| Adhere to local, state, and federal laws, regulations, and statutes. | Core |
| Treat patients using tools, such as needles, cups, ear balls, seeds, pellets, or nutritional supplements. | Core |
| Educate patients on topics, such as meditation, ergonomics, stretching, exercise, nutrition, the healing process, breathing, or relaxation techniques. | Core |
| Evaluate treatment outcomes and recommend new or altered treatments as necessary to further promote, restore, or maintain health. | Core |
| Assess patients' general physical appearance to make diagnoses. | Core |
| Collect medical histories and general health and lifestyle information from patients. | Core |
| Apply moxibustion directly or indirectly to patients using Chinese, non-scarring, stick, or pole moxa. | Core |
| Apply heat or cold therapy to patients using materials, such as heat pads, hydrocollator packs, warm compresses, cold compresses, heat lamps, or vapor coolants. | Core |
| Analyze physical findings and medical histories to make diagnoses according to Oriental medicine traditions. | Core |
| Develop individual treatment plans and strategies. | Core |
| Treat medical conditions, using techniques such as acupressure, shiatsu, or tuina. | Core |
| Insert needles to provide acupuncture treatment. | Core |
| Identify correct anatomical and proportional point locations based on patients' anatomy and positions, contraindications, and precautions related to treatments, such as intradermal needles, moxibustion, electricity, guasha, or bleeding. | Core |
0.39/ 3· Robot exposure index
Scale, basis and source
Each physical task is graded 0–3 by the setting in which robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated could do it (0 none · 1 purpose-built robot settings such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line · 2 structured facilities such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port · 3 unstructured settings such as a private home or a construction site), and the grades are averaged by share of working time
Physical tasks among this occupation's O*NET 29.3 tasks
Anthropic estimated the grades and time shares with Claude Opus 5 using web search, as of 2026.
The robot exposure index is a different measure from the AI exposure figures on this site and cannot be added to or compared with them. It does not measure actual adoption or cost, and 0 also covers occupations with no physical tasks.
Tier of each physical task
Robot environment tiers (E0–E3)
E0 noneDetails
Rated not doable by robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated, even in a purpose-built setting
E1 purpose-built robot settingsDetails
Rated doable in a setting built around the machine, such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line
E2 structured facilitiesDetails
Rated doable in a human work facility that an institution keeps to a working standard, such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port
E3 unstructured settingsDetails
Rated doable in a setting that no institution keeps to a working standard, such as a private home or a construction site
Only tasks classified as physical are listed; other tasks have no tier in the source.
| Task (O*NET 29.3) | Robot environment tier |
|---|---|
| Maintain and follow standard quality, safety, environmental, and infection control policies and procedures. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Dispense herbal formulas and inform patients of dosages and frequencies, treatment duration, possible side effects, and drug interactions. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Treat patients using tools, such as needles, cups, ear balls, seeds, pellets, or nutritional supplements. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Apply moxibustion directly or indirectly to patients using Chinese, non-scarring, stick, or pole moxa. | E2 structured facilities |
| Apply heat or cold therapy to patients using materials, such as heat pads, hydrocollator packs, warm compresses, cold compresses, heat lamps, or vapor coolants. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Treat medical conditions, using techniques such as acupressure, shiatsu, or tuina. | E0 none |
| Insert needles to provide acupuncture treatment. | E0 none |
| Identify correct anatomical and proportional point locations based on patients' anatomy and positions, contraindications, and precautions related to treatments, such as intradermal needles, moxibustion, electricity, guasha, or bleeding. | E2 structured facilities |
Occupation information
Employment outlook (BLS)
- Employment, 2025
- 15K
- Projected employment, 2035
- 16K
- Change (2025–35)
- +8.6%
- Median annual wage, 2025
- $76,040
- Typical education needed for entry
- Master's degree
Korea classification links (KSCO)
Links from the current release of the Korea Occupation Direct Crosswalk v1.1, made by AI Changing Work. Relation values are read from the O*NET-SOC occupation side.
| KSCO code | KSCO title | Relation | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24691 | 전통 의료치료사 | This occupation is narrower | confirmed |
Relation and status definitions(kr-direct v1.1)
ILO occupational description
AI Changing Work links the ISCO-08 unit groups below to this occupation by applying the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (2018 SOC to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to ISCO-08) as published, without case-by-case selection; each link may be whole or partial.
- ISCO-08 2230Traditional and Complementary Medicine Professionals
- ISCO-08 2269Health Professionals Not Elsewhere Classified
- ISCO-08 3255Physiotherapy Technicians and Assistants
Sources: ILO ISCO-08 — details: Credits
ESCO occupational vocabulary
Each entry below is matched to this occupation in the published ESCO-O*NET Crosswalk (version 1, 2022). The match types are that crosswalk's; the wording is AI Changing Work's.
- acupuncturistESCO 2230.1.1Same scope
Acupuncturists make use of thin needles and insert them into acupuncture points in the body in order to restore the imbalances of the human body and overall good health. Acupuncturists focus on energy meridians to treat various conditions.
- complementary therapistESCO 2230.1This occupation is narrower
Complementary therapists use a range of complementary and alternative therapies to work simultaneously with the clients` body, mind, and spirit in a holistic approach. They offer practices and services for holistic wellbeing, health maintenance, health education, health promotion and prevention of illness, along with the sustainable treatment of certain illnesses, especially chronic illnesses. Their practices include but are not limited to acupuncture, aromatherapy, banotherapy, homeopathy, and herbal medicine.
- traditional chinese medicine therapistESCO 2230.1.3This occupation is narrower
Traditional Chinese medicine therapists use alternative medicine approaches to cure illnesses in all its forms. They also use various therapies such as the use of herbal medicines, acupuncture, massages and dietary therapies, to increase the general health of the patient and to prevent a disease from occurring.
Source: European Commission, DG EMPL — ESCO API 2026-08-08 (bridge v1.2.1)
License: CC BY 4.0 (EU Reuse Notice)
ESCO reuse terms and the modification notice are in Credits.
France classification links (ROME)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and ROME 4.0 job profiles, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side. Links marked “provisional” were adopted on the judgments of two judges from the same model family (Claude) alone, or by an operator rule applied to their judgments, so they rest on weaker evidence than confirmed links.
| ROME code | ROME title (French) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| K1108 | Intervenant / Intervenante en pratique de soins non conventionnelle | This occupation is narrowerprovisional |
| A1447 | Herboriste | Related, not a match |
| J1102 | Médecin généraliste | Related, not a matchprovisional |
Source: France Travail — Répertoire Opérationnel des Métiers et des Emplois (ROME 4.0), version 61, last updated 15 June 2026 (https://www.data.gouv.fr/datasets/repertoire-operationnel-des-metiers-et-des-emplois-rome). Licence Ouverte 2.0.
ROME codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET-SOC occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a France Travail correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: fr-direct v1)
Spain classification links (CNO-11)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and CNO-11 occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| CNO-11 code | CNO-11 title (Spanish) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 3331 | Profesionales de la acupuntura, la naturopatía, la homeopatía, la medicina tradicional china y la ayurveda | This occupation is narrower |
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), National Classification of Occupations 2011 (CNO-11, Royal Decree 1591/2010) — www.ine.es · Licensed CC BY 4.0. CNO-11 codes and Spanish titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not an INE correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: es-direct v1)
Germany classification links (KldB)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and KldB occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| KldB code | KldB title (German) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 81753 | Berufe in der Heilkunde und Homöopathie - komplexe Spezialistentätigkeiten | This occupation is narrower |
| 81752 | Berufe in der Heilkunde und Homöopathie - fachlich ausgerichtete Tätigkeiten | Related, not a match |
Source: © Statistik der Bundesagentur für Arbeit — Klassifikation der Berufe 2010 – überarbeitete Fassung 2020, https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de. KldB codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own mapping (eigene Zuordnung) and are not a Bundesagentur für Arbeit correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: de-direct v1)
Japan classification links (JSCO)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and JSCO occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| JSCO code | JSCO title (Japanese) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 152 | あん摩マッサージ指圧師，はり師，きゅう師，柔道整復師 | This occupation is narrowerprovisional |
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Japan Standard Occupational Classification (Dec. 2009, MIC Notification No. 555). JSCO codes and Japanese titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a MIC correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: jp-direct v1)
Sources, licenses and AI Changing Work's modification and translation notices for this page: Credits & sources