Animal Scientists

Animal Scientists score 53 out of 100, which is elevated exposure to AI. That ranks #167 of 923 US occupations, where #1 is the most exposed. Of the 9 tasks in this job, AI could speed up 1 on its own and 7 more with extra software built on top of it. In April–May 2026, 1 of these tasks showed up in real conversations with Claude, Anthropic's AI assistant.

53/ 100

Elevated

Rank: #167of 923 jobs
US workers: 3,100BLS, May 2025
Median pay: $68,940a year
In real AI use: 1 of 9tasks, April–May 2026

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Task by task

Each task this job involves, as listed by O*NET, rated on whether a large language model like GPT-4 could cut the time it takes by at least half at the same quality. Tasks marked Seen in real AI use appeared in conversations with Claude in April–May 2026 (Anthropic Economic Index).

AI can speed this up on its own: 1 (11%)
AI can speed this up with extra software: 7 (78%)
Little or no AI speed-up: 1 (11%)

Write up or orally communicate research findings to the scientific community, producers, and the public.AI can speed this up on its own · core task
Study nutritional requirements of animals and nutritive values of animal feed materials.AI can speed this up with extra software · core task
Develop improved practices in feeding, housing, sanitation, or parasite and disease control of animals.AI can speed this up with extra software · core task
Advise producers about improved products and techniques that could enhance their animal production efforts.AI can speed this up with extra software · core task · Seen in real AI use
Conduct research concerning animal nutrition, breeding, or management to improve products or processes.AI can speed this up with extra software · core task
Study effects of management practices, processing methods, feed, or environmental conditions on quality and quantity of animal products, such as eggs and milk.AI can speed this up with extra software · core task
Research and control animal selection and breeding practices to increase production efficiency and improve animal quality.AI can speed this up with extra software · core task
Determine genetic composition of animal populations and heritability of traits, using principles of genetics.AI can speed this up with extra software · supplemental task
Crossbreed animals with existing strains or cross strains to obtain new combinations of desirable characteristics.Little or no AI speed-up · supplemental task

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Questions about animal scientists and AI

Will AI replace animal scientists?

Not entirely. Parts of the job are likely to change as AI takes over routine tasks. Animal Scientists score 53 out of 100 (elevated exposure), #167 of 923 US jobs. AI could speed up 8 of the job's 9 tasks, 1 of them on its own, while 1 see little or no speed-up. Exposure means the work is likely to change, not that the job will disappear.

Which animal scientists tasks can AI do?

The most exposed tasks include "Write up or orally communicate research findings to the scientific community, producers, and the public".

Which animal scientists tasks are hardest for AI?

Tasks with little or no AI speed-up include "Crossbreed animals with existing strains or cross strains to obtain new combinations of desirable characteristics".

Are people already using AI for this work?

Yes. In April–May 2026, 1 of the 9 tasks showed up in real conversations with Claude, according to the Anthropic Economic Index.

How many people work as animal scientists, and what do they earn?

About 3,100 people in the US, with median pay of $68,940 a year (BLS, May 2025).

How to read this score. Exposure measures how much of the work AI could speed up, not whether the job will disappear. A highly exposed job can change shape, with people spending less time on routine tasks and more on the rest. The score counts tasks AI can speed up on its own in full, and tasks that need extra software at half weight.

The ratings come from published research based on GPT-4 (2023). To show what's happening now, each task is also checked against the latest Anthropic Economic Index, which records which tasks people actually use AI for. That data is refreshed automatically when Anthropic publishes a new release. Read the full method.