Physiotherapists
Physiotherapists plan and apply massage, promote and encourage movement and exercise, use hydrotherapy, electro-therapy and other technological equipment in the treatment of a wide range of injuries, diseases and disabilities in order to assist rehabilitation by developing and restoring body systems.
- Employees (UK)
- 66k
- Median annual pay
- £37,917
- Exposure score ?
- 0.7/10 Minimal 3.9/10 Low strict reading, with tools is 3.9/10 with-tools reading, strict is 0.7/10
- Wage exposure
- £175m £976m
Higher exposure than 37% of the 379 UK occupations we scored.
What this score means.
Most of this role's work is still hard for AI: physical presence, practised skill, judgement in context and direct care, the things that do not turn into text.
If you are in this role
Nothing here is under pressure today, but the frontier moves. Learn enough to direct AI at the paperwork around the job. People in hands-on roles who can do that become unusually useful inside their organisations.
A few tasks in this role are within reach of AI, mostly paperwork, scheduling and routine writing. The shape of the role stays the same, and some parts get faster.
If you are in this role
Pick the two or three most repetitive things in your week and try a model on them. Most people underestimate what Claude or ChatGPT already does with admin-shaped work. The time you get back is the gain.
Where the work usually starts.
This role's strict reading is low because its top tasks are judgement, not drafting. The three highest-stakes tasks below are still usually where the work starts. Switch to With tools to see what AI plus the right context can take on.
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Develop exercise programs to improve participant strength, flexibility, endurance, or circulatory functioning, in accordance with exercise science standards, regulatory requirements, and credentialing requirements.
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Provide emergency or other appropriate medical care to participants with symptoms or signs of physical distress.
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Demonstrate correct use of exercise equipment or performance of exercise routines.
These are the most important tasks AI can already handle when paired with the right tools and context. The first wins usually come from building workflows around them. That is the difference between a model that could do the job and one that actually does it inside your business.
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Develop exercise programs to improve participant strength, flexibility, endurance, or circulatory functioning, in accordance with exercise science standards, regulatory requirements, and credentialing requirements.
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Recommend methods to increase lifestyle physical activity.
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Interpret exercise program participant data to evaluate progress or identify needed program changes.
Every role has three or four places like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days.
Every task in the role.
Every O*NET task for this occupation, split by what AI can do unaided and what still needs a person. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central each task is.
Tasks via O*NET "Exercise Physiologists" (29-1128.00).
What AI can already do
1 of 25 tasks, unaided
Explain exercise program or physiological testing procedures to participants.
What still needs a person
24 of 25 tasks
Develop exercise programs to improve participant strength, flexibility, endurance, or circulatory functioning, in accordance with exercise science standards, regulatory requirements, and credentialing requirements.
Provide emergency or other appropriate medical care to participants with symptoms or signs of physical distress.
Demonstrate correct use of exercise equipment or performance of exercise routines.
Recommend methods to increase lifestyle physical activity.
Interpret exercise program participant data to evaluate progress or identify needed program changes.
Prescribe individualized exercise programs, specifying equipment, such as treadmill, exercise bicycle, ergometers, or perceptual goggles.
Provide clinical oversight of exercise for participants at all risk levels.
Interview participants to obtain medical history or assess participant goals.
Assess physical performance requirements to aid in the development of individualized recovery or rehabilitation exercise programs.
Teach behavior modification classes related to topics such as stress management or weight control.
Conduct stress tests, using electrocardiograph (EKG) machines.
Measure oxygen consumption or lung functioning, using spirometers.
Educate athletes or coaches on techniques to improve athletic performance, such as heart rate monitoring, recovery techniques, hydration strategies, or training limits.
Evaluate staff performance in leading group exercise or conducting diagnostic tests.
Teach group exercise for low-, medium-, or high-risk clients to improve participant strength, flexibility, endurance, or circulatory functioning.
Calibrate exercise or testing equipment.
Teach courses or seminars related to exercise or diet for patients, athletes, or community groups.
Mentor or train staff to lead group exercise.
Measure amount of body fat, using such equipment as hydrostatic scale, skinfold calipers, or tape measures.
Perform routine laboratory tests of blood samples for cholesterol level or glucose tolerance.
Supervise maintenance of exercise or exercise testing equipment.
Present exercise knowledge, program information, or research study findings at professional meetings or conferences.
Order or recommend diagnostic procedures, such as stress tests, drug screenings, or urinary tests.
Plan or conduct exercise physiology research projects.
Tasks via O*NET "Exercise Physiologists" (29-1128.00).
What AI can already do
12 of 25 tasks, with tools
Develop exercise programs to improve participant strength, flexibility, endurance, or circulatory functioning, in accordance with exercise science standards, regulatory requirements, and credentialing requirements.
Recommend methods to increase lifestyle physical activity.
Interpret exercise program participant data to evaluate progress or identify needed program changes.
Prescribe individualized exercise programs, specifying equipment, such as treadmill, exercise bicycle, ergometers, or perceptual goggles.
Explain exercise program or physiological testing procedures to participants.
Interview participants to obtain medical history or assess participant goals.
Assess physical performance requirements to aid in the development of individualized recovery or rehabilitation exercise programs.
Conduct stress tests, using electrocardiograph (EKG) machines.
Measure amount of body fat, using such equipment as hydrostatic scale, skinfold calipers, or tape measures.
Present exercise knowledge, program information, or research study findings at professional meetings or conferences.
Order or recommend diagnostic procedures, such as stress tests, drug screenings, or urinary tests.
Plan or conduct exercise physiology research projects.
What still needs a person
13 of 25 tasks
Provide emergency or other appropriate medical care to participants with symptoms or signs of physical distress.
Demonstrate correct use of exercise equipment or performance of exercise routines.
Provide clinical oversight of exercise for participants at all risk levels.
Teach behavior modification classes related to topics such as stress management or weight control.
Measure oxygen consumption or lung functioning, using spirometers.
Educate athletes or coaches on techniques to improve athletic performance, such as heart rate monitoring, recovery techniques, hydration strategies, or training limits.
Evaluate staff performance in leading group exercise or conducting diagnostic tests.
Teach group exercise for low-, medium-, or high-risk clients to improve participant strength, flexibility, endurance, or circulatory functioning.
Calibrate exercise or testing equipment.
Teach courses or seminars related to exercise or diet for patients, athletes, or community groups.
Mentor or train staff to lead group exercise.
Perform routine laboratory tests of blood samples for cholesterol level or glucose tolerance.
Supervise maintenance of exercise or exercise testing equipment.
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Related occupations.
Other roles in Professional occupations, and roles close by exposure.
What it means for your sector.
This role's score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 task labels, weighted by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 through ISCO-08 (the ONS coding index) and US SOC 2010 (the BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional, which covers employees only.
Back to the mapMethodologySources (PDF)Built 29 April 2026
Pictures
- "Census pantograph and 1930s keypunches" by U.S. Census Bureau employees, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Shepard Barclay, St. Louis lawyer, in his office" by Missouri Historical Society via DPLA, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Accountant's Office LCCN2016824374" by National Photo Company Collection, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Employment service in Oulu in the spring 1931" by Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons