UK AI Exposure · Professional occupations
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 genuinely hard for AI to do. Physical presence, bodily skill, high-context judgment, direct human care - the things that don't translate to text.
If you're in this role, here's what to do now
You're not in the firing line today. But the frontier moves. Build enough AI fluency now that you can direct it for the parts of your work that could benefit. People in unexposed roles who understand AI become unusually valuable inside their organisations.
A handful of tasks in this role are touchable by AI, mostly around paperwork, scheduling and basic writing. The shape of the role stays the same - some parts just get faster.
If you're in this role, here's what to do now
Pick the two or three most repetitive things in your week and try an LLM on them. Most people underestimate what Claude or ChatGPT can already do for admin-shaped work. The time you get back is the dividend.
Where a project with Alex usually starts for this role
This role's strict reading is low because its top tasks are judgment, not drafting. The three highest-stakes tasks below are still usually where we start — flip the toggle to 'With tools' to see what AI plus the right context can compress.
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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 highest-importance tasks AI can already handle when paired with the right tools and context. In a typical engagement the first wins come from building workflows around these — usually the difference between an LLM that can technically 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 wedges like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days. Talk to Alex about a project →
The full task breakdown
Every O*NET task for this occupation, split by what AI can already do unaided versus what still needs a human. Importance is O*NET's 1–5 rating of how central each task is to the role.
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.
Where humans still hold the line
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.
Where humans still hold the line
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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Methodology
This role's exposure score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 GPT task labels, aggregated by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 via ISCO-08 (ONS Vol 2 coding index) and US SOC 2010 (BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional. ASHE covers employees only, so self-employed workers are not counted.
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