Ophthalmic Medical Technicians
Official O*NET title: Ophthalmic Medical Technicians (29-2057.00)
Also called: certified ophthalmic medical technician, certified ophthalmic surgical assistant, certified ophthalmic technician, certified ophthalmic technician-surgical assistant, health technician
Do you do this at work?
Answer each card — it takes about a minute.
Do you do this at work?
Take and document patients' medical histories
Swipe right for yes, left for not me. On a keyboard: → yes, ← not me, Z undo. +2 XP per answer.
How AI is changing ophthalmic medical technicians work
1 of 18 measurable main tasks for this job show up in real AI-use data, so we rate it Green (little AI use yet) — 6%.
This shows where people already use AI, not whether the job will disappear. How we measure this.
Tasks in this job and recorded AI use
- Take and document patients' medical histories (main task) — some recorded AI use
- Conduct tonometry or tonography tests to measure intraocular pressure (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Operate ophthalmic equipment (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Take anatomical or functional ocular measurements of the eye or surrounding tissue (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Measure visual acuity (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Measure and record lens power, using lensometers (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Administer topical ophthalmic or oral medications (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Conduct visual field tests to measure field of vision (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Assist physicians in performing ophthalmic procedures (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Measure corneal curvature with keratometers or ophthalmometers to aid in the diagnosis of conditions (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Conduct ocular motility tests to measure function of eye muscles (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Clean or sterilize ophthalmic or surgical instruments (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Maintain ophthalmic instruments or equipment (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Instruct patients in the care and use of contact lenses (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Assess refractive conditions of eyes, using retinoscopes (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Call patients to inquire about their post-operative status or recovery (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Assist patients to insert or remove contact lenses (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Conduct binocular disparity tests to assess depth perception (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Adjust or make minor repairs to spectacles or eyeglasses — no recorded AI use
- Assist patients to select eyewear — no recorded AI use
Tasks: O*NET 31.0. AI use: Anthropic Economic Index (exact or close text match).
Your first steps (guidance)
- Week 1: Open a free AI assistant and say hello. Follow our “Getting started with AI” guide. Ask it one simple question about your work.
- Week 2: Use AI on one task you do often. Try the prompt for: “Take and document patients' medical histories”. Try the prompt for: “Instruct patients in the care and use of contact lenses”.
Tick your own tasks above to get a plan based on what you really do. The first 2 weeks are free; Premium (coming soon) adds weeks 3–12. New to AI? Read our beginner’s guide.
Questions about AI and ophthalmic medical technicians
Will AI replace ophthalmic medical technicians?
Our data can’t predict job losses, and we don’t try to. What it does show: 1 of the 18 main tasks for this job match tasks people already use AI for (Anthropic Economic Index), giving a Green rating (little AI use yet). Using AI on a task is not the same as AI doing the whole job, and 19 of the 20 listed tasks show no recorded AI use yet.
Which ophthalmic medical technician tasks is AI used for most?
In the data, the most AI use among this job’s tasks is for: take and document patients' medical histories.
Which ophthalmic medical technician tasks show little or no AI use?
For example: conduct tonometry or tonography tests to measure intraocular pressure; operate ophthalmic equipment; take anatomical or functional ocular measurements of the eye or surrounding tissue. These are good places to keep building your own skills.
How does this job compare to others?
In Microsoft Research’s “Working with AI” study, this job’s AI applicability score is equal to or higher than 2% of the occupations they scored. That measures overlap with AI chat use, not risk of job loss.
How can a ophthalmic medical technician start learning AI?
Start small: open a free AI assistant, try it on one task you do often, and always check facts and numbers yourself. The plan on this page is guidance, not professional advice.
See how this job ranks
Ophthalmic Medical Technicians ranks #541 of 572 jobs for the share of main tasks with AI use (#1 = most), and #79 of 80 in Healthcare. It’s in our top 50 jobs AI is least likely to replace.
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