AI has become part of daily clinical work for most physicians, but that has not translated into full confidence in what it means for their careers. According to Doximity’s “2026 Physician Compensation Report,” physicians are using AI more than ever yet remain divided on whether it is changing their role, who should benefit financially from it, and how much it should factor into hiring and pay.
Here are eight things to know about where physicians stand:
- Most physicians already use AI regularly. Sixty-six percent of physicians surveyed said they use AI daily or weekly in clinical or administrative work, with usage highest among nonsurgical specialists and younger physicians (73% of physicians in their 30s versus 52% of those in their 60s).
- Younger physicians are more likely to feel AI is lightening the load. Twenty-six percent of physicians in their 30s said AI is reducing their workload, compared with just 14% of those in their 60s.
- Most do not think AI is changing their role, but many say it is changing how work gets done. Seventy-two percent said AI is not changing the physician’s role in their specialty, yet 50% acknowledged it is changing how the work itself is performed.
- Physicians want a cut of the financial upside. Forty-four percent of physicians said they should primarily benefit financially if AI lets them get more clinical work done in the same amount of time, rising to 50% among primary care physicians.
- One-fifth already report higher productivity expectations tied to AI. That figure is slightly higher among women physicians (23%) than men (18%).
- AI has not shaken most physicians’ sense of job security. Seventy-eight percent said the growing role of AI has either increased or not changed how secure they feel in their job, with that confidence generally growing with age and experience.
- Most believe staying current with AI will pay off. Sixty-seven percent said physicians who keep up with AI tools will have a meaningful earnings edge over those who do not within the next year.
- AI fluency is already shaping hiring and promotion. Thirty-nine percent of physicians said AI proficiency is a factor in hiring or promotion decisions in their specialty, including 15% who called it a “major” or “moderate” factor.
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