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Office Clerks, General

operating office machines, compiling copy and reviewing files. If that's your week, this page is about your job.

The honest answer

This job is splitting in two: reviewing files, records and other documents to obtain information to respond to requests is work AI now does quickly and cheaply, and operating office machines, such as photocopiers and scanners, facsimile machines, voice mail systems and personal computers is work it can't touch.

Your move: what you can actually do about this ↓

Which half fills your week decides your exposure. Moving toward the second half is a real, doable plan.

Your week, as this page understands it

Perform duties too varied and diverse to be classified in any specific office clerical occupation, requiring knowledge of office systems and procedures. Clerical duties may be assigned in accordance with the office procedures of individual establishments and may include a combination of answering telephones, bookkeeping, typing or word processing, office machine operation, and filing. The job title says “office clerks” or “general”: officially one job, two names. The real job is the part underneath: operating office machines, such as photocopiers and scanners, facsimile machines, voice mail systems and personal computers. That is the thing someone has to be right about.

The exposed part of this job is specific, and we won’t pretend it is coming back. But office clerks, general is not one task. It is 20 scored ones, and they are nowhere near equally exposed. The most durable of them, on this evidence, is operating office machines, such as photocopiers and scanners, facsimile machines, voice mail systems and personal computers, and the ledger below shows exactly why.

Where the work sits, by task weight

shifting to AI
47%
changing shape
10%
staying human
43%

These bars are tasks changing hands, not people being counted out. The ledger below shows which.

Whole-job exposure score 53 out of 100 (48–58 allowing for uncertainty): partial exposure, across 20 scored tasks. The number is the support for the sentence above it, not a headline about anyone’s future.

How we know this

What is measured: Every published task statement for office clerks, general is rated on five dimensions: can a model produce the output, does the work need a body in a room, does it need a legally accountable person, does it depend on a person being trusted in the moment, and how much data exists. A published formula turns those five ratings into the score; the model never writes the number.

How the bar is built: Each task’s share of the bar is its published importance weight, so a task you do all day counts for more than one you do twice a year.

Release: 2026-q4.1, scores computed 2026-08-04. Read the full method.

Your job, task by task

These are the official task statements for this occupation, in plain English, sorted by what the evidence says is happening to each one. The official wording sits under every line so you can check the rewrite against it.

Shifting to AI

9 tasks

Tasks today’s tools can already do most of. This is the part we will not soften: where these rows are the bulk of your week, the week changes.

  • Answering telephones, direct calls and taking messages

    This is reading one thing and writing another: telephones, direct calls and taking messages in, a record out. That is the shape today's tools are built for.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source: “Answer telephones, direct calls, and take messages.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 79 out of 100 (75–83 allowing for uncertainty): high exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.

    The rating behind it: Taking calls, transferring them and passing on messages is voice and text work systems already handle.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 4/4 · needs a body in a room 0/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

  • Reviewing files, records and other documents to obtain information to respond to requests

    This is reading one thing and writing another: files, records and other documents in, a record out. That is the shape today's tools are built for.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source: “Review files, records, and other documents to obtain information to respond to requests.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 93 out of 100 (89–97 allowing for uncertainty): very high exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.

    The rating behind it: Searching files and records to answer a request is document look-up that current tools do quickly and accurately.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 4/4 · needs a body in a room 0/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

  • Maintaining and updating filing inventory, mailing and database systems, either manually or using a computer

    This is reading one thing and writing another: inventory, mailing and database systems in, a record out. That is the shape today's tools are built for.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source: “Maintain and update filing, inventory, mailing, and database systems, either manually or using a computer.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 69 out of 100 (65–73 allowing for uncertainty): high exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.

    The rating behind it: Keeping filing, inventory, mailing and database systems up to date is routine data upkeep.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 4/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

  • Compiling copy, sort and filing records of office activities, business transactions and other activities

    This is reading one thing and writing another: copy, sort and filing records of office activities in, a record out. That is the shape today's tools are built for.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source: “Compile, copy, sort, and file records of office activities, business transactions, and other activities.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 69 out of 100 (65–73 allowing for uncertainty): high exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.

    The rating behind it: Compiling, sorting and filing records is routine organizing, though paper copies still need handling.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 4/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

Changing shape

2 tasks

Tasks where the machine takes the producing and a person keeps the checking, the deciding, or the answering-for-it. For most jobs this is the biggest group, and it is where "transformation, not termination" is literally visible.

  • Opening, sorting and routing incoming mail, answering correspondence and preparing outgoing mail

    The software now makes the first pass at mail, answering correspondence and preparing outgoing mail, but part of it still happens in the physical world. So the job becomes checking and deciding rather than producing.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source: “Open, sort, and route incoming mail, answer correspondence, and prepare outgoing mail.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 46 out of 100 (39–53 allowing for uncertainty): partial exposure, medium confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Answering correspondence is straightforward writing, but opening, sorting and mailing physical post needs hands.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 4/4 · needs a body in a room 2/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

  • Completing and mailing bills, contracts, policies, invoices or checks

    The software now makes the first pass at bills, contracts, policies, invoices or checks, but part of it still happens in the physical world. So the job becomes checking and deciding rather than producing.

    importance 4 · Supplemental
    Source: “Complete and mail bills, contracts, policies, invoices, or checks.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 46 out of 100 (39–53 allowing for uncertainty): partial exposure, medium confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Producing bills, invoices and checks is straightforward document work, but mailing them means handling paper and envelopes.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 4/4 · needs a body in a room 2/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

Staying human

9 tasks

Tasks that stay with a person, because they happen in the physical world, because the rules need someone accountable, or because the value is that a specific person does them.

  • Operating office machines, such as photocopiers and scanners, facsimile machines, voice mail systems and personal computers

    This work happens in the physical world: office machines, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 5 · Core
    Source: “Operate office machines, such as photocopiers and scanners, facsimile machines, voice mail systems, and personal computers.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 10 out of 100 (6–14 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Working copiers, scanners and fax machines means standing at the machine and feeding it paper.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

  • Communicating with customers, employees and other individuals to answer questions

    The value here is that a specific person handles customers, employees and other individuals and stands behind it. That is earned, not computed.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source: “Communicate with customers, employees, and other individuals to answer questions, disseminate or explain information, take orders, and address complaints.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 39 out of 100 (32–46 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; the value is that a specific person does it.

    The rating behind it: Answering questions and handling complaints is information work, though it often happens face to face with someone waiting.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 2/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

  • Delivering messages and run errands

    This work happens in the physical world: messages, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 3 · Core
    Source: “Deliver messages and run errands.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Delivering messages by hand and running errands means going places.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

  • Inventorying and ordering materials, supplies and services

    This work happens in the physical world: materials, supplies and services, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source: “Inventory and order materials, supplies, and services.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 38 out of 100 (31–45 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Ordering supplies is simple system work, though taking stock means counting what is actually on the shelf.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 2/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

Show the other 10 tasks

  • Computing, recording and proofread data and other information, such as records or reports

    shifting to AI

    This is reading one thing and writing another: proofread data in, a record out. That is the shape today's tools are built for.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source: “Compute, record, and proofread data and other information, such as records or reports.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 93 out of 100 (89–97 allowing for uncertainty): very high exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.

    The rating behind it: Calculating, recording and proofreading figures and text is exactly the kind of checking software does reliably.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 4/4 · needs a body in a room 0/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

  • Typing format, proofread and editing correspondence and other documents

    shifting to AI

    This is reading one thing and writing another: format, proofread and editing correspondence and other documents in, a record out. That is the shape today's tools are built for.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source: “Type, format, proofread, and edit correspondence and other documents, from notes or dictating machines, using computers or typewriters.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 93 out of 100 (89–97 allowing for uncertainty): very high exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.

    The rating behind it: Typing, formatting, proofreading and editing documents is writing work software does to a high standard.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 4/4 · needs a body in a room 0/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

  • Processing and preparing documents, such as business or government forms and expense reports

    shifting to AI

    This is reading one thing and writing another: documents in, a record out. That is the shape today's tools are built for.

    importance 4 · Supplemental
    Source: “Process and prepare documents, such as business or government forms and expense reports.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 81 out of 100 (74–88 allowing for uncertainty): very high exposure, medium confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.

    The rating behind it: Preparing business and government forms and expense reports is structured document work, usually signed off by someone else afterwards.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 4/4 · needs a body in a room 0/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

  • Completing work schedules, manage calendars and arranging appointments

    shifting to AI

    This is reading one thing and writing another: work schedules, manage calendars and arranging appointments in, a record out. That is the shape today's tools are built for.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source: “Complete work schedules, manage calendars, and arrange appointments.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 79 out of 100 (72–86 allowing for uncertainty): high exposure, medium confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.

    The rating behind it: Building work schedules and arranging appointments is calendar work, though it involves back-and-forth with the people involved.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 4/4 · needs a body in a room 0/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

  • Preparing meeting agendas, attend meetings and recording and transcribing minutes

    shifting to AI

    This is reading one thing and writing another: agendas, attend meetings and recording and transcribing minutes in, a record out. That is the shape today's tools are built for.

    importance 4 · Supplemental
    Source: “Prepare meeting agendas, attend meetings, and record and transcribe minutes.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 69 out of 100 (62–76 allowing for uncertainty): high exposure, medium confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.

    The rating behind it: Agendas, notes and minutes are drafted and transcribed well by software, though attending the meeting means being present.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 4/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

  • Training other staff members to perform work activities

    staying human

    The value here is that a specific person handles other staff members and stands behind it. That is earned, not computed.

    importance 3 · Supplemental
    Source: “Train other staff members to perform work activities, such as using computer applications.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 39 out of 100 (32–46 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; the value is that a specific person does it.

    The rating behind it: Training materials and walkthroughs are easy to produce, but teaching a colleague works best with a person alongside.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 2/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

  • Collecting, counting and disburse money, do basic bookkeeping and completing banking transactions

    staying human

    This work happens in the physical world: disburse money, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 4 · Supplemental
    Source: “Collect, count, and disburse money, do basic bookkeeping, and complete banking transactions.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 38 out of 100 (31–45 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Bookkeeping and banking entries are number work, but counting and handing over cash means being there with it.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 2/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

  • Troubleshooting problems involving office equipment

    staying human

    This work happens in the physical world: problems involving office equipment, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 3 · Supplemental
    Source: “Troubleshoot problems involving office equipment, such as computer hardware and software.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 29 out of 100 (22–36 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Software problems can be worked out remotely, but fixing hardware means being at the machine.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 2/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

  • Monitoring and directing the work of lower-level clerks

    staying human

    The value here is that a specific person handles the work of lower-level clerks and stands behind it. That is earned, not computed.

    importance 4 · Supplemental
    Source: “Monitor and direct the work of lower-level clerks.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 21 out of 100 (14–28 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: the value is that a specific person does it.

    The rating behind it: Overseeing and directing other clerks depends on a working relationship with the people doing the job.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 3/4 · how much data exists 2/4.

  • Counting, weighing, measuring or organizing materials

    staying human

    This work happens in the physical world: materials, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 3 · Supplemental
    Source: “Count, weigh, measure, or organize materials.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Counting, weighing, measuring and organizing physical materials needs hands on them.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.

What this job pays, and how many people do it

Median pay
$45,010a year, the middle of the range, so half earn more and half earn less.bls-oews, 2025 · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
How we know this

Source: bls-oews

Reference period: May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)

Rounding: Shown as published.

People doing this job
2,464,940in the US, 2025.bls-oews · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)

What is deliberately not here: a forecast of how many of these jobs exist in ten years. Where an official projection exists for a market we publish it with its vintage; where it does not, we leave the space empty rather than borrow the other country’s number.

Why this is shifting

The reason is boringly specific. Most of what is shifting here is reading one thing and writing another: files, records and other documents in, a record out. The rows above are exactly that shape: reviewing files, records and other documents to obtain information to respond to requests and answering telephones, direct calls and taking messages. What it cannot do is be there in the room, and that is still where office machines get done. Which is why this page talks about your tasks changing, not your job ending.

Your move

Over a pint: what I’d tell you if you were my friend

The exposed part of your job is the biggest part, and I am not going to dress that up: reviewing files, records and other documents to obtain information to respond to requests is work today's tools do quickly and cheaply, and that is not coming back.

So, given all that: 47% of this job's task weight sits in rows the software is already learning, 10% in rows that change shape rather than disappear, and 43% in rows it is nowhere near. That is the position, measured across 20 scored tasks. It is not a forecast about you.

What you have that the software does not is operating office machines, such as photocopiers and scanners, facsimile machines, voice mail systems and personal computers, plus the years of knowing when something looks wrong before you can say why. That is the raw material for everything below.

This week: one thing

Sit on the machine's side of the desk. Pick one real piece of files, records and other documents you would normally do yourself, let whatever software you already have take the first pass at it, and then go through what it produced and write down every single thing it got wrong. One evening this week. Do not fix anything yet. Just catch it.

What you end up holding
a written list of the machine’s mistakes, in your handwriting
How long it takes
an evening, or an hour if you pick one job rather than one client

If you can’t run software on your employer’s or your clients’ data: Do the same hunt on paper. Take one printed piece of files, records and other documents, work through it the way you always do, and mark every point where you made a call rather than followed a rule. Same evening, same list, nothing to log into and nobody to ask permission from. That list is the same artifact: it is the judgment written down.

Over the next 90 days

Change one sentence about what you do. Not on a CV. Out loud, to whoever pays you. From “my job is reviewing files, records and other documents to obtain information to respond to requests” to “I check what the software does and tell you what it means.” Your error list from this week is what makes that sentence true instead of a claim, so use it: show it once, to one person, inside the next ninety days. Same skills, priced as judgment rather than as typing.

Over the next 12 months

Walk toward the end of this job that answers for things, and get it recognised. Pick the one part of operating office machines, such as photocopiers and scanners, facsimile machines, voice mail systems and personal computers you are already best at, and spend the year making it formal: a qualification, a named responsibility, a specialism people ask for by name. Price it honestly: that is evenings, it is months rather than weeks, and the seats are competitive because everyone in your position is looking at the same door. Before you pay for anything, use CareerOneStop - Find local training. It is free, it is the Labor Department's own service, and it is listed below with the rest of the free routes.

The roads out of here, and why I am not sending you down them

I looked at the obvious moves out of this job, and here is what I found.

I checked the 12 nearest US occupations to office clerks, general (nearest by the work that AI is not taking, not by job title), and none of them survived. The closest was secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive: only about 7% of its durable work is work you already do and it is under the same pressure this job is. Your own job splits about 47/53: that share of the list sits in the top exposure band and the rest does not. On this evidence the honest move is inside the job rather than out of it. Become the person who owns “operate office machines, such as photocopiers and scanners, facsimile machines, voice mail…”, and let the exposed end go.

How that was checked: this job was compared against all 830 US occupations in this release on their official task statements, and the 12 nearest were examined one by one. A move that turns on an industry, an employer or a qualification rather than on the work itself will not show up in a check like that. And this release carries no licence register, so anything you are weighing needs that looked up separately.

3 moves I checked and rejected

These are the obvious-looking jumps. They are here with their reasons rather than quietly dropped, because the ones that fail are worth knowing about. It is one less thing to turn over at night.

  • Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive

    Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already open, sort, and route incoming mail, answer correspondence, and prepare outgoing mail, and their equivalent is to open, read, route, and distribute incoming mail or other materials and answer routine…. Across both published task lists that is about 7% of the durable work in that job.

    Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 7% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step. I will not move you off one melting floe onto another: 58% of its own task list already scores in the top exposure band (61/100 in this release), so the same software is eating it.

    Look at that job’s page anyway →

  • Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service

    Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already open, sort, and route incoming mail, answer correspondence, and prepare outgoing mail, and their equivalent is to sort and route incoming mail, and collect outgoing mail, using carts as necessary. Across both published task lists that is about 6% of the durable work in that job.

    Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 6% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step. It is a pay cut, in those words: $39,280 against your $45,010, 12.7% less (OEWS May 2025 (both)). Retraining to earn less is a decision, not advice. And it is a narrow door: about 55,230 of those jobs against 2,464,940 of yours (OEWS May 2025), 2% as many seats.

    Look at that job’s page anyway →

  • Telemarketers

    Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already communicate with customers, employees, and other individuals to answer questions, disseminate or explain…, and their equivalent is to explain products or services and prices, and answer questions from customers. Across both published task lists that is about 5% of the durable work in that job.

    Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 5% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step. I will not move you off one melting floe onto another: 70% of its own task list already scores in the top exposure band (70/100 in this release), so the same software is eating it. It is a pay cut, in those words: $35,450 against your $45,010, 21.2% less (OEWS May 2025 (both)). Retraining to earn less is a decision, not advice. And it is a narrow door: about 58,430 of those jobs against 2,464,940 of yours (OEWS May 2025), 2% as many seats.

    Look at that job’s page anyway →

What I’d stop worrying about

A friend tells you what not to spend fear on. This is that list.

  • The headline number you read somewhere

    The big “X% of jobs” figures are about the whole economy, not about you. The number that describes your job is on this page: 47% of its task weight, across 20 scored tasks. Every row behind it is printed above with the source. Check ours; ignore theirs.

  • “It’s too late for me to become something else”

    You are not starting from zero, and the page shows why: operating office machines, such as photocopiers and scanners, facsimile machines, voice mail systems and personal computers is work the software cannot do and you already do it. The move above is a repricing of what you know, not a new career. Nobody who has just left college has that.

  • “I should learn to code”

    Almost certainly not. The value in your job is moving toward checking, deciding and answering for the output, not toward writing the software. A weekend of Python will not change your position; the error list from this week will.

  • The “obvious” next job everyone suggests

    I checked the obvious moves and most of them did not survive. The reasons are printed with the routes above, including the pay and the gate. A move that fails on the numbers is worth knowing about so you can stop turning it over at night.

You are reading the United States figures

The United Kingdom splits this work across more than one official group, of which School secretaries is the closest. The pay and employment figures are not directly comparable, and we do not average them together.

Switch to the United Kingdom page →partial match

The other groups this work is counted across:

In UK official statistics this job is counted as School secretaries and Officers of non-governmental organisations. Pay is shown separately for each of those groups (medians cannot be averaged together), while the task list and the scores on this page are for this group only.

Your route through this

Two honest options, and no deadline on either

Free, and complete

The moves above cost nothing. These are the real services that go with them: public, government-funded, and free at the point of use. Nothing on this page is behind an email address or a payment.

A nearby route

There's no Space built for general office clerks yet.

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Questions people ask about this job

Will AI replace Office Clerks, General?
Not as a job, but it is already doing parts of the work. Across the 20 official task statements scored for Office Clerks, General (United States, SOC 43-9061), 47% of the importance-weighted core work is made of tasks today's AI could already do most of. The overall exposure score is 53 out of 100 (range 48–58, band: partial). That is a statement about tasks, not about headcount: this measures what AI could do, not whether any employer adopts it, whether the law allows it, or whether doing the routine parts faster creates more demand for the human parts. Figures are from release 2026-q4.1.
Which tasks in “Office Clerks, General” can AI already do?
The highest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Compute, record, and proofread data and other information, such as records or reports” (93/100, very high); “Review files, records, and other documents to obtain information to respond to requests” (93/100, very high); “Type, format, proofread, and edit correspondence and other documents, from notes or dictating machines, using computers or typewriters” (93/100, very high). Each score comes from five published 0–4 ratings turned into a number by a published formula, and each carries the model's one-sentence reason on the page.
Which tasks in “Office Clerks, General” stay human?
About 43% of this job's task weight sits in work that scores low for AI exposure. The lowest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Count, weigh, measure, or organize materials” (0/100, minimal); “Deliver messages and run errands” (0/100, minimal); “Operate office machines, such as photocopiers and scanners, facsimile machines, voice mail systems, and personal computers” (10/100, minimal). Low scores usually mean the task needs a body in a room, a legally accountable human, or trust built in real time. Those are the three things the scoring rubric treats as gates rather than obstacles.
What should someone working in “Office Clerks, General” do about AI?
Start from the ledger rather than the headline: 47% of this job's weighted core work is exposed, and roughly 43% is not. The practical move is to spend more of your week on the tasks that score low, the ones above, and to get fluent at directing AI through the tasks that score high, because those are the parts that change whether or not you are ready for them. This page does not predict your job, and nothing here is career advice tailored to you: the score describes the occupation, not the person.
How is the AI exposure score for Office Clerks, General calculated?
Each official task statement for the occupation is rated on five published 0–4 dimensions (output replicability, physical embodiment, licensed accountability, real-time human trust, and data availability) by claude-opus-5 using scoring prompt task_scoring_v1.0. The model never writes the score; a published formula turns the five ratings into a 0–100 number, so every score can be recomputed by hand. The occupation figure is the importance-weighted mean across 20 scored tasks. The prompt, the rubric, the formula and the full dataset are published at https://futureproof.collab365.com/method and https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1 under CC BY 4.0.

Where these numbers come from

Worth knowing about these figures

  • The match between this job and its counterpart in the other country is partial, so the two pages count slightly different groups of people.
  • 1 of this occupation's scored task statements carry a score that was measured under a different occupation's context, because the statement is shared between jobs and has only been scored once so far. Each one names the occupation it was measured under in the free routes below; none is presented as a measurement for this job.
  • Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.
Task statements
onet-dbProcessing: catalogue-bridge → onet-im-rt-weighting → task-scoring → score-aggregation
Task weights
onet-db (im-rt)
Scores
Rubric task_scoring_v1.0, model claude-opus-5, computed 2026-08-04.
Pay and employment
bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))

Figures on this page come from release 2026-q4.1, published 2026-08-05. Every release keeps its own permanent address, so a figure you cite in March is still there, unchanged, in November.

The plain-English wording on this page is assembled directly from the task statements and the published ratings, not written by hand for this occupation. That is why it is specific, and it is also why we say so.

The routes and free resources further up are today’s, not the release’s (last reviewed 2026-08-05). A route is an offer, not a historical fact, so it moves on its own clock.

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Everything on this site is published under CC BY 4.0. Quote it, chart it, sell something built on it. Just say where it came from, and cite the dated release rather than the site, so the figure you quote stays checkable.

Plain text

Collab365 (2026). Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1 (methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0). https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Built with O*NET data (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); ONS data (Open Government Licence v3.0); GAISI task framework (arXiv:2507.22748, MIT); BLS data (public domain).

BibTeX

@misc{collab365futureproof2026q41,
  title        = {Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1},
  author       = {{Collab365}},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1},
  note         = {Release 2026-q4.1, methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0, CC BY 4.0}
}

Permalink

https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1

Data as of release 2026-q4.1, published . Releases never change after publication; when the figures move, a new dated release is published beside this one and this one stays exactly where it is.