---
title: "Will AI Replace Bookkeepers? (2026)"
description: "BLS rates bookkeepers' exposure to AI as very high. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (-5.6% projected)."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-bookkeepers"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Bookkeepers? (2026)

**Short answer:** This is one of the most exposed jobs, and BLS projects it to shrink. Exposure is not a forecast of job loss on its own, but here the two point the same way.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places bookkeepers in its very high AI exposure category, among the occupations most exposed to current AI. BLS projects employment to fall by 5.6% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 144,100 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Very high | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 10/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | -5.6% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 144,100 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $50,670 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |

## Exposure categories

| BLS category | Occupations |
| --- | --- |
| Low | 203 |
| Moderate | 194 |
| High | 190 |
| Very high (this job) | 199 |

Exposure means AI could be or has been used to assist with or complete some of the work. BLS says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. Method: https://www.bls.gov/emp/publications/ai-exposure-categories.htm

## What holds up

- Face-to-face discussions: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships: 4.0/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Dealing with the public: 3.6/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Making decisions and solving problems: 3.5/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## What AI reaches first

- Repeating the same tasks: 4.7/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Documenting/recording information: 4.1/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Working with computers: 4.5/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Processing information: 3.7/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## O\*NET tasks

- Operate computers programmed with accounting software to record, store, and analyze information.
- Check figures, postings, and documents for correct entry, mathematical accuracy, and proper codes.
- Operate 10-key calculators, typewriters, and copy machines to perform calculations and produce documents.
- Perform general office duties, such as filing, answering telephones, and handling routine correspondence.
- Reconcile or note and report discrepancies found in records.
- Comply with federal, state, and company policies, procedures, and regulations.

## Related careers less exposed to AI than bookkeepers

- [Postal Service Mail Sorter, Processor, and Processing Machine Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/postal-service-mail-sorter-processor-and-processing-machine-operator): BLS exposure Low, median $58,470; [Will AI replace postal service mail sorters?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-postal-service-mail-sorters)
- [Postal Service Mail Carrier](https://nuecareer.com/careers/postal-service-mail-carrier): BLS exposure Moderate, median $60,550; [Will AI replace postal service mail carriers?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-postal-service-mail-carriers)
- [Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerk](https://nuecareer.com/careers/shipping-receiving-and-inventory-clerk): BLS exposure High, median $45,260; [Will AI replace shipping clerks?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-shipping-clerks)
- [Postal Service Clerk](https://nuecareer.com/careers/postal-service-clerk): BLS exposure High, median $62,130
- [Teller](https://nuecareer.com/careers/teller): BLS exposure High, median $43,030; [Will AI replace tellers?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-tellers)
- [New Accounts Clerk](https://nuecareer.com/careers/new-accounts-clerk): BLS exposure High, median $47,670

## FAQ

**Will AI replace bookkeepers?**

This is one of the most exposed jobs, and BLS projects it to shrink. Exposure is not a forecast of job loss on its own, but here the two point the same way. BLS defines exposure as AI being able to assist with or complete some of the work, and says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains or wage effects. BLS projects employment to fall by 5.6% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 144,100 openings a year.

**How exposed are bookkeepers to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Bookkeepers are in the very high category, alongside 198 other occupations. The categories combine five public measures of where AI could be or already is used, and they compare occupations with each other rather than giving an absolute risk.

**What parts of a bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerk's job can AI do?**

In O\*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are repeating the same tasks, documenting/recording information and working with computers. The parts that hold up best are face-to-face discussions, establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships and dealing with the public. These come from O\*NET ratings of how important each activity is to the job, read through NueCareer's AI-resilience method.

**Is being a bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerk a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, bookkeepers score 10 out of 100, higher than 3% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $50,670 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No job is fully safe from technological change, but the federal exposure category and the projected openings are the two numbers worth weighing.

**What careers similar to bookkeepers are less exposed to AI?**

Postal Service Mail Sorter, Processor, and Processing Machine Operator (low exposure, $58,470 median), Postal Service Mail Carrier (moderate exposure, $60,550 median), Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerk (high exposure, $45,260 median), Postal Service Clerk (high exposure, $62,130 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than bookkeepers, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/bookkeeping-accounting-and-auditing-clerk.

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology