---
title: "Will AI Replace Customer Service Representatives?"
description: "BLS rates customer service representatives' exposure to AI as very high. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-customer-service-representatives"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Customer Service Representatives? (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 customer service representatives in its very high AI exposure category, among the occupations most exposed to current AI. BLS projects employment to fall by 5.3% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 289,500 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Very high | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 30/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | -5.3% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 289,500 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $44,770 | 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

- Performing for or working directly with the public: 4.4/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Resolving conflicts and negotiating with others: 4.0/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Dealing with the public: 4.8/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Training and teaching others: 4.0/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## What AI reaches first

- Processing information: 4.3/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Repeating the same tasks: 4.5/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Working with computers: 4.5/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Documenting/recording information: 3.9/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## O\*NET tasks

- Confer with customers by telephone or in person to provide information about products or services, take or enter orders, cancel accounts, or obtain details of complaints.
- Refer unresolved customer grievances to designated departments for further investigation.
- Check to ensure that appropriate changes were made to resolve customers' problems.
- Contact customers to respond to inquiries or to notify them of claim investigation results or any planned adjustments.
- Keep records of customer interactions or transactions, recording details of inquiries, complaints, or comments, as well as actions taken.
- Complete contract forms, prepare change of address records, or issue service discontinuance orders, using computers.

## Related careers less exposed to AI than customer service representatives

- [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)
- [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
- [Library Assistant, Clerical](https://nuecareer.com/careers/library-assistant-clerical): BLS exposure High, median $36,910

## FAQ

**Will AI replace customer service representatives?**

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 5.3% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 289,500 openings a year.

**How exposed are customer service representatives to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Customer Service Representatives 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 customer service representative's job can AI do?**

In O\*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are processing information, repeating the same tasks and working with computers. The parts that hold up best are performing for or working directly with the public, resolving conflicts and negotiating with others 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 customer service representative a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, customer service representatives score 30 out of 100, higher than 23% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $44,770 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 customer service representatives 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), Teller (high exposure, $43,030 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than customer service representatives, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/customer-service-representative.

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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