Short answer
AI will reshape this job more than most, but BLS does not forecast it disappearing. The exposure is among the highest BLS measured, yet it still projects employment to grow faster than average.
AI and jobs
Will AI Replace Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants? (2026)
The Bureau of Labor Statistics places medical secretaries and administrative assistants in its very high AI exposure category, among the occupations most exposed to current AI. BLS projects employment to change by +4.8% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 89,200 openings a year.
- BLS AI exposure
- Very highBLS EP supplemental table
- AI-resilience score
- 27/100Higher than 18% of jobs · NueCareer
- Projected change
- +4.8%BLS EP 2025–2035; all jobs 3.5%
- Openings a year
- 89,200BLS EP 2025–2035
The federal measure
How exposed medical secretaries and administrative assistants are to AI
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a relative AI exposure category for each occupation it projects, built from five public measures of where AI could be, or already is, used to assist with or complete the work. Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants land in the very high category: among the occupations most exposed to current AI.
Where this job sits on the BLS scale
786 occupations in the NueCareer bank, in BLS's four relative categories; width shows how many fall in each
- Low203 occupations · 26%
- Moderate194 occupations · 25%
- High190 occupations · 24%
- Very high · this job199 occupations · 25%
Source: BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories supplemental table.
- Exposure is relative. The categories rank occupations against each other; they are not a probability that a job is automated.
- BLS says exposure does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. A highly exposed job can still grow if AI makes the people in it more productive.
- The classification reflects AI capabilities as the underlying studies measured them. Read the BLS method and limitations.
Inside the work
What AI can and cannot do in this job
O*NET rates how important each work activity is to an occupation and how often each working condition comes up. The ratings below are the ones that move the job's NueCareer AI-resilience score the most: the ones that pull it up, and the ones that pull it down. Only ratings clearly above the midpoint count.
What holds up
Physical, hands-on and person-to-person work
- Face-to-face discussions4.8/5O*NET work context, frequency or level
- Assisting and caring for others4.1/5O*NET work activity, importance
- Performing for or working directly with the public4.3/5O*NET work activity, importance
- Establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships4.0/5O*NET work activity, importance
What AI reaches first
Routine, repeatable and screen-based work
- Processing information4.4/5O*NET work activity, importance
- Repeating the same tasks4.6/5O*NET work context, frequency or level
- Documenting/recording information4.0/5O*NET work activity, importance
- Performing administrative activities4.1/5O*NET work activity, importance
The tasks O*NET lists for medical secretaries and administrative assistants
- Answer telephones and direct calls to appropriate staff.
- Schedule and confirm patient diagnostic appointments, surgeries, or medical consultations.
- Transmit correspondence or medical records by mail, e-mail, or fax.
- Operate office equipment, such as voice mail messaging systems, and use word processing, spreadsheet, or other software applications to prepare reports, invoices, financial statements, letters, case histories, or medical records.
- Receive and route messages or documents, such as laboratory results, to appropriate staff.
- Greet visitors, ascertain purpose of visit, and direct them to appropriate staff.
O*NET 31.0 Database task statements, most important first.
The jobs
Will there still be jobs?
Exposure says where AI meets the work. The BLS projection says what the labor market is expected to do over 2025–2035. BLS projects +4.8% change in employment over the decade, against 3.5% across all occupations, and about 89,200 openings a year once retirements and career changes are counted. About 961,610 people work in the job today, at a median of $45,930 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Full medical secretary and administrative assistant profile: pay by state, entry route and skills
Options
Related careers less exposed to AI than medical secretaries and administrative assistants
Careers O*NET lists as related to the work, or in the same field at similar pay, that BLS places in a lower exposure category.
Postal Service Mail Sorter, Processor, and Processing Machine Operator
Office and Administrative Support
- Median pay
- $58,470median a year
- Growth
- −5.3%
- Openings / yr
- 7,300
- Education
- No formal credential
- Low
- BLS AI exposure
- 40/100
- resilience
Prepare incoming and outgoing mail for distribution for the United States Postal Service (USPS).
Postal Service Mail Carrier
Office and Administrative Support
- Median pay
- $60,550median a year
- Growth
- −0.3%
- Openings / yr
- 19,600
- Education
- No formal credential
- Moderate
- BLS AI exposure
- 50/100
- resilience
Sort and deliver mail for the United States Postal Service (USPS).
Medical Assistant
Healthcare Support
- Median pay
- $45,690median a year
- Growth
- +12.9%
- Openings / yr
- 109,700
- Education
- Certificate
- Moderate
- BLS AI exposure
- 41/100
- resilience
Perform administrative and certain clinical duties under the direction of a physician.
Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerk
Office and Administrative Support
- Median pay
- $45,260median a year
- Growth
- −7.6%
- Openings / yr
- 61,300
- Education
- High school
- High
- BLS AI exposure
- 44/100
- resilience
Verify and maintain records on incoming and outgoing shipments involving inventory.
Teller
Office and Administrative Support
- Median pay
- $43,030median a year
- Growth
- −13.2%
- Openings / yr
- 26,800
- Education
- High school
- High
- BLS AI exposure
- 37/100
- resilience
Receive and pay out money.
Patient Representative
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Median pay
- $50,290median a year
- Growth
- +5.9%
- Openings / yr
- 12,400
- Education
- Certificate
- High
- BLS AI exposure
- 28/100
- resilience
Assist patients in obtaining services, understanding policies and making health care decisions.
Questions
Will AI Replace Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants? FAQ
Will AI replace medical secretaries and administrative assistants?
AI will reshape this job more than most, but BLS does not forecast it disappearing. The exposure is among the highest BLS measured, yet it still projects employment to grow faster than average. 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 change by +4.8% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 89,200 openings a year.
How exposed are medical secretaries and administrative assistants to AI?
BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants 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 medical secretary and administrative assistant'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 documenting/recording information. The parts that hold up best are face-to-face discussions, assisting and caring for others and performing for or working directly 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 medical secretary and administrative assistant a safe career from AI?
On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O*NET work activities, medical secretaries and administrative assistants score 27 out of 100, higher than 18% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $45,930 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 medical secretaries and administrative assistants 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), Medical Assistant (moderate exposure, $45,690 median), Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerk (high exposure, $45,260 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than medical secretaries and administrative assistants, and most are listed by O*NET as related to the work.
The AI exposure category is the Bureau of Labor Statistics'. The AI-resilience score and the activity breakdown are NueCareer's analysis of O*NET 31.0 Database data (method), not a federal figure. More: jobs most exposed to AI, jobs least exposed to AI, or check any job.