---
title: "Will AI Replace Office Clerks? (2026)"
description: "BLS rates office clerks' exposure to AI as very high. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (-6.0% projected)."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-office-clerks"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Office Clerks? (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 office clerks in its very high AI exposure category, among the occupations most exposed to current AI. BLS projects employment to fall by 6.0% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 249,000 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Very high | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 20/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | -6.0% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 249,000 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $45,010 | 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)
- Dealing with the public: 4.3/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships: 3.5/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## What AI reaches first

- Repeating the same tasks: 4.2/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Working with computers: 4.3/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Time spent sitting: 4.4/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Email: 4.8/5 (O\*NET work context)

## O\*NET tasks

- Operate office machines, such as photocopiers and scanners, facsimile machines, voice mail systems, and personal computers.
- Communicate with customers, employees, and other individuals to answer questions, disseminate or explain information, take orders, and address complaints.
- Answer telephones, direct calls, and take messages.
- Review files, records, and other documents to obtain information to respond to requests.
- Open, sort, and route incoming mail, answer correspondence, and prepare outgoing mail.
- Deliver messages and run errands.

## Related careers less exposed to AI than office clerks

- [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)
- [Administrative Services Manager](https://nuecareer.com/careers/administrative-services-manager): BLS exposure Moderate, median $114,130; [Will AI replace administrative services managers?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-administrative-services-managers)
- [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)
- [Library Assistant, Clerical](https://nuecareer.com/careers/library-assistant-clerical): BLS exposure High, median $36,910

## FAQ

**Will AI replace office clerks?**

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 6.0% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 249,000 openings a year.

**How exposed are office clerks to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Office Clerks 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 an office clerk, general'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, working with computers and time spent sitting. The parts that hold up best are face-to-face discussions, dealing with the public and establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships. These come from O\*NET ratings of how important each activity is to the job, read through NueCareer's AI-resilience method.

**Is being an office clerk, general a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, office clerks score 20 out of 100, higher than 11% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $45,010 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 office clerks 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), Administrative Services Manager (moderate exposure, $114,130 median), Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerk (high exposure, $45,260 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than office clerks, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/office-clerk-general.

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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