As of June 2026, Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service has an AI-exposure score of 75/100 (Very High exposure) on the AI-Safe Careers index, blending O*NET tasks, the Anthropic Economic Index, the Penn/OpenAI study, and BLS data. This is an estimate of task exposure, not a prediction of job loss.
Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service
More exposed than 95% of the roles we track. Median pay ~US$38,630. About 2,800 projected openings a year (BLS 2024–34 — growth plus replacement).
Pay & demand figures are US medians (BLS, in USD) — your local figures will differ. Your exposure score applies broadly.
How you compare to similar Administrative roles
Your tasks, by AI exposure
- Answer incoming calls, greeting callers, providing information, transferring calls or taking messages as necessary.
- Keep records of calls placed and charges incurred.
- Perform various data entry or word processing tasks, such as updating phone directories, typing or proofreading documents, or creating schedules.
- Stamp messages with time and date and file them appropriately.
- Perform administrative tasks, such as accepting orders, scheduling appointments or meeting rooms, or sending and receiving faxes.
- Monitor emergency and code alarms, make emergency announcements, or route emergency calls to the appropriate location.
- Greet visitors, log them in and out of the facility, assign them security badges, and contact employee escorts.
- Complete forms for sales orders.
- Record messages, suggesting rewording for clarity or conciseness.
- Contact security staff members when necessary, using radio-telephones.
- Relay or route written or verbal messages.
- Process incoming or outgoing mail, packages, or deliveries.
- Monitor alarm systems to ensure that secure conditions are maintained.
- Perform various cash handling tasks, such as collecting payments, making bank deposits, or managing petty cash.
- Operate communication systems, such as telephone, switchboard, intercom, two-way radio, or public address.
- Place telephone calls or arrange conference calls as instructed.
- Page individuals to inform them of telephone calls, using paging or interoffice communication equipment.
- Answer simple questions about clients' businesses, using reference files.
- Place orders, such as for equipment, supplies, or catering for meetings.
No augmentable tasks identified for this role — its real, individually-assessed tasks consistently read as automatable (100%).
No durable tasks identified for this role — its real, individually-assessed tasks consistently read as automatable (100%).
Safer adjacent roles
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AI was the most-cited reason for U.S. layoffs through mid-2026 — the workers who adapt earliest fare best. — Challenger, Gray & Christmas, 2026The upside: Workers with AI skills earn a roughly 62% wage premium — adapting pays. — PwC Global AI Jobs Barometer, 2026
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