Will AI replace Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service?
AI reaches a large part of this job’s work.
49/100
High exposure
More exposed to AI than 78% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 23% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 58% of the work
What the job involves
Operate telephone business systems equipment or switchboards to relay incoming, outgoing, and interoffice calls. May supply information to callers and record messages.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Already happening(4)
- Answer incoming calls, greeting callers, providing information, transferring calls or taking messages as necessary.
- Perform various data entry or word processing tasks, such as updating phone directories, typing or proofreading documents, or creating schedules.
- Record messages, suggesting rewording for clarity or conciseness.
- Perform administrative tasks, such as accepting orders, scheduling appointments or meeting rooms, or sending and receiving faxes.
Within reach(8)
- Relay or route written or verbal messages.
- Page individuals to inform them of telephone calls, using paging or interoffice communication equipment.
- Place telephone calls or arrange conference calls as instructed.
- Monitor emergency and code alarms, make emergency announcements, or route emergency calls to the appropriate location.
- Answer simple questions about clients' businesses, using reference files.
and 3 more
Out of reach(7)
- Operate communication systems, such as telephone, switchboard, intercom, two-way radio, or public address.
- Greet visitors, log them in and out of the facility, assign them security badges, and contact employee escorts.
- Process incoming or outgoing mail, packages, or deliveries.
- Perform various cash handling tasks, such as collecting payments, making bank deposits, or managing petty cash.
- Contact security staff members when necessary, using radio-telephones.
and 2 more
Also called
PBX Operator (Private Branch Exchange Operator) · PBX Operator · Switchboard Receptionist (SB Receptionist) · SB Receptionist · Switchboard Operator (SB Operator) · Combination Operator · Command and Control Specialist · Communication Center Operator
Related jobs
What these numbers mean
The score is the share of this job’s work, weighted by how important and frequent each task is, that AI could do in half the time: tasks an AI model could do alone count in full, tasks that need software built on AI count half.
“AI already used” is the share of the work in tasks where people are recorded using AI today. “As AI tools mature” counts every task AI could halve, with or without extra software.
The percentile compares the score with every job’s, weighted by how many people in the US do each one. Exposure means AI could change how the work is done, not that the job goes away. These are estimates for the typical job, not predictions.
Sources
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
- GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs (task labels), Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), OpenAI and University of Pennsylvania
- Anthropic Economic Index: labor market impacts (task penetration), Anthropic
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (national and metropolitan areas), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics