AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 43-9022.00
Will AI replace Word Processors and Typists?
Word Processors and Typists: AI can already handle 15 of 19 tasks; the work mostly needs a standard-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 19 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Word Processors and Typists, from most to least exposed. 15 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adjust settings for format, page layout, line spacing, and other style requirements. | Observed | Standard | |
| Electronically sort and compile text and numerical data, retrieving, updating, and merging documents as required. | Observed | Standard | |
| Reformat documents, moving paragraphs or columns. | Observed | Standard | |
| Perform other clerical duties, such as answering telephone, sorting and distributing mail, running errands or sending faxes. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Address envelopes or prepare envelope labels, using typewriter or computer. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Use data entry devices, such as optical scanners, to input data into computers for revision or editing. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Check completed work for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and format. | Observed | Efficient | |
| Work with technical material, preparing statistical reports, planning and typing statistical tables, and combining and rearranging material from different sources. | Observed | Efficient | |
| Print and make copies of work. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Transmit work electronically to other locations. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Gather, register, and arrange the material to be typed, following instructions. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Keep records of work performed. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Collate pages of reports and other documents. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Operate and resupply printers and computers, changing print wheels or fluid cartridges, adding paper, and loading blank tapes, cards, or disks into equipment. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Compute and verify totals on report forms, requisitions, or bills, using adding machine or calculator. | Observed | Standard | |
| Type correspondence, reports, text and other written material from rough drafts, corrected copies, voice recordings, dictation, or previous versions, using a computer, word processor, or typewriter. | Observed | Efficient | |
| Manage schedules and set dates, times, and locations for meetings and appointments. | Observed | Efficient | |
| Search for specific sets of stored, typed characters to make changes. | Observed | Efficient | |
| File and store completed documents on computer hard drive or disk, or maintain a computer filing system to store, retrieve, update, and delete documents. | Estimated | Efficient |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 9 of 19 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 10 of 19. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.
The model tier this role needs
A standard-tier model or lower covers 95% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 100% of the work is something AI can address at some tier.
Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.
Wages, employment and outlook
- US employment
- 35,010
- Median annual wage
- $49,280
- Middle half of earners
- $40,800 to $57,670
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- -36.1%
Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.
Adjacent roles
The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.
- Data Entry Keyers 70% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure68
- Office Clerks, General 68% skill overlap, about 12 months to move Exposure53
- File Clerks 63% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure69
- Office Machine Operators, Except Computer 63% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure29
- Proofreaders and Copy Markers 63% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure73
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Word Processors and Typists and AI
Will AI replace Word Processors and Typists?
AI already handles 15 of the 19 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 73 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by -36.1% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Word Processors and Typists?
73 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 9 of the 19 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 10 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Word Processors and Typists tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Adjust settings for format, page layout, line spacing, and other style requirements; Electronically sort and compile text and numerical data, retrieving, updating, and merging documents as required; Reformat documents, moving paragraphs or columns. They are three of the 15 tasks that reach 60 or more.
What AI model tier does this role need?
A standard-tier model or lower covers 95% of the role's importance-weighted task work. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.
How many people work as Word Processors and Typists, and what do they earn?
35,010 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $49,280 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of -36.1% from 2024 to 2034.
How to cite
Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.
JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Word Processors and Typists. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/word-processors-and-typists
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