UK AI Exposure · Professional occupations
Business, research and administrative professionals n.e.c.
Job holders in this unit group advise on the formulation and implementation of policy in the public and private sectors, develop and implement substantial business, statistical and administrative systems, and perform a variety of functions not elsewhere classified in minor group 243: Business, research and administrative professionals.
- Employees (UK)
- 83k
- Median annual pay
- £55,106
- Exposure score ?
- 2.3/10 Low 9.4/10 Very high strict reading · with tools is 9.4/10 with-tools reading · strict is 2.3/10
- Wage exposure
- £1.05bn £4.30bn
Higher exposure than 84% of the 379 UK occupations we scored.
What this score means
A handful of tasks in this role are touchable by AI, mostly around paperwork, scheduling and basic writing. The shape of the role stays the same - some parts just get faster.
If you're in this role, here's what to do now
Pick the two or three most repetitive things in your week and try an LLM on them. Most people underestimate what Claude or ChatGPT can already do for admin-shaped work. The time you get back is the dividend.
Almost every routine task in this role is within reach of today's language models. Roles at this level are getting rebuilt - often not by disappearing, but by one person using AI to do three or five people's output.
If you're in this role, here's what to do now
You don't need to be afraid. You need to be the person doing the rebuilding. The operators who learn to direct AI at scale in this kind of work become hugely valuable. The ones who wait to be told what to do get told what to do - and that thing is often 'we don't need as many of you anymore.'
Where a project with Alex usually starts for this role
These are the highest-importance tasks a language model can already handle directly today. In a typical engagement the first wins come from building workflows around these, so they stop eating your team's time.
-
Create, manage, or automate orders or invoices, using order management or invoicing software.
-
Deliver e-mail confirmation of completed transactions and shipment.
-
Design customer interface of online storefront, using web programming or e-commerce software.
These are the highest-importance tasks AI can already handle when paired with the right tools and context. In a typical engagement the first wins come from building workflows around these — usually the difference between an LLM that can technically do the job and one that actually does it inside your business.
-
Create, manage, or automate orders or invoices, using order management or invoicing software.
-
Deliver e-mail confirmation of completed transactions and shipment.
-
Correspond with online customers via electronic mail, telephone, or other electronic messaging to address questions or complaints about products, policies, or shipping methods.
Every role has three or four wedges like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days. Talk to Alex about a project →
The full task breakdown
Every O*NET task for this occupation, split by what AI can already do unaided versus what still needs a human. Importance is O*NET's 1–5 rating of how central each task is to the role.
Tasks via O*NET "Online Merchants" (13-1199.06).
What AI can already do
13 of 34 tasks · unaided
Create, manage, or automate orders or invoices, using order management or invoicing software.
Deliver e-mail confirmation of completed transactions and shipment.
Design customer interface of online storefront, using web programming or e-commerce software.
Calculate purchase subtotals, taxes, and shipping costs for submission to customers.
Compose descriptions of merchandise for posting to online storefront, auction sites, or other shopping Web sites.
Calculate revenue, sales, and expenses, using financial accounting or spreadsheet software.
Prepare or organize online storefront marketing material, including product descriptions or subject lines, optimizing content to search engine criteria.
Transfer digital media, such as music, video, or software, to customers via the Internet.
Create or maintain database of customer accounts.
Devise, select, or purchase domain name and web address.
Initiate online auctions through auction hosting sites or auction management software.
Implement security practices to preserve assets, minimize liabilities, or ensure customer privacy, using parallel servers, hardware redundancy, fail-safe technology, information encryption, or firewalls.
Disclose merchant information and terms and policies of transactions in online or offline materials.
Where humans still hold the line
21 of 34 tasks
Fill customer orders by packaging sold items and documentation for direct shipping or by transferring orders to manufacturers or third-party distributors.
Receive and process payments from customers, using electronic transaction services.
Correspond with online customers via electronic mail, telephone, or other electronic messaging to address questions or complaints about products, policies, or shipping methods.
Purchase new or used items from online or physical sources for resale via retail or auction Web site.
Determine and set product prices.
Compose images of products, using video or still cameras, lighting equipment, props, or photo or video editing software.
Upload digital media, such as photos, video, or scanned images to online storefront, auction sites, or other shopping Web sites.
Cancel orders based on customer requests or inventory or delivery problems.
Order or purchase merchandise to maintain optimal inventory levels.
Select and purchase technical web services, such as web hosting services, online merchant accounts, shopping cart software, payment gateway software, or spyware.
Determine location for product listings to maximize exposure to online traffic.
Promote products in online communities through weblog or discussion-forum postings, e-mail marketing programs, or online advertising.
Collaborate with search engine shopping specialists to place marketing content in desired online locations.
Investigate products or markets to determine areas for opportunity or viability for merchandising specific products, using online or offline sources.
Maintain inventory of shipping supplies, such as boxes, labels, tape, bubble wrap, loose packing materials, or tape guns.
Measure and analyze Web site usage data to maximize search engine returns or refine customer interfaces.
Develop or revise business plans for online business, emphasizing factors such as product line, pricing, inventory, or marketing strategy.
Investigate sources, such as auctions, estate sales, liquidators, wholesalers, or trade shows for new items, used items, or collectibles.
Participate in online forums or conferences to stay abreast of online retailing trends, techniques, or security threats.
Integrate online retailing strategy with physical or catalogue retailing operations.
Create or distribute offline promotional material, such as brochures, pamphlets, business cards, stationary, or signage.
Tasks via O*NET "Online Merchants" (13-1199.06).
What AI can already do
31 of 34 tasks · with tools
Create, manage, or automate orders or invoices, using order management or invoicing software.
Deliver e-mail confirmation of completed transactions and shipment.
Correspond with online customers via electronic mail, telephone, or other electronic messaging to address questions or complaints about products, policies, or shipping methods.
Design customer interface of online storefront, using web programming or e-commerce software.
Purchase new or used items from online or physical sources for resale via retail or auction Web site.
Determine and set product prices.
Calculate purchase subtotals, taxes, and shipping costs for submission to customers.
Compose descriptions of merchandise for posting to online storefront, auction sites, or other shopping Web sites.
Compose images of products, using video or still cameras, lighting equipment, props, or photo or video editing software.
Upload digital media, such as photos, video, or scanned images to online storefront, auction sites, or other shopping Web sites.
Calculate revenue, sales, and expenses, using financial accounting or spreadsheet software.
Cancel orders based on customer requests or inventory or delivery problems.
Prepare or organize online storefront marketing material, including product descriptions or subject lines, optimizing content to search engine criteria.
Order or purchase merchandise to maintain optimal inventory levels.
Select and purchase technical web services, such as web hosting services, online merchant accounts, shopping cart software, payment gateway software, or spyware.
Transfer digital media, such as music, video, or software, to customers via the Internet.
Determine location for product listings to maximize exposure to online traffic.
Create or maintain database of customer accounts.
Promote products in online communities through weblog or discussion-forum postings, e-mail marketing programs, or online advertising.
Collaborate with search engine shopping specialists to place marketing content in desired online locations.
Investigate products or markets to determine areas for opportunity or viability for merchandising specific products, using online or offline sources.
Devise, select, or purchase domain name and web address.
Initiate online auctions through auction hosting sites or auction management software.
Measure and analyze Web site usage data to maximize search engine returns or refine customer interfaces.
Develop or revise business plans for online business, emphasizing factors such as product line, pricing, inventory, or marketing strategy.
Implement security practices to preserve assets, minimize liabilities, or ensure customer privacy, using parallel servers, hardware redundancy, fail-safe technology, information encryption, or firewalls.
Investigate sources, such as auctions, estate sales, liquidators, wholesalers, or trade shows for new items, used items, or collectibles.
Participate in online forums or conferences to stay abreast of online retailing trends, techniques, or security threats.
Integrate online retailing strategy with physical or catalogue retailing operations.
Disclose merchant information and terms and policies of transactions in online or offline materials.
Create or distribute offline promotional material, such as brochures, pamphlets, business cards, stationary, or signage.
Where humans still hold the line
3 of 34 tasks
Fill customer orders by packaging sold items and documentation for direct shipping or by transferring orders to manufacturers or third-party distributors.
Receive and process payments from customers, using electronic transaction services.
Maintain inventory of shipping supplies, such as boxes, labels, tape, bubble wrap, loose packing materials, or tape guns.
Stay on top of this
One email a week, written for people who aren't AI nerds. What's actually real, what's hype, and what smart operators are doing about it.
Get the weekly note
One email a week from Alex on how AI is changing UK work, how to get ahead of it, and what smart operators are actually doing. Written for people who aren't AI nerds.
Free. Unsubscribe any time.
Or go deeper:
Methodology
This role's exposure score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 GPT task labels, aggregated by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 via ISCO-08 (ONS Vol 2 coding index) and US SOC 2010 (BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional. ASHE covers employees only, so self-employed workers are not counted.
Get the weekly note. One email on how AI is changing UK work.