UK AI Exposure · Elementary occupations
Cleaners and domestics
Cleaners and domestics clean interiors of private houses, shops, hotels, schools, offices and other buildings.
- Employees (UK)
- 411k
- Median annual pay
- £11,852
- Exposure score ?
- 0.2/10 Minimal direct 0.2 · with tools 0.3
- Wage exposure
- £97m
Higher exposure than 15% of the 379 UK occupations we scored.
What this score means
Most of this role's work is still genuinely hard for AI to do. Physical presence, bodily skill, high-context judgment, direct human care - the things that don't translate to text.
If you're in this role, here's what to do now
You're not in the firing line today. But the frontier moves. Build enough AI fluency now that you can direct it for the parts of your work that could benefit. People in unexposed roles who understand AI become unusually valuable inside their organisations.
The tasks in this role, ranked by AI exposure
Below are the real tasks O*NET records for this occupation, sorted highest exposure first. "AI can do this" means a language model can already handle the task directly. "AI can help" means an LLM can assist but not replace. "Human work" means today's AI doesn't touch it. Importance is O*NET's 1–5 rating of how central each task is to the role.
0 of 21 tasks in this role are things an AI can already do today. Task list mapped via O*NET "Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners" (37-2011.00).
Service, clean, or supply restrooms.
Gather and empty trash.
Clean building floors by sweeping, mopping, scrubbing, or vacuuming.
Monitor building security and safety by performing tasks such as locking doors after operating hours or checking electrical appliance use to ensure that hazards are not created.
Notify managers concerning the need for major repairs or additions to building operating systems.
Follow procedures for the use of chemical cleaners and power equipment to prevent damage to floors and fixtures.
Mix water and detergents or acids in containers to prepare cleaning solutions, according to specifications.
Clean windows, glass partitions, or mirrors, using soapy water or other cleaners, sponges, or squeegees.
Requisition supplies or equipment needed for cleaning and maintenance duties.
Dust furniture, walls, machines, or equipment.
Strip, seal, finish, and polish floors.
Remove snow from sidewalks, driveways, or parking areas, using snowplows, snow blowers, or snow shovels, or spread snow-melting chemicals.
Make adjustments or minor repairs to heating, cooling, ventilating, plumbing, or electrical systems.
Clean and polish furniture and fixtures.
Drive vans, industrial trucks, or other vehicles required to travel to, or to perform, cleaning work.
Move heavy furniture, equipment, or supplies, either manually or with hand trucks.
Spray insecticides or fumigants to prevent insect or rodent infestation.
Set up, arrange, or remove decorations, tables, chairs, ladders, or scaffolding to prepare facilities for events, such as banquets or meetings.
Clean chimneys, flues, and connecting pipes, using power or hand tools.
Mow or trim lawns or shrubbery, using mowers or hand or power trimmers, and clear debris from grounds.
Steam-clean or shampoo carpets.
Where a project with Alex usually starts for this role
This role's strict α score is low because its top tasks are judgment, not drafting. But those same tasks compress dramatically when AI is paired with the right context and tools. The three highest-stakes tasks below are usually where we start.
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Service, clean, or supply restrooms.
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Gather and empty trash.
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Clean building floors by sweeping, mopping, scrubbing, or vacuuming.
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 →
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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.
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