UK AI Exposure · Administrative and secretarial occupations
Personal assistants and other secretaries
Personal assistants and other secretaries provide administrative and secretarial support to individuals, departmental or management teams within organisations.
- Employees (UK)
- 164k
- Median annual pay
- £25,233
- Exposure score ?
- 3.2/10 Low 9.1/10 Very high strict reading · with tools is 9.1/10 with-tools reading · strict is 3.2/10
- Wage exposure
- £1.32bn £3.77bn
Higher exposure than 89% 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.
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Create, maintain, and enter information into databases.
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Use computers for various applications, such as database management or word processing.
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Set up and manage paper or electronic filing systems, recording information, updating paperwork, or maintaining documents, such as attendance records, correspondence, or other material.
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.
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Answer telephones and give information to callers, take messages, or transfer calls to appropriate individuals.
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Greet visitors or callers and handle their inquiries or direct them to the appropriate persons according to their needs.
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Create, maintain, and enter information into databases.
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 "Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive" (43-6014.00).
What AI can already do
10 of 31 tasks · unaided
Create, maintain, and enter information into databases.
Use computers for various applications, such as database management or word processing.
Set up and manage paper or electronic filing systems, recording information, updating paperwork, or maintaining documents, such as attendance records, correspondence, or other material.
Compose, type, and distribute meeting notes, routine correspondence, or reports, such as presentations or expense, statistical, or monthly reports.
Complete forms in accordance with company procedures.
Conduct searches to find needed information, using such sources as the Internet.
Open, read, route, and distribute incoming mail or other materials and answer routine letters.
Review work done by others to check for correct spelling and grammar, ensure that company format policies are followed, and recommend revisions.
Train and assist staff with computer usage.
Develop or maintain internal or external company Web sites.
Where humans still hold the line
21 of 31 tasks
Answer telephones and give information to callers, take messages, or transfer calls to appropriate individuals.
Greet visitors or callers and handle their inquiries or direct them to the appropriate persons according to their needs.
Perform payroll functions, such as maintaining timekeeping information and processing and submitting payroll.
Collect and deposit money into accounts, disburse funds from cash accounts to pay bills or invoices, keep records of collections and disbursements, and ensure accounts are balanced.
Operate office equipment, such as fax machines, copiers, or phone systems and arrange for repairs when equipment malfunctions.
Operate electronic mail systems and coordinate the flow of information, internally or with other organizations.
Schedule and confirm appointments for clients, customers, or supervisors.
Maintain scheduling and event calendars.
Establish work procedures or schedules and keep track of the daily work of clerical staff.
Provide services to customers, such as order placement or account information.
Prepare and mail checks.
Locate and attach appropriate files to incoming correspondence requiring replies.
Arrange conference, meeting, or travel reservations for office personnel.
Supervise other clerical staff and provide training and orientation to new staff.
Make copies of correspondence or other printed material.
Manage projects or contribute to committee or team work.
Coordinate conferences, meetings, or special events, such as luncheons or graduation ceremonies.
Learn to operate new office technologies as they are developed and implemented.
Mail newsletters, promotional material, or other information.
Order and dispense supplies.
Prepare conference or event materials, such as flyers or invitations.
Tasks via O*NET "Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive" (43-6014.00).
What AI can already do
28 of 31 tasks · with tools
Answer telephones and give information to callers, take messages, or transfer calls to appropriate individuals.
Greet visitors or callers and handle their inquiries or direct them to the appropriate persons according to their needs.
Create, maintain, and enter information into databases.
Use computers for various applications, such as database management or word processing.
Perform payroll functions, such as maintaining timekeeping information and processing and submitting payroll.
Collect and deposit money into accounts, disburse funds from cash accounts to pay bills or invoices, keep records of collections and disbursements, and ensure accounts are balanced.
Set up and manage paper or electronic filing systems, recording information, updating paperwork, or maintaining documents, such as attendance records, correspondence, or other material.
Operate electronic mail systems and coordinate the flow of information, internally or with other organizations.
Schedule and confirm appointments for clients, customers, or supervisors.
Maintain scheduling and event calendars.
Compose, type, and distribute meeting notes, routine correspondence, or reports, such as presentations or expense, statistical, or monthly reports.
Complete forms in accordance with company procedures.
Establish work procedures or schedules and keep track of the daily work of clerical staff.
Provide services to customers, such as order placement or account information.
Prepare and mail checks.
Locate and attach appropriate files to incoming correspondence requiring replies.
Arrange conference, meeting, or travel reservations for office personnel.
Conduct searches to find needed information, using such sources as the Internet.
Open, read, route, and distribute incoming mail or other materials and answer routine letters.
Review work done by others to check for correct spelling and grammar, ensure that company format policies are followed, and recommend revisions.
Make copies of correspondence or other printed material.
Manage projects or contribute to committee or team work.
Coordinate conferences, meetings, or special events, such as luncheons or graduation ceremonies.
Learn to operate new office technologies as they are developed and implemented.
Mail newsletters, promotional material, or other information.
Train and assist staff with computer usage.
Prepare conference or event materials, such as flyers or invitations.
Develop or maintain internal or external company Web sites.
Where humans still hold the line
3 of 31 tasks
Operate office equipment, such as fax machines, copiers, or phone systems and arrange for repairs when equipment malfunctions.
Supervise other clerical staff and provide training and orientation to new staff.
Order and dispense supplies.
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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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