Telephonists
Telephonists receive and direct callers in commercial, industrial and other establishments, and operate telephone (public) and office (private) switchboards to advise on, and assist with, making telephone calls and to relay incoming, outgoing and internal calls.
- Employees (UK)
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- Median annual pay
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- Exposure score ?
- 7.0/10 High 8.3/10 Very high strict reading, with tools is 8.3/10 with-tools reading, strict is 7.0/10
- Wage exposure
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Higher exposure than 99% of the 379 UK occupations we scored.
What this score means.
Most of the routine work in this role can already be done by a capable model. The role does not disappear, but its shape changes, and one person can credibly cover the work of several.
If you are in this role
Stop spending time on what a model can do well. Your value is judgement, relationships and the parts of the work that need you in the room. Redesign the workflow around that before someone else does it for you.
Almost every routine task in this role is within reach of today's models. Roles like this are being rebuilt, usually not by disappearing but by one person using AI to produce what several did.
If you are in this role
Be the person doing the rebuilding. People who learn to run this kind of work with AI become very valuable, and the ones who wait tend to have the change made for them.
Where the work usually starts.
These are the most important tasks a language model can already handle directly. In a typical engagement the first wins come from building workflows around them, so they stop eating the team's time.
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Operate communication systems, such as telephone, switchboard, intercom, two-way radio, or public address.
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Record messages, suggesting rewording for clarity or conciseness.
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Page individuals to inform them of telephone calls, using paging or interoffice communication equipment.
These are the most important tasks AI can already handle when paired with the right tools and context. The first wins usually come from building workflows around them. That is the difference between a model that could do the job and one that actually does it inside your business.
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Operate communication systems, such as telephone, switchboard, intercom, two-way radio, or public address.
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Answer incoming calls, greeting callers, providing information, transferring calls or taking messages as necessary.
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Monitor emergency and code alarms, make emergency announcements, or route emergency calls to the appropriate location.
Every role has three or four places like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days.
Every task in the role.
Every O*NET task for this occupation, split by what AI can do unaided and what still needs a person. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central each task is.
Tasks via O*NET "Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service" (43-2011.00).
What AI can already do
10 of 19 tasks, unaided
Operate communication systems, such as telephone, switchboard, intercom, two-way radio, or public address.
Record messages, suggesting rewording for clarity or conciseness.
Page individuals to inform them of telephone calls, using paging or interoffice communication equipment.
Complete forms for sales orders.
Relay or route written or verbal messages.
Place telephone calls or arrange conference calls as instructed.
Answer simple questions about clients' businesses, using reference files.
Stamp messages with time and date and file them appropriately.
Keep records of calls placed and charges incurred.
Perform various data entry or word processing tasks, such as updating phone directories, typing or proofreading documents, or creating schedules.
What still needs a person
9 of 19 tasks
Answer incoming calls, greeting callers, providing information, transferring calls or taking messages as necessary.
Greet visitors, log them in and out of the facility, assign them security badges, and contact employee escorts.
Monitor alarm systems to ensure that secure conditions are maintained.
Contact security staff members when necessary, using radio-telephones.
Monitor emergency and code alarms, make emergency announcements, or route emergency calls to the appropriate location.
Perform various cash handling tasks, such as collecting payments, making bank deposits, or managing petty cash.
Process incoming or outgoing mail, packages, or deliveries.
Perform administrative tasks, such as accepting orders, scheduling appointments or meeting rooms, or sending and receiving faxes.
Place orders, such as for equipment, supplies, or catering for meetings.
Tasks via O*NET "Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service" (43-2011.00).
What AI can already do
14 of 19 tasks, with tools
Operate communication systems, such as telephone, switchboard, intercom, two-way radio, or public address.
Answer incoming calls, greeting callers, providing information, transferring calls or taking messages as necessary.
Monitor emergency and code alarms, make emergency announcements, or route emergency calls to the appropriate location.
Record messages, suggesting rewording for clarity or conciseness.
Page individuals to inform them of telephone calls, using paging or interoffice communication equipment.
Complete forms for sales orders.
Relay or route written or verbal messages.
Place telephone calls or arrange conference calls as instructed.
Answer simple questions about clients' businesses, using reference files.
Stamp messages with time and date and file them appropriately.
Keep records of calls placed and charges incurred.
Perform various data entry or word processing tasks, such as updating phone directories, typing or proofreading documents, or creating schedules.
Perform administrative tasks, such as accepting orders, scheduling appointments or meeting rooms, or sending and receiving faxes.
Place orders, such as for equipment, supplies, or catering for meetings.
What still needs a person
5 of 19 tasks
Greet visitors, log them in and out of the facility, assign them security badges, and contact employee escorts.
Monitor alarm systems to ensure that secure conditions are maintained.
Contact security staff members when necessary, using radio-telephones.
Perform various cash handling tasks, such as collecting payments, making bank deposits, or managing petty cash.
Process incoming or outgoing mail, packages, or deliveries.
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Related occupations.
Other roles in Sales and customer service occupations, and roles close by exposure.
What it means for your sector.
This role's score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 task labels, weighted by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 through ISCO-08 (the ONS coding index) and US SOC 2010 (the BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional, which covers employees only.
Back to the mapMethodologySources (PDF)Built 29 April 2026
Pictures
- "Census pantograph and 1930s keypunches" by U.S. Census Bureau employees, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Shepard Barclay, St. Louis lawyer, in his office" by Missouri Historical Society via DPLA, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Accountant's Office LCCN2016824374" by National Photo Company Collection, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Employment service in Oulu in the spring 1931" by Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons