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Typists and related

keyboard occupations

Administrative and secretarial occupations, SOC 2020 code 4217. Back to the map

Typists and related keyboard occupations type letters, memos, reports and other documents from draft, handwritten or dictated matter, using appropriate software packages.

Employees (UK)
-
Median annual pay
-
Exposure score ?
6.8/10 High 7.8/10 High strict reading, with tools is 7.8/10 with-tools reading, strict is 6.8/10
Wage exposure
- -

Higher exposure than 99% of the 379 UK occupations we scored.

Read the score as
What a model can do unaided. A model plus workflow tools, closer to how work runs in 2026.

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.

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.

Two clerks at the US Census Bureau punching population cards on a pantograph and a keypunch, with filing boxes behind 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.

  1. Check completed work for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and format.

    O*NET importance 4.3 of 5 A model can do this directly

  2. File and store completed documents on computer hard drive or disk, or maintain a computer filing system to store, retrieve, update, and delete documents.

    O*NET importance 4.2 of 5 A model can do this directly

  3. Address envelopes or prepare envelope labels, using typewriter or computer.

    O*NET importance 4.0 of 5 A model can do this directly

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.

  1. Check completed work for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and format.

    O*NET importance 4.3 of 5 AI can do this with workflow tools

  2. File and store completed documents on computer hard drive or disk, or maintain a computer filing system to store, retrieve, update, and delete documents.

    O*NET importance 4.2 of 5 AI can do this with workflow tools

  3. Address envelopes or prepare envelope labels, using typewriter or computer.

    O*NET importance 4.0 of 5 AI can do this with workflow tools

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.

What AI can already do

13 of 19 tasks, unaided

  1. Check completed work for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and format.

    Importance 4.3 of 5

  2. File and store completed documents on computer hard drive or disk, or maintain a computer filing system to store, retrieve, update, and delete documents.

    Importance 4.2 of 5

  3. Address envelopes or prepare envelope labels, using typewriter or computer.

    Importance 4.0 of 5

  4. 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.

    Importance 4.0 of 5

  5. Gather, register, and arrange the material to be typed, following instructions.

    Importance 4.0 of 5

  6. Compute and verify totals on report forms, requisitions, or bills, using adding machine or calculator.

    Importance 4.0 of 5

  7. Keep records of work performed.

    Importance 3.9 of 5

  8. Electronically sort and compile text and numerical data, retrieving, updating, and merging documents as required.

    Importance 3.8 of 5

  9. Search for specific sets of stored, typed characters to make changes.

    Importance 3.8 of 5

  10. Collate pages of reports and other documents.

    Importance 3.7 of 5

  11. Reformat documents, moving paragraphs or columns.

    Importance 3.7 of 5

  12. Work with technical material, preparing statistical reports, planning and typing statistical tables, and combining and rearranging material from different sources.

    Importance 3.7 of 5

  13. Adjust settings for format, page layout, line spacing, and other style requirements.

    Importance 3.6 of 5

What still needs a person

6 of 19 tasks

  1. Perform other clerical duties, such as answering telephone, sorting and distributing mail, running errands or sending faxes.

    Importance 4.4 of 5

  2. Print and make copies of work.

    Importance 4.2 of 5

  3. Transmit work electronically to other locations.

    Importance 4.1 of 5

  4. Manage schedules and set dates, times, and locations for meetings and appointments.

    Importance 3.9 of 5

  5. Use data entry devices, such as optical scanners, to input data into computers for revision or editing.

    Importance 3.6 of 5

  6. Operate and resupply printers and computers, changing print wheels or fluid cartridges, adding paper, and loading blank tapes, cards, or disks into equipment.

    Importance 3.4 of 5

What AI can already do

15 of 19 tasks, with tools

  1. Check completed work for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and format.

    Importance 4.3 of 5

  2. File and store completed documents on computer hard drive or disk, or maintain a computer filing system to store, retrieve, update, and delete documents.

    Importance 4.2 of 5

  3. Address envelopes or prepare envelope labels, using typewriter or computer.

    Importance 4.0 of 5

  4. 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.

    Importance 4.0 of 5

  5. Gather, register, and arrange the material to be typed, following instructions.

    Importance 4.0 of 5

  6. Compute and verify totals on report forms, requisitions, or bills, using adding machine or calculator.

    Importance 4.0 of 5

  7. Manage schedules and set dates, times, and locations for meetings and appointments.

    Importance 3.9 of 5

  8. Keep records of work performed.

    Importance 3.9 of 5

  9. Electronically sort and compile text and numerical data, retrieving, updating, and merging documents as required.

    Importance 3.8 of 5

  10. Search for specific sets of stored, typed characters to make changes.

    Importance 3.8 of 5

  11. Collate pages of reports and other documents.

    Importance 3.7 of 5

  12. Reformat documents, moving paragraphs or columns.

    Importance 3.7 of 5

  13. Work with technical material, preparing statistical reports, planning and typing statistical tables, and combining and rearranging material from different sources.

    Importance 3.7 of 5

  14. Adjust settings for format, page layout, line spacing, and other style requirements.

    Importance 3.6 of 5

  15. Use data entry devices, such as optical scanners, to input data into computers for revision or editing.

    Importance 3.6 of 5

What still needs a person

4 of 19 tasks

  1. Perform other clerical duties, such as answering telephone, sorting and distributing mail, running errands or sending faxes.

    Importance 4.4 of 5

  2. Print and make copies of work.

    Importance 4.2 of 5

  3. Transmit work electronically to other locations.

    Importance 4.1 of 5

  4. Operate and resupply printers and computers, changing print wheels or fluid cartridges, adding paper, and loading blank tapes, cards, or disks into equipment.

    Importance 3.4 of 5

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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.

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