Information and Record Clerks, All Other

Information and record clerks spend most of their time on routine tasks – preparing reports, recording data, answering questions, and filing or looking up papers or electronic records ^[1]. Many parts of this work already use basic tech: for example, documents are often scanned into computers and made searchable with OCR, and simple questions can be answered with FAQ chatbots or online forms. Researchers note that so much digital information exists (sometimes called a “digital heap”) that humans alone can no longer sort it all ^[2].

In one study of government archives, experts said AI tools were “no longer a choice, but a necessity” to review records ^[2]. In practice today, however, AI mostly augments these clerks’ work (helping index files or draft routine documents) rather than fully replacing them. For example, large agencies are testing internal chatbots and document samplers that save people time, allowing staff to focus on harder human tasks. (One federal CIO noted AI freed diplomats’ time for “value-added work that only humans can do” ^[3].) Overall, official projections see only a small decline in these jobs (about –3% over 2024–34 ^[1]), reflecting that many duties still need a person’s judgment and personal touch.

New AI tools for filing, scanning, and answering routine questions are commercially available, which could speed changes. At the same time, adoption may be slow in some workplaces. These clerks earn modest wages (about $22/hr on average ^[1]), so employers may be cautious about big upfront costs for custom AI systems.

National data show roughly 150,000 of these clerks work across government, education and other sectors ^[1], with about 149,000 job openings each year mostly replacing retirees ^[1]. This steady labor supply can reduce pressure to rapidly automate every task. Privacy laws and record-keeping rules also play a role – for example, U.S. archives policy now requires all official documents be in digital form by 2024 ^[2], so agencies must adopt digital systems (and often AI tools) to comply.

Social acceptance matters too: many people still prefer talking to a human for help. Overall, AI offers big potential (one study warns of millions of office jobs affected by 2029 ^[4]), but in this field it is mainly being used to help people work faster, not fully replace them. In short, clerical jobs will change, but human skills like communication and judgment will remain important.