Information and Record Clerks, All Other

Information and record clerks do routine tasks like keeping track of files, entering data, and answering basic questions ^[1]. Some of this work is already helped by computers. For example, many offices use software to scan, organize, and search documents, and simple AI tools can answer FAQs by reading text.

In fact, AI is getting much better at reading and writing: an OECD report notes that machines now can handle many language tasks very well ^[2]. At the same time, computers still make mistakes and aren’t as good as people at understanding tricky or unusual cases ^[2]. Because of this, researchers note that many office support jobs could shrink as technology improves ^[3].

In practice today, clerks normally supervise these systems and fix any errors, since human judgment is still needed for the details and exceptions.

Whether companies add more AI for these jobs depends on cost, benefit, and rules. On one hand, helpful AI tools (like document-scanning apps or chatbots) are widely available now. On the other hand, information clerks earn only about \$23 per hour on average (around \$48,000 a year) ^[1].

This means some businesses may find it cheaper to keep people instead of buying expensive AI systems. Also, many clerks work in areas like healthcare or government where data privacy and accuracy are critical, so new tech is tested carefully before use. Over time we expect more AI to be used for repetitive parts of the job, because companies see it can boost efficiency.

Still, even if AI grows, skills like understanding context and talking to people will stay important. In the future AI will likely assist clerks (for example by doing the boring bits), while humans handle the complex or personal tasks that AI cannot fully replace ^{[2] [1]}.