Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service

Many mailroom jobs already use machines. For example, conveyor systems and sorting machines handle most package distribution ^[1]. Envelope folding or sealing is often done by folder-inserter machines, and postage meters weigh and stamp mail automatically.

In fact, a U.S. job report notes this field is already partially automated (about 30% rated “highly automated”) ^[2]. Cutting‐edge research even shows robots can pick random parcels and load them on belts – a recent study used a robot arm and AI-based vision to learn all kinds of package shapes, aiming to relieve humans from that labor ^{[1] [1]}. However, most offices still need people.

Packages vary in size, shape and stacking, which makes full automation hard ^[1]. So for now, machines mostly do simple work (feeding envelopes, wrapping bundles) while people check for mistakes and handle unusual mail. Human oversight and flexibility remain important, for example if a package is odd-shaped or needs special routing.

Adopting new AI systems in mailrooms depends on cost and need. High-end solutions (like smart robots or OCR sorting software) exist, but they can be expensive to set up compared to paying workers. In 2022 the average mail clerk earned only about $17.41 per hour ($36,000 per year) ^[3], so small offices may not afford big machines.

On the other hand, large delivery companies face rising labor costs and high mail volume. One study notes that as worker wages rise and robot prices fall, businesses are more motivated to automate traditional mail tasks ^[1]. Socially, there’s little opposition to machines in mailrooms (it’s safer to replace back-breaking sorting tasks than say medical jobs).

Still, full AI mailrooms may be slow to come: mail can include sensitive or irregular items, and offices value human checks. In short, simple automation is common now, and AI tools may expand in big centers, but people’s judgment and flexibility will stay valuable ^{[1] [2]}.