Telephone operator
Gives out information from directories, helps customers with special billing requests, and may handle emergency calls and help children or people with disabilities make calls.
Will AI replace telephone operator jobs?
AI changes jobs more often than it replaces them. How much AI can help with this work: High. More AI overlap than 96 in 100 jobs. AI can help with many tasks. The job is changing fast, and people who use AI well will lead it. 0% of this job’s working time is already spent on tasks people bring to AI at work (Anthropic Economic Index). Based on Microsoft research on real AI use at work, matched to the tasks of each job in O*NET.
What AI already helps with
- Do office tasks like typing, proofreading, and sorting mail
- Listen to requests and use directories to give phone information
- Run phone systems to connect local, long distance, mobile, and emergency calls
What stays human
- Give extra help to people who cannot dial or are in emergencies
- Watch signal lights on switchboards and press buttons to connect calls
- Update directory information
10-year outlook · USA
Expected change in the number of these jobs by 2035: -27.6%. Typical pay: $41,740 a year. US Bureau of Labor Statistics. German figures differ, but the direction is usually similar.
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