Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance
In short: today's best AI models could do about 73% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about the same by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 27% of the time, stays with people.
Schedule and dispatch workers, work crews, equipment, or service vehicles for conveyance of materials, freight, or passengers, or for normal installation, service, or emergency repairs rendered outside the place of business. Duties may include using radio, telephone, or computer to transmit assignments and compiling statistics and reports on work progress.
202,810 people do this job in the US. $50,340 a year.
Reviewed on September 30, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on0 h
- A person checks AI's work29 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people11 h
Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 0 hours, 29 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 11 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Build the daily schedules (about 12 h, a person checks); Track crews and equipment (about 5 h, a person checks); Run communications for the territory (about 3 h, a person checks).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 16%
- 57%
- 27%
- 0%
- 0%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
What handing it over would take, now
The 73% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 2%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 55%. Today's estimate: 73%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, 0.011% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 365th largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 1 of its 12 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: none to 0.003% (released February and March 2025); 0.0028% to 0.0083% (August 2025 to February 2026); none to 0.011% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | none | n/a | 0 of 12 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.003% | 627 of 703 | 1 of 12 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.0028% | 593 of 655 | 1 of 12 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.0063% | 544 of 672 | 2 of 12 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.0083% | 517 of 677 | 2 of 12 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 12 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.011% | 365 of 447 | 1 of 12 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 1% of this job's working time as physical work. For 1% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 1% in a structured facility. 0.03 of 3, the 623rd highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 99%
- In a structured facility 1%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
27% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Run communications for the territory, the conversation, 12%
- Dispatch crews and vehicles, the conversation, 5%
- Handle customer requests, the conversation, 4%
- Arrange repairs, the conversation, 3%
- Relay orders to crews, the conversation, 1%
- Warn crews of traffic problems, the conversation, 0.7%
What becomes checking the machine
72% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it.
- Build the daily schedules, costly if wrong, 29%
- Track crews and equipment, costly if wrong, 13%
- Run communications for the territory, costly if wrong, 8%
- Keep dispatch records, costly if wrong, 7%
- Dispatch crews and vehicles, costly if wrong, 5%
- Work out what each job needs, costly if wrong, 5%
What to learn
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself. The tasks under What becomes checking the machine, where a mistake costs something, stay a person's to check: spotting what a draft gets wrong is a skill of its own.
- Running AI inside the business systems. About 57% of the time is work inside business systems, which a model can do only once it is connected: knowing the systems well enough to set that up and watch it.
- The conversations. About 27% of the time is conversation and in-person work, which this site leaves with people: listening, explaining, persuading, calming.
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts. About 16% of the time is documents and data, the part models reach first: writing a clear brief, giving the right material, and checking what comes back.
- Dealing with people outside the organization. Customers, patients, suppliers or the public: trust with them is built by a person.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 12 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prepare daily work and run schedules.Planning and entering the day's runs.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 29% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Systems 60%, documents 40% | 99%Half by now |
| Oversee all communications within specifically assigned territories.Radio and phone, with the board.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 20% | 1.7 h50 min to 6.7 h | Conversation 60%, systems 40% | 39%Desk part half by now |
| Monitor personnel or equipment locations and utilization to coordinate service and schedules.Watching the board and the map.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 13% | 42 min13 min to 1.7 h | Systems 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Schedule or dispatch workers, work crews, equipment, or service vehicles to appropriate locations, according to customer requests, specifications, or needs, using radios or telephones.The board in the system and the calls out.Done hourly or more by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 10% | 21 min8 min to 38 min | Systems 50%, conversation 50% | 50%Desk part half by now |
| Record and maintain files or records of customer requests, work or services performed, charges, expenses, inventory, or other dispatch information.Entries in the system.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 25 min8 min to 1.1 h | Systems 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Arrange for necessary repairs to restore service and schedules.Calls to the crews and the orders entered.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Conversation 60%, systems 40% | 40%Desk part half by now |
| Determine types or amounts of equipment, vehicles, materials, or personnel required, according to work orders or specifications.Reading the order and deciding.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 21 min8 min to 50 min | Documents 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Confer with customers or supervising personnel to address questions, problems, or requests for service or equipment.Calls with customers.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 13 min4 min to 38 min | Conversation 100% | Stays with people |
| Receive or prepare work orders.Entries in the system.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 13 min4 min to 33 min | Systems 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Relay work orders, messages, or information to or from work crews, supervisors, or field inspectors, using telephones or two-way radios.Radio and phone.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 1% | 4 min2 min to 13 min | Conversation 100% | Stays with people |
| Order supplies or equipment and issue them to personnel.Orders entered and supplies handed out.Done more than monthly by most who do it.Robots: in a structured facility, Traka fleet key management cabinets (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 0.9% | 38 min13 min to 1.3 h | Systems 60%, hands-on 40% | 60%Desk part half by now |
| Advise personnel about traffic problems, such as construction areas, accidents, congestion, weather conditions, or other hazards.Radio and phone.Done daily by most who do it. | 0.7% | 4 min2 min to 17 min | Conversation 100% | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- First-Line Supervisors of Passenger Attendants32% now, 33% by 2028
- First-Line Supervisors of Material-Moving Machine and Vehicle Operators45% now, 45% by 2028
- Public Safety Telecommunicators49% now, 64% by 2028
- Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters33% now, 33% by 2028
- Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks72% now, 73% by 2028
- Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors30% now, 30% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 73% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 73% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Build the daily schedules (99% of the task's time now); Track crews and equipment (100% of the task's time now); and Run communications for the territory (39% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Handle customer requests; Relay orders to crews; and Warn crews of traffic problems. Together such tasks are about 6% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are reviewing work you did not do yourself; running AI inside the business systems; and the conversations. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 27% of the working time stays with people, 72% becomes checking a model's work and 1% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.011% went to this job's tasks, the 365th largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 1 of its 12 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 23%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 1% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 1% of the working time, 1% in a structured facility. Its index is 0.03 of 3. One example: Traka fleet key management cabinets for "order and issue supplies". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 12 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on September 30, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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