Order Clerks
Receive and process incoming orders for materials, merchandise, classified ads, or services such as repairs, installations, or rental of facilities. Generally receives orders via mail, phone, fax, or other electronic means. Duties include informing customers of receipt, prices, shipping dates, and delays; preparing contracts; and handling complaints.
75,200 people do this job in the US. $46,170 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 74%
- 10%
- 16%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
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, 14%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 69%. Today's estimate: 71%.
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.
The tasks
Sorted by . 19 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receive and respond to customer complaints.Done hourly or more by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 16% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Calculate and compile order-related statistics, and prepare reports for management.Done daily by most who do it. | 12% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | 77%Half by now | |
| Recommend merchandise or services that will meet customers' needs.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 8% | 13 min4 min to 38 min | 99%Half by now | |
| Inspect outgoing work for compliance with customers' specifications.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 7% | 13 min4 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Attempt to sell additional merchandise or services to prospective or current customers by telephone or through visits.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Obtain customers' names, addresses, and billing information, product numbers, and specifications of items to be purchased, and enter this information on order forms.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 13 min4 min to 33 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Confer with production, sales, shipping, warehouse, or common carrier personnel to expedite or trace shipments.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 21 min8 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Prepare invoices, shipping documents, and contracts.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 21 min8 min to 50 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Inform customers by mail or telephone of order information, such as unit prices, shipping dates, and any anticipated delays.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 5% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Verify customer and order information for correctness, checking it against previously obtained information as necessary.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 8 min3 min to 25 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Review orders for completeness according to reporting procedures and forward incomplete orders for further processing.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 8 min4 min to 21 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Direct specified departments or units to prepare and ship orders to designated locations.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 13 min4 min to 33 min | 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.
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.
- Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks43% now, 43% by 2028
- Postal Service Clerks29% now, 29% by 2028
- Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel69% now, 88% by 2028
- Customer Service Representatives67% now, 67% by 2028
- Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks63% now, 86% by 2028
- Procurement Clerks78% now, 90% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
- Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods (4232, 4233, 4235, 4236, 4237, and 4239 only)6,920 people
- Food and Beverage Retailers (4451 and 4452 only)6,410 people
- Warehousing and Storage4,600 people
- Business Support Services3,450 people
- Professional and Commercial Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers2,830 people
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).