Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service
Operate telephone business systems equipment or switchboards to relay incoming, outgoing, and interoffice calls. May supply information to callers and record messages.
34,280 people do this job in the US. $38,630 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 77%
- 0%
- 23%
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, 36%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 77%. Today's estimate: 77%.
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 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perform various data entry or word processing tasks, such as updating phone directories, typing or proofreading documents, or creating schedules.Done hourly or more by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 16% | 21 min8 min to 50 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Perform various cash handling tasks, such as collecting payments, making bank deposits, or managing petty cash.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 10% | 17 min8 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Greet visitors, log them in and out of the facility, assign them security badges, and contact employee escorts.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 9% | 7 min3 min to 17 min | Stays with people | |
| Perform administrative tasks, such as accepting orders, scheduling appointments or meeting rooms, or sending and receiving faxes.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 8% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Answer incoming calls, greeting callers, providing information, transferring calls or taking messages as necessary.Done hourly or more by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 7% | 4 min2 min to 8 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Operate communication systems, such as telephone, switchboard, intercom, two-way radio, or public address.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 7% | 4 min2 min to 13 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Monitor alarm systems to ensure that secure conditions are maintained.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 7% | 13 min4 min to 50 min | 98%Half by now | |
| Place telephone calls or arrange conference calls as instructed.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 6% | 7 min3 min to 21 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Keep records of calls placed and charges incurred.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 10 min4 min to 21 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Answer simple questions about clients' businesses, using reference files.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 7 min3 min to 13 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Record messages, suggesting rewording for clarity or conciseness.Done several times a day by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 4% | 7 min3 min to 13 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Relay or route written or verbal messages.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 4% | 4 min2 min to 8 min | 100%Half by now |
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.
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).