Will AI replace executive assistants?
Updated
Executive assistants score 65 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 60%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 30% outright, and 10% stays with people.
- 30% AI can do it
- 60% AI helps
- 10% Needs a person
High exposure
Higher than 96% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 22 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 6 of them today, speeds up 13 and leaves 3 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Prepare responses to correspondence containing routine inquiries. AI drafts routine replies well; person reviews before sending. | 78% AI can do it |
| Compile, transcribe, and distribute minutes of meetings. AI transcribes recordings and drafts minutes; person edits and distributes. | 78% AI can do it |
| Prepare invoices, reports, memos, letters, financial statements, and other documents, using word processing, spreadsheet, database, or presentation software. AI drafts documents and spreadsheets; person checks figures and approves. | 70% AI can do it |
| Conduct research, compile data, and prepare papers for consideration and presentation by executives, committees, and boards of directors. AI finds sources and drafts papers; person verifies facts. | 68% AI helps |
| Read and analyze incoming memos, submissions, and reports to determine their significance and plan their distribution. AI summarizes memos fast; deciding significance and routing stays human. | 66% AI helps |
| Attend meetings to record minutes. AI transcribes meetings and drafts minutes; person checks accuracy. | 66% AI can do it |
| Make travel arrangements for executives. AI searches and books travel; person approves itinerary and exceptions. | 62% AI can do it |
| File and retrieve corporate documents, records, and reports. Digital filing and retrieval are automatable; paper files need handling. | 60% AI can do it |
| Perform general office duties, such as ordering supplies, maintaining records management database systems, and performing basic bookkeeping work. Ordering and records are automatable; bookkeeping still needs checking. | 58% AI helps |
| Interpret administrative and operating policies and procedures for employees. AI answers policy questions from handbooks; interpretation still needs review. | 58% AI helps |
Show the other 12 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Manage and maintain executives' schedules. AI books and reshuffles calendars; priority calls stay human. | 55% AI helps |
| Open, sort, and distribute incoming correspondence, including faxes and email. AI triages email well; opening physical post needs hands. | 55% AI helps |
| Prepare agendas and make arrangements, such as coordinating catering for luncheons, for committee, board, and other meetings. AI drafts agendas and books catering; people confirm details. | 55% AI helps |
| Process payroll information. Payroll software automates calculations; errors and approvals need checking. | 55% AI helps |
| Answer phone calls and direct calls to appropriate parties or take messages. AI routes calls and logs messages; tricky callers need people. | 50% AI helps |
| Provide clerical support to other departments. Most clerical tasks are digital; AI assists, staff keep judgement. | 50% AI helps |
| Review operating practices and procedures to determine whether improvements can be made in areas such as workflow, reporting procedures, or expenditures. AI can analyze workflow data and suggest changes; leaders decide. | 50% AI helps |
| Set up and oversee administrative policies and procedures for offices or organizations. AI drafts policy documents; setting and enforcing policy needs authority. | 38% AI helps |
| Coordinate and direct office services, such as records, departmental finances, budget preparation, personnel issues, and housekeeping, to aid executives. Records and budget work automatable; personnel and housekeeping need people. | 35% AI helps |
| Supervise and train other clerical staff and arrange for employee training by scheduling training or organizing training material. Coaching and supervising staff needs people; AI helps with materials. | 22% Needs a person |
| Meet with individuals, special interest groups, and others on behalf of executives, committees, and boards of directors. Meeting people for executives relies on relationships and presence. | 18% Needs a person |
| Greet visitors and determine whether they should be given access to specific individuals. Greeting visitors in person needs presence and human judgement. | 15% Needs a person |
How executive assistants compare
All occupations (923)
Office and administrative support (51)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $76,590 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 459,910 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- 0.0% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Review AI-drafted minutes for accuracy in Microsoft Word
- Check AI-drafted spreadsheets and figures in Microsoft Excel
- Manage executive calendars and conference calls in Microsoft Outlook
- Process travel and expense claims in SAP Concur
- Train and supervise clerical staff on office procedures
- Route incoming memos and reports in Microsoft SharePoint
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about executive assistants and AI
Will executive assistants be replaced by AI?
Partly. About 5 in 10 of an executive assistant's working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly drafting routine correspondence and compiling meeting minutes. Greeting visitors, meeting people on an executive's behalf, and supervising clerical staff stay with people because they depend on presence and judgement.
Which executive assistant tasks is AI taking over?
Routine correspondence and meeting minutes are the most exposed, each scoring 78 out of 100. AI drafts routine replies and transcribes recordings into minutes, so the assistant's work shifts to reviewing and sending. Document preparation, scoring 70, follows as AI drafts memos and spreadsheets while the assistant checks the figures.
Which executive assistant tasks stay human?
Greeting visitors and deciding who gets access scores 15 on exposure, the lowest on the list. Meeting people on behalf of executives scores 18. Both depend on presence and judgement in person, so the assistant remains central to them.
How can executive assistants stay valuable?
Check AI drafts in Microsoft Word and Outlook before anything goes out, since review carries the value. Move toward the human share of the job, such as training clerical staff and handling visitors. Use Excel and SAP Concur to catch figure errors that AI-prepared reports often carry.
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