Will file clerks be replaced by AI?
Updated
File clerks score 59 of 100 for AI exposure. AI can already do 40% of their task time. Another 38% gets faster with AI, and 22% still needs a person.
- 40% AI can do it
- 38% AI helps
- 22% Needs a person
High exposure
Higher than 89% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 19 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 7 of them today, speeds up 7 and leaves 5 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Input data, such as file numbers, new or updated information, or document information codes into computer systems to support document and information retrieval. Keying file numbers and codes is routine data entry. | 85% AI can do it |
| Keep records of materials filed or removed, using logbooks or computers and generate computerized reports. Logs and reports are straightforward software and reporting tasks. | 75% AI can do it |
| Scan or read incoming materials to determine how and where they should be classified or filed. Reading incoming documents to route them is strong AI work. | 70% AI can do it |
| Sort or classify information according to guidelines, such as content, purpose, user criteria, or chronological, alphabetical, or numerical order. Classifying content by guidelines suits AI; physical sorting less so. | 65% AI can do it |
| Answer questions about records or files. Answering questions from indexed records is well suited to AI. | 65% AI can do it |
| Assign and record or stamp identification numbers or codes to index materials for filing. Code assignment follows rules; only physical stamping stays manual. | 65% AI can do it |
| Track materials removed from files to ensure that borrowed files are returned. Software can track checkouts and send return reminders. | 65% AI can do it |
| Complete general financial activities, such as processing accounts payable, reviewing invoices, collecting cash payments, or issuing receipts. Invoice review and payables automatable; cash handling stays with people. | 60% AI helps |
| Design forms related to filing systems. AI can draft form layouts; people approve fit for use. | 55% AI helps |
| Find, retrieve, and make copies of information from files in response to requests and deliver information to authorized users. Digital lookups automatable; physical file pulls and delivery stay manual. | 50% AI helps |
Show the other 9 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Add new material to file records or create new records as necessary. Digital indexing is easy; physically inserting paper remains manual. | 50% AI helps |
| Perform general office activities, such as typing, answering telephones, operating office machines, processing mail, or securing confidential materials. Phones and typing partly automated; mail and securing stay physical. | 40% AI helps |
| Eliminate outdated or unnecessary materials, destroying them or transferring them to inactive storage, according to file maintenance guidelines or legal requirements. Software flags eligible records; destruction and legal approval stay human. | 40% AI helps |
| Modify or improve filing systems or implement new filing systems. Redesigning systems needs judgement on workflow and user needs. | 40% AI helps |
| Perform periodic inspections of materials or files to ensure correct placement, legibility, or proper condition. Checking condition and placement needs physical handling; AI helps little. | 20% Needs a person |
| Gather materials to be filed from departments or employees. Physical pickup from departments needs in-person movement. | 15% Needs a person |
| Place materials into storage receptacles, such as file cabinets, boxes, bins, or drawers, according to classification and identification information. Placing items into cabinets and drawers is physical work. | 15% Needs a person |
| Retrieve documents stored in microfilm or microfiche and place them in viewers for reading. Locating and loading microfiche requires physical handling and equipment. | 10% Needs a person |
| Operate mechanized files that rotate to bring needed records to a particular location. Operating rotating mechanized shelving is hands on machine work. | 5% Needs a person |
How file clerks compare
All occupations (923)
Office and administrative support (51)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $43,600 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 73,440 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- -15.8% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Run record logs and retrieval reports in Microsoft Excel
- Maintain indexes and records databases in Microsoft Access
- Manage shared document libraries in Microsoft SharePoint
- Check scanned records and PDF files in Adobe Acrobat
- Perform periodic file inspections for placement and legibility
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about file clerks and AI
Will AI replace file clerks?
Partly. About 5 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly keying file numbers and codes into systems and keeping logs of materials filed or removed. Pulling records, loading them into cabinets, and checking that files are in the right place still rest with people.
Which file clerk tasks is AI taking over?
Data entry is the most exposed task, with an exposure score of 85, because keying file numbers and codes follows fixed rules. Record logs and reports score 75, and reading incoming documents to decide where they go scores 70.
Which file clerk tasks stay human?
Operating rotating mechanized shelving scores 5, the lowest exposure, because it is hands on machine work. Gathering materials from departments and placing items into cabinets and drawers each score 15, since both need a person moving through the office with paper in hand.
How can file clerks stay valuable?
Keep the hands on work that software leaves untouched, such as pulling files and running periodic inspections for placement and legibility. Then move into the systems side by building retrieval reports in Excel and Access and checking the codes AI assigns in SharePoint.
Related jobs
Next steps for file clerks
Check which roles in your team AI can take on
We map your team's tasks, show what AI can do today and build the automations that pay back first.
Related topics
- Jobs AI can't replaceCement masons score lowest, at 8.
- Jobs most at risk from AIProofreaders score highest, at 76.
- High-paying jobs with low AI exposureRadiologists earn a median $420,860 and score 46.
- Entry-level jobs with low AI exposureCement masons need little prior training and score 8.
- Jobs AI speeds up the mostFor natural sciences managers, AI speeds up 96% of task time.
- AI and jobs in Malta15 iGaming roles graded task by task.
- Skills that keep work humanThe skills to build in the jobs AI changes least.
- Jobs A to ZEvery job we publish, by first letter.
- AI exposure by industryAverage scores for 22 occupation groups.
- Write a CV screening software can readHow applicant tracking systems read a CV, and what to change.
- AI for businessesThe tasks to automate first in each team and industry.
- How we score AI exposureThe grading, the weights and every source.