Will order clerks be replaced by AI?
Updated
Order clerks score 68 of 100 for AI exposure. AI can already do 63% of their task time. Another 30% gets faster with AI, and 7% still needs a person.
- 63% AI can do it
- 30% AI helps
- 7% Needs a person
High exposure
Higher than 99% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 19 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 11 of them today, speeds up 7 and leaves 1 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Compute total charges for merchandise or services and shipping charges. Totals and shipping fees follow pricing rules, easily automated. | 80% AI can do it |
| File copies of orders received, or post orders on records. Filing and posting records is routine digital work for software. | 80% AI can do it |
| Adjust inventory records to reflect product movement. Recording stock movements is direct system updating, easy to automate. | 80% AI can do it |
| Calculate and compile order-related statistics, and prepare reports for management. Order statistics and management reports are straightforward data analysis. | 80% AI can do it |
| Check inventory records to determine availability of requested merchandise. Inventory lookups are database queries that software handles directly. | 75% AI can do it |
| Review orders for completeness according to reporting procedures and forward incomplete orders for further processing. Completeness checks are rule based; software can flag gaps. | 70% AI can do it |
| Obtain customers' names, addresses, and billing information, product numbers, and specifications of items to be purchased, and enter this information on order forms. Extracting order details from messages into forms is routine. | 70% AI can do it |
| Verify customer and order information for correctness, checking it against previously obtained information as necessary. Comparing order fields against stored records is simple automated matching. | 70% AI can do it |
| Notify departments when supplies of specific items are low, or when orders would deplete available supplies. Low stock alerts are simple threshold rules that software triggers. | 70% AI can do it |
| Prepare invoices, shipping documents, and contracts. Invoices and shipping papers generate from order data with review. | 70% AI can do it |
Show the other 9 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Inform customers by mail or telephone of order information, such as unit prices, shipping dates, and any anticipated delays. Status notices are templated; phone calls still need a person. | 65% AI can do it |
| Collect payment for merchandise, record transactions, and send items, such as checks or money orders for further processing. Payment posting is software work; handling physical checks is not. | 55% AI helps |
| Recommend merchandise or services that will meet customers' needs. AI can match stated needs to catalog items, but judgement helps. | 45% AI helps |
| Recommend type of packing or labeling needed on order. Packing and label choices follow item rules, with some judgement. | 45% AI helps |
| Receive and respond to customer complaints. AI drafts replies well, but upset customers need human handling. | 40% AI helps |
| Direct specified departments or units to prepare and ship orders to designated locations. Routing orders to departments is workflow work with some coordination. | 40% AI helps |
| Confer with production, sales, shipping, warehouse, or common carrier personnel to expedite or trace shipments. Tracking lookups are automatable, but calls with partners need people. | 35% AI helps |
| Attempt to sell additional merchandise or services to prospective or current customers by telephone or through visits. Phone upsell suggestions are scriptable, but live selling needs people. | 35% AI helps |
| Inspect outgoing work for compliance with customers' specifications. Checking physical goods against specs needs hands on inspection. | 15% Needs a person |
How order clerks compare
All occupations (923)
Office and administrative support (51)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $46,170 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 75,200 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- -17.5% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Set up pricing and shipping rules in order management software
- Handle customer complaints and approve refunds by phone
- Build order trend reports with pivot tables in Microsoft Excel
- Trace shipments with carriers and warehouse teams in SAP
- Inspect outgoing goods against customer specifications on the floor
- Prepare and check sales contracts in Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about order clerks and AI
Will AI replace order clerks?
Partly. About 6 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly computing charges, checking inventory and filing order records. The work that stays with people is inspecting goods against specifications, handling upset customers and settling delivery problems with carriers and warehouses.
Which order clerk tasks is AI taking over?
Computing total charges and shipping fees, filing order records and adjusting inventory records are the most exposed, each scored 80 out of 100. Pricing rules and stock postings follow fixed logic that order management software can run without a person checking each step. Checking inventory for availability scores 75.
Which order clerk tasks stay with people?
Inspecting outgoing work for compliance with customers' specifications scores 15, the lowest in this job, because it depends on hands on physical goods. Receiving and responding to complaints scores 40. AI can draft the reply, but an upset customer needs a person who can decide on the remedy.
How can order clerks stay valuable?
Move toward the tasks with low exposure scores and learn the tools that run them. Learn how pricing and shipping rules are set in order management software so you can check what the system calculates. Take on complaint and carrier escalation calls, where a person still decides the outcome. Build Excel reports that explain order trends to sales managers.
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Next steps for order clerks
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