Will AI replace company secretary?
Updated
Receptionists score 62 of 100 for AI exposure. AI can already do 51% of their task time. Another 27% gets faster with AI, and 22% still needs a person.
- 51% AI can do it
- 27% AI helps
- 22% Needs a person
High exposure
Higher than 93% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 18 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 10 of them today, speeds up 5 and leaves 3 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Schedule appointments and maintain and update appointment calendars. Scheduling bots handle booking and calendar updates routinely. | 75% AI can do it |
| Perform administrative support tasks, such as proofreading, transcribing handwritten information, or operating calculators or computers to work with pay records, invoices, balance sheets, or other documents. Proofreading, transcription and invoice processing are highly automatable. | 75% AI can do it |
| Process and prepare memos, correspondence, travel vouchers, or other documents. Drafting memos and processing vouchers is routine document work. | 75% AI can do it |
| Transmit information or documents to customers, using computer, mail, or facsimile machine. Emailing and sending documents digitally is routine and easily automated. | 70% AI can do it |
| Provide information about establishment, such as location of departments or offices, employees within the organization, or services provided. Chatbots answer location, staff and service questions from knowledge bases. | 70% AI can do it |
| Enroll individuals to participate in programs and notify them of their acceptance. Online enrollment and acceptance notices are largely automated already. | 70% AI can do it |
| Operate telephone switchboard to answer, screen, or forward calls, providing information, taking messages, or scheduling appointments. AI voice agents can answer, screen, route calls and take messages. | 65% AI can do it |
| Schedule space or equipment for special programs and prepare lists of participants. Room booking software and participant lists are routine digital tasks. | 65% AI can do it |
| Take orders for merchandise or materials and send them to the proper departments to be filled. Order intake and routing to departments is straightforward for software. | 65% AI can do it |
| Calculate and quote rates for tours, stocks, insurance policies, or other products or services. Rate calculation from set tables is largely automatable with software. | 60% AI can do it |
Show the other 8 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| File and maintain records. Digital filing and indexing automate well, physical filing stays manual. | 55% AI helps |
| Analyze data to determine answers to questions from customers or members of the public. AI can query and summarize data, a person verifies the answers. | 55% AI helps |
| Keep a current record of staff members' whereabouts and availability. Status tracking via calendars and messaging tools is easily digitized. | 50% AI helps |
| Hear and resolve complaints from customers or the public. AI resolves routine complaints, while sensitive ones need human judgement. | 40% AI helps |
| Collect, sort, distribute, or prepare mail, messages, or courier deliveries. Physical mail sorting stays manual, while message prep digitizes easily. | 30% AI helps |
| Receive payment and record receipts for services. Taking payment in person needs hands on cash and card handling. | 22% Needs a person |
| Greet persons entering establishment, determine nature and purpose of visit, and direct or escort them to specific destinations. In-person greeting and escorting needs physical presence. | 15% Needs a person |
| Perform duties, such as taking care of plants or straightening magazines to maintain lobby or reception area. Physical lobby upkeep requires hands on work. | 2% Needs a person |
How receptionists compare
All occupations (923)
Office and administrative support (51)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $38,010 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 910,180 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- -1.7% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Greet visitors in person and escort them to departments
- Run appointment calendars and rules in Microsoft Outlook
- Take card and cash payments at the front desk
- Resolve sensitive visitor complaints face to face
- Sort and route physical mail and courier deliveries
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about receptionists and AI
Will company secretary be replaced by AI?
Partly. About 5 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly appointment scheduling and document processing in Microsoft Outlook and Word. Greeting visitors, taking payment and sorting physical mail stay with people because they need a person at the desk.
Which receptionist tasks is AI taking over?
Scheduling and document work lead the list. Scheduling appointments and updating calendars scores 75 on exposure, because booking bots handle slots without staff. Processing memos, correspondence and travel vouchers also scores 75, since routine documents follow repeatable steps. Answering location and staff questions from a knowledge base scores 70.
Which receptionist tasks stay human?
Physical presence tasks stay human. Lobby upkeep scores 2 on exposure, and greeting visitors and escorting them scores 15, since both need someone on site. Taking payment in person scores 22 because cash and card handling needs hands on the transaction. Tasks that stay human make up 22 percent of task weight.
How can receptionists stay valuable at work?
Build the in-person work that scores lowest on exposure, including greeting, escorting and handling payments at the desk. Learn to configure Microsoft Dynamics visitor records and Outlook calendar rules, so you set up the systems that handle booking. Get good at face to face complaint handling, which scores 40 and needs human judgement.
Related jobs
Next steps for receptionists
Check which roles in your team AI can take on
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