Will AI replace Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service?

What this score means

Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service leans toward the safer end for Administration. Parts of the role touch tasks AI is getting good at, but the core still depends on hands on work or judgment that resists automation. At 27 out of 100 it scores 25 points below the Administration average of 52. Across the 6 sources behind this baseline, individual estimates run from 10 to 57, so the score is a weighted consensus rather than any single figure.

The number is a consensus estimate for the typical version of the role, built from published academic and industry research scored occupation by occupation. It is not a prediction about any individual. How scoring works

What this job actually involves

Exposure follows the work itself rather than the job title, so it is worth seeing what the role is made of. These are the tasks O*NET records for Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service, most central first, showing 12 of 26.

• 01Wrap packages or bundles by hand, or by using tying machines.
• 02Verify that items are addressed correctly, marked with the proper postage, and in suitable condition for processing.
• 03Remove containers of sorted mail or parcels and transfer them to designated areas according to established procedures.
• 04Sort and route incoming mail, and collect outgoing mail, using carts as necessary.
• 05Affix postage to packages or letters by hand, or stamp materials, using postage meters.
• 06Determine manner in which mail is to be sent, and prepare it for delivery to mailing facilities.
• 07Accept and check containers of mail or parcels from large volume mailers, couriers, and contractors.
• 08Seal or open envelopes, by hand or by using machines.
• 09Weigh packages or letters to determine postage needed, using weighing scales and rate charts.
• 10Inspect mail machine output for defects and determine how to eliminate causes of any defects.
• 11Remove from machines printed materials, such as labeled articles, postmarked envelopes or tape, and folded sheets.
• 12Release packages or letters to customers upon presentation of written notices or other identification.

Task statements from O*NET by the National Center for O*NET Development, used under CC BY 4.0. The tasks are descriptive; the exposure score above is ours.

The research behind this score

This baseline aggregates 6 research sources that scored Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service for AI and automation exposure. More recent, higher confidence studies carry more weight in the final number.

• 01Anthropic Economic Index 2026 - AI Task Exposure · 2026Anthropic
• 02Global Automation Atlas: Task Substitution Exposure by Occupation · 2026Garg, Crosta, Baier (2026), arXiv:2605.17086
• 03Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure · 2025International Labour Organization, Working Paper 140 (2025)
• 04Working with AI: Measuring the Applicability of Generative AI to Occupations · 2025Tomlinson, Jaffe et al., Microsoft Research (2025)
• 05GPTs are GPTs: Labor Market Impact Potential of LLMs · 2024Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin, Rock (Science, 2024)
• 06AI Occupational Exposure to Language Modeling · 2023Felten, Raj, Seamans (2023)

Common questions

How likely is AI to replace Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service?

Published research puts Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service at 27 out of 100 for AI displacement risk, in the lower risk band. The number is a weighted consensus of 6 research sources and describes the typical version of the role, not any individual.

Do researchers agree on the risk for Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service?

Only partly. Individual estimates for Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service run from 10 to 57 out of 100 across the 6 sources behind this score, so the single number smooths over real disagreement. More recent and higher confidence studies carry more weight in it.

Which administration roles face similar AI exposure?

The closest published administration roles to Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service by score are Couriers and Messengers (27/100), Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators (24/100), and Office Machine Operators, Except Computer (31/100). Each has its own page with the research behind its number.

Also covers

Addressing Machine Operator · Addressograph Operator · Advertising Inserter · Canceling Machine Operator · Dead Mail Checker · Direct Mail Clerk · Direct Mail Coordinator · Distribution Clerk and related titles

More administration occupations

• Postal Service Clerks40/100
• Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks39/100
• Meter Readers, Utilities37/100
• Postal Service Mail Carriers32/100
• Office Machine Operators, Except Computer31/100
• Weighers, Measurers, Checkers, and Samplers, Recordkeeping31/100
• Couriers and Messengers27/100
• Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators24/100