Will AI replace Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive?

Many of your tasks are within reach of AI. The role will change, so it pays to act now.

Task exposure to today's AI

56/100

High exposure

This is the occupation's typical task mix. Your own score can be up to 30 points higher or lower depending on how you work: routine share, people contact, judgment and how much you already use AI.

Get your personal score

Will AI replace Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive?

Not entirely. Today's AI tools can take on about 56% of the typical work in this occupation, mostly: operate electronic mail systems and coordinate the flow of information, internally or with other organizations. The parts that stay human include: Set up and manage paper or electronic filing systems, recording information, updating paperwork, or maintaining documents, such as attendance records, correspondence, or other material.; Compose, type, and distribute meeting notes, routine correspondence, or reports, such as presentations or expense, statistical, or monthly reports.; Answer telephones and give information to callers, take messages, or transfer calls to appropriate individuals..

People who learn to use AI for the automatable parts keep the edge. The 3-phase plan below shows where to start.

Which tasks AI can take on

The largest tasks in this occupation, their share of the working week, and how much of each today's AI tools can do.

TaskAutomatable

Operate electronic mail systems and coordinate the flow of information, internally or with other organizations. 70%

Answer telephones and give information to callers, take messages, or transfer calls to appropriate individuals.AI already used 65%

Create, maintain, and enter information into databases.AI already used 65%

Set up and manage paper or electronic filing systems, recording information, updating paperwork, or maintaining documents, such as attendance records, correspondence, or other material. 57%

Compose, type, and distribute meeting notes, routine correspondence, or reports, such as presentations or expense, statistical, or monthly reports.AI already used 47%

Greet visitors or callers and handle their inquiries or direct them to the appropriate persons according to their needs.AI already used 47%

+ 25 more tasks (50% of the week) in the full test.

Your human edge

Set up and manage paper or electronic filing systems, recording information, updating paperwork, or maintaining documents, such as attendance records, correspondence, or other material.
Compose, type, and distribute meeting notes, routine correspondence, or reports, such as presentations or expense, statistical, or monthly reports.
Answer telephones and give information to callers, take messages, or transfer calls to appropriate individuals.

AI tools to try

Microsoft 365 Copilot or Google Gemini for WorkspaceChatGPT / Claude for emails and documentsAutomation tools (Power Automate, Zapier, Make)

Related roles

A 3-phase AI learning plan

Phase 1

Automate the routine

Emails, letters and documents from templates with AI.
Data entry and extraction from forms and PDFs.
Spreadsheet work with AI help.

Project

Build an AI prompt library of 10 templates for your most-sent emails and letters, plus one prompt that extracts invoice fields from PDFs into a spreadsheet; log minutes saved per item.

Phase 2

Workflows across tools

Connect email, forms and spreadsheets with no-code automations.
Checks and controls on automated steps.
Document how each workflow works.

Project

Connect a no-code form, email and spreadsheet into one meeting-request or leave-request workflow with an error-check step, and write a one-page runbook for it.

Phase 3

From doing to coordinating

Become the person who maintains the team's automations.
Train colleagues.
Look at roles in operations, coordination or process improvement.

Project

Run a 60-minute training for 5 colleagues on your two best automations, hand over a maintenance checklist, and survey them on hours saved after 2 weeks.

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