Telephone Operators
Overall Exposure
2025 vs 2023
Theoretical Exposure
96What AI could do
Observed Exposure
74What AI actually does
Automation Risk Score
90Displacement risk
3-Year Outlook (2025 → 2028)
Projected changes in AI automation metrics over the next 3 years based on estimated data.
Overall Exposure
2025 → 2028 (estimated)
Theoretical Exposure
2025 → 2028 (estimated)
Observed Exposure
2025 → 2028 (estimated)
Automation Risk
2025 → 2028 (estimated)
Exposure Metrics (2023 - 2028)
Task Breakdown
About This Occupation
If you work as a Telephone Operator, AI and automated systems are replacing most of your core functions. With an automation risk of 90/100 and overall exposure at 85%, this role faces very high transformation. Directory lookups are 95% automated. BLS projects -25% decline through 2034.
ISCO-08 classification
Telephone Switchboard Operators
Definition
ILO original text (English)
Telephone switchboard operators operate telephone communications switchboards and consoles to establish telephone connections, receive caller inquiries and service problem reports, and record and relay messages to staff or clients.
Definition & vocabulary source
Source: International Labour Organization (ILO) — ISCO-08 Structure
License: ILO CC BY 4.0
Official occupational information
- ONET43-2011.00
Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service
Operate telephone business systems equipment or switchboards to relay incoming, outgoing, and interoffice calls. May supply information to callers and record messages.
View original - ONET43-2021.00
Telephone Operators
Provide information by accessing alphabetical, geographical, or other directories. Assist customers with special billing requests, such as charges to a third party and credits or refunds for incorrectly dialed numbers or bad connections. May handle emergency calls and assist children or people with physical disabilities to make telephone calls.
View original
Frequently Asked Questions
With an automation risk score of 90%, Telephone Operators faces a significant risk of AI-driven displacement. Many core tasks in this role can be automated by current AI systems. However, full replacement is unlikely in the near term -- AI will more likely transform the role rather than eliminate it entirely.
Our estimated AI automation risk score for Telephone Operators is 90% for 2025. Estimated overall AI exposure is 85%, with 96% theoretical exposure and 74% observed exposure. The estimated risk trend from 2023 to 2025 is 0 points. All of these are model-generated estimates, not measurements.
The tasks with the highest automation potential for Telephone Operators are: Look up directory information and provide to callers (95%), Route incoming calls to appropriate extensions (92%), Handle emergency calls and special operator-assisted requests (35%). These rates are our own estimates of how much of each task current AI systems can handle. They are not measurements and are not taken from any external dataset.
We estimate a -25% employment change for Telephone Operators between 2024 and 2034. This is our own estimate, not a figure published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Combined with an estimated overall AI exposure of 85%, this occupation faces both traditional labor market shifts and AI-driven transformation. Workers should monitor both employment trends and AI capability growth.
Since AI primarily automates tasks in this role, professionals in Telephone Operators should focus on developing skills that complement AI rather than compete with it. Consider learning AI tool management, shifting toward supervisory and quality-control tasks, and building expertise in areas where human judgment remains essential.