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AI exposure Office and administrative support

Will AI replace bookkeepers?

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks. US occupation 43-3031.

31.0%

of the time bookkeepers spend on their work goes on tasks where AI is already being used to do that work.of bookkeepers' working hours go on tasks AI has already started taking off their plate.

Ranked 62 of 756 US occupations. More exposed than 91% of them.Further along than 91% of them.

Average US job 7.7%

One of the most exposed jobs in the country.Front of the queue for an AI assistant.

What AI already does for bookkeepersWhat bookkeepers no longer do alone

O*NET lists 28 tasks for bookkeepers. AI use at work shows up in 5 of them. Each score runs from 0.5, where every observed use helps a person with the task, to 1, where every use does the task outright.

  1. Operate computers programmed with accounting software to record, store, and analyze information.Core task mostly automated 1.00
  2. Classify, record, and summarize numerical and financial data to compile and keep financial records, using journals and ledgers or computers.Core task mostly automated 0.97
  3. Compile statistical, financial, accounting, or auditing reports and tables pertaining to such matters as cash receipts, expenditures, accounts payable and receivable, and profits and losses. mostly automated 0.93
  4. Perform financial calculations, such as amounts due, interest charges, balances, discounts, equity, and principal.Core task mostly automated 0.87
  5. Compile budget data and documents, based on estimated revenues and expenses and previous budgets. automated and assisted 0.77

What it does not touch, yetWhat still needs a human

23 of the 28 tasks show no AI use at work in the data.

  • Access computerized financial information to answer general questions as well as those related to specific accounts.Core task
  • Check figures, postings, and documents for correct entry, mathematical accuracy, and proper codes.Core task
  • Code documents according to company procedures.Core task
  • Comply with federal, state, and company policies, procedures, and regulations.Core task
  • Debit, credit, and total accounts on computer spreadsheets and databases, using specialized accounting software.Core task
  • Match order forms with invoices, and record the necessary information.Core task
Show the other 17
  • Operate 10-key calculators, typewriters, and copy machines to perform calculations and produce documents.Core task
  • Perform general office duties, such as filing, answering telephones, and handling routine correspondence.Core task
  • Receive, record, and bank cash, checks, and vouchers.Core task
  • Reconcile or note and report discrepancies found in records.Core task
  • Calculate and prepare checks for utilities, taxes, and other payments.
  • Calculate costs of materials, overhead, and other expenses, based on estimates, quotations and price lists.
  • Calculate, prepare, and issue bills, invoices, account statements, and other financial statements according to established procedures.
  • Compare computer printouts to manually maintained journals to determine if they match.
  • Complete and submit tax forms and returns, workers' compensation forms, pension contribution forms, and other government documents.
  • Maintain inventory records.
  • Monitor status of loans and accounts to ensure that payments are up to date.
  • Prepare and process payroll information.
  • Prepare bank deposits by compiling data from cashiers, verifying and balancing receipts, and sending cash, checks, or other forms of payment to banks.
  • Prepare purchase orders and expense reports.
  • Prepare trial balances of books.
  • Reconcile records of bank transactions.
  • Transfer details from separate journals to general ledgers or data processing sheets.

How that compares

Among the 50 office and administrative support occupations, bookkeepers rank 12. The group averages 19.1%, and its most exposed job is Customer Service Representatives at 70.1%. The average US occupation sits at 7.7%.

All 756 occupations, ranked

Just above in the ranking

  1. 59Chemical Technicians 31.5%
  2. 60Computer Occupations, All Other 31.1%
  3. 60Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates 31.1%

Just below

  1. 63Business Teachers, Postsecondary 30.7%
  2. 64Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars 30.6%
  3. 65Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers 30.5%

What this does and does not mean

Exposure is observed use, not a forecast. Anthropic maps work conversations with Claude onto the tasks O*NET lists for each job and asks, of the tasks AI could speed up, which are actually being used for at work. A use that does the task outright counts in full and a use that assists a person counts half. The task scores are averaged into the occupation figure by the share of time spent on each task.

A high figure means AI is already part of how this work gets done. It does not mean anyone has been replaced. Anthropic's own reading of the labour market finds no systematic rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting exposed jobs.No measurable rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting these jobs. Gap years for everyone. Labor market impacts, 5 March 2026.

Task list and titles from O*NET 31.0 by the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Scores from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY). Checked 1 November 2026. How the ranking works.