Will AI replace Couriers and Messengers?
Estimated risk score: 33 out of 100
Lower replacement risk
Estimate from published task research, not reviewed by a person · how we estimate
Within about 19 points for 4 in 5 of the jobs we checked (14 to 52).
For the occupation as a whole, from ratings of its 17 O*NET tasks published in 2023 and calibrated to our hand scores. A specialty inside it can sit higher or lower.
O*NET-SOC 43-5021.00 · Office and Administrative Support
Tasks rated in 2023 as ones AI could do or speed up
Tasks a GPT-4-class model could do, or do in half the time or less: 4 of its 17 rated tasks. In O*NET’s words.
- Check with home offices after completed deliveries to confirm deliveries and collections and to receive instructions for other deliveries.
- Receive messages or materials to be delivered, and information on recipients, such as names, addresses, telephone numbers, and delivery instructions, communicated via telephone, two-way radio, or in person.
- Record information, such as items received and delivered and recipients' responses to messages.
- Use telephone to deliver verbal messages.
Tasks rated in 2023 as not sped up by AI
Tasks such a model was rated as not speeding up or taking over: 11 of its 17 rated tasks; the first 6 are shown. In O*NET’s words.
- Deliver and pick up medical records, lab specimens, and medications to and from hospitals and other medical facilities.
- Deliver messages and items, such as newspapers, documents, and packages, between establishment departments and to other establishments and private homes.
- Load vehicles with listed goods, ensuring goods are loaded correctly and taking precautions with hazardous goods.
- Perform routine maintenance on delivery vehicles, such as monitoring fluid levels and replenishing fuel.
- Unload and sort items collected along delivery routes.
- Walk, ride bicycles, drive vehicles, or use public conveyances to reach destinations to deliver messages or materials.
What the job is
Pick up and deliver messages, documents, packages, and other items between offices or departments within an establishment or directly to other business concerns, traveling by foot, bicycle, motorcycle, automobile, or public conveyance.
Also called: Courier, Messenger, Laboratory Courier, Pager, Bill Hiker, Route Aide, Bank Runner, Copy Chaser.
Closest jobs we score by hand
In the same field (Office and Administrative Support). Different jobs, each scored by a person.
Source. This site includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. (O*NET, CC BY 4.0.) Task ratings: Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock (2023), “GPTs are GPTs: An Early Look at the Labor Market Impact Potential of Large Language Models”, data used under the MIT licence (licence texts). Our change: we averaged the ratings over this occupation’s tasks and calibrated them to our 0–100 scale. It is not a prediction about any one person and not career advice. Disagree? Write to hello@yourstopwashit.com. How we estimate