Can Agents Work?

Jobs / Office and administrative support / 43-2011.00

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.

US jobs
34,280
Median wage
$38,630 a year
Job family
Office and administrative support

Can agents do the work of switchboard operators, including answering service?

We read the evidence at the level of the job family, Office and administrative support:

  • Task levelStrongOn computer-use and office-task benchmarks, top agents pass most tasks: 90.2% on OSWorld-Verified (humans: 72.4%), 83.1% on SpreadsheetBench, and 63.3% on WorkArena L1 under the standard protocol. Limits: many top entries are self-submitted and not re-run by the maintainers, and on TheAgentCompany's multi-step workplace tasks the best agent resolves 42.9%.
  • Project levelPartialOnly adjacent evidence. OpenAI reports that GPT-5.5's GDPval deliverables won or tied against professionals' work in 84.9% of comparisons, but GDPval tasks are one-shot and fully specified. No benchmark in our collection tests multi-day administrative work, such as running a calendar or a purchasing process.

Benchmarks for the job family

These cover work in office and administrative support, not always this occupation's tasks.

Typical tasks

From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.

  • Operate communication systems, such as telephone, switchboard, intercom, two-way radio, or public address.
  • Answer incoming calls, greeting callers, providing information, transferring calls or taking messages as necessary.
  • Greet visitors, log them in and out of the facility, assign them security badges, and contact employee escorts.
  • Monitor emergency and code alarms, make emergency announcements, or route emergency calls to the appropriate location.
  • Record messages, suggesting rewording for clarity or conciseness.
  • Page individuals to inform them of telephone calls, using paging or interoffice communication equipment.
  • Relay or route written or verbal messages.
  • Perform various cash handling tasks, such as collecting payments, making bank deposits, or managing petty cash.
  • Place telephone calls or arrange conference calls as instructed.
  • Process incoming or outgoing mail, packages, or deliveries.
  • Perform various data entry or word processing tasks, such as updating phone directories, typing or proofreading documents, or creating schedules.
  • Perform administrative tasks, such as accepting orders, scheduling appointments or meeting rooms, or sending and receiving faxes.
Other job titles for this occupation (36)

CBX Operator (Computerized Branch Exchange Operator) · Central Communications Specialist · Communications Operator · Communications Specialist · Information Specialist · PBX Operator (Private Branch Exchange Operator) · Switchboard Operator (SB Operator) · Switchboard Receptionist (SB Receptionist) · Telecommunications Clerk · Telecommunications Operator · Answering Service Telephone Operator · Combination Operator · Command and Control Specialist · Communication Center Operator · Communications Coordinator · Complaint Operator · Desk Operator · Exchange Operator · Line Technician · Operator · PBX Service Adviser (Private Branch Exchange Service Adviser) · Police Communications Operator · Police District Switchboard Operator (Police District SB Operator) · Private Branch Exchange Switchboard Operator (PBX Switchboard Operator) · Route Clerk · Service Operator · Switch Technician · Switching Clerk · Tandem Operator · Telegraph Office Telephone Clerk · Telephone Answering Service Operator · Telephone Service Representative (Telephone Service Rep) · Telephone Switchboard Operator (Telephone SB Operator) · Test Operator · Through Operator · Traffic Operator