Will AI replace administrative assistants? What is changing, and what to learn next
Some of the work, yes. AI tools already draft emails, find meeting times, summarize calls and fill in forms, and US government projections show secretary and administrative assistant jobs shrinking slightly over the next ten years. The Bureau of Labor Statistics names AI and digital tools as part of the reason.
The picture is uneven. Executive assistant jobs are projected to hold steady, and the assistants who do best are the ones who run projects, own operations and are the person who sets up the AI tools for everyone else. Below are the skills that move you toward that work, with a first step for each.
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2% decline (about 75,300 fewer jobs)
Projected change in US secretary and administrative assistant jobs, 2025 to 2035
BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook6% decline
Projected change for general secretaries and administrative assistants, 2025 to 2035
BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook0% (little or no change)
Projected change for executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants, 2025 to 2035
BLS Occupational Outlook HandbookSkills to learn next
Running the AI tools for your team
Someone has to decide which tools the office uses, set them up, check their output and teach everyone else. Assistants are well placed for this because they already know every workflow. It turns you from the person AI might replace into the person who makes it work.
- What it takes
- Free to start with the tools your company already pays for.
- First step
- Pick one weekly task you do by hand, try doing it with your company's approved AI tool, and write down what you still had to fix.
Executive partnership
The best EAs act as a chief of staff in miniature: they filter what reaches the executive, prepare them for meetings, and follow up on decisions. AI can book the meeting. It cannot decide which meeting matters.
- What it takes
- Free. It grows from asking to sit in on planning and prep.
- First step
- Ask your manager what their top three priorities are this quarter, and sort next week's calendar requests against them.
Project coordination
Tracking timelines, owners and risks across a team is admin work at a larger scale. It is also the most common step up into project management, one of the faster-growing office careers.
- What it takes
- Free to learn on the job. The CAPM certificate is an option later.
- First step
- Volunteer to own the tracker for one cross-team project, like an office move, event or system rollout.
Operations and vendor management
Contracts, renewals, budgets, facilities and supplier relationships all need a person who owns them. Assistants who take these on often end up with an operations title.
- What it takes
- Free. Ask for ownership of one vendor or budget line.
- First step
- List every vendor your office pays and when each contract renews, then share it with your manager.
Spreadsheets and reporting
Pivot tables, lookups and clean dashboards make you the person who can answer questions with numbers. AI helps you write formulas faster, but you still need to know whether the answer is right.
- What it takes
- Free courses online. Your own work data is the best practice set.
- First step
- Build one simple monthly report your manager currently asks for by email, and send it before they ask.
Meeting and event planning
Offsites, board meetings and client events need judgment, negotiation and calm under pressure. Event planners are projected to grow faster than average.
- What it takes
- Free to start by owning one event end to end.
- First step
- Offer to run the next team offsite or all-hands, including the budget.
Industry knowledge
Medical, legal and finance assistants who understand the terminology and rules of their field are harder to replace. BLS projects medical secretary jobs to grow while general admin shrinks.
- What it takes
- Short specialty courses, often a few months.
- First step
- Write down the ten terms or forms in your industry you look up most, and learn them properly.
Sample conversation
How a conversation with Carmen starts
Carmen asks before she suggests. An illustrative example, not a real person.
My boss just started using AI to schedule his own meetings. Am I next?
Scheduling was never the valuable part. What does he still come to you for that a tool could not do?
Knowing who he actually needs to see, and chasing people after the meeting.
That is judgment and follow-through, and it is most of an executive assistant's value. Want to write down the three things you do that he would miss most, so you can raise them in your next one-on-one?
Work it out with Carmen, free
30 free minutes with Carmen and the team. No card needed.
Questions & answers
- Will AI replace administrative assistants?
- It is replacing tasks faster than jobs. BLS projects a 2% decline in secretary and administrative assistant jobs from 2025 to 2035, with general roles shrinking more and executive roles holding steady. There are still about 314,400 openings a year from people retiring or moving on.
- Which admin jobs are safest from AI?
- Roles built on judgment and relationships: executive assistants, office and operations managers, and assistants in specialized fields like healthcare. Roles that are mostly typing, filing and data entry are the most exposed.
- Should I learn to use AI tools as an assistant?
- Yes. Learn the ones your company already approves, and learn to check their output. Being the person who makes them work for the team is a strong position.
- Do I need a degree to move up from admin work?
- Usually not for executive assistant, office manager or project coordinator roles, where experience counts most. Some HR, project management and event roles ask for a bachelor's degree, so check postings in your area.