Public safety telecommunicators: AI exposure and career outlook
Public safety telecommunicators (SOC 43-5031) sit at the 79th percentile for measured AI exposure among the 342 occupations tracked here, measured from a composite of Microsoft Research and Anthropic Economic Index telemetry. An estimated 50% of tasks are already automated and 71% are being reshaped rather than replaced — both modelled figures, not direct measurements. Of the Claude usage observed in this occupation, 93% follows an automation pattern and 7% an augmentation pattern, which places it in the Displacement risk group: the routine layer of this work is being automated outright. The judgment layer is not, so the move is to own more of it. In Canada the role maps to NOC 13201 (Production and transportation logistics coordinators), and ESDC's COPS 2024–2033 outlook for that unit group is balance.
Figures last updated 2026-06. Every number on this page is labelled measured or modelled; where a source has no coverage for this occupation, it says so rather than showing a zero.
Key facts
- SOC code
- 43-5031
- Canada NOC 2021
- 13201
- TEER level
- Not available
- COPS outlook
- Balance
What the measurements actually say
Three independent studies measure AI exposure for this occupation directly. The two percentages below them are ours, modelled from those measurements.
| Metric | Value | Provenance |
|---|---|---|
| AI applicability | 35% | Measured — Microsoft Research, from 200,000 Copilot conversations classified against O*NET work activities. |
| Observed AI usage | 5% | Measured — Anthropic Economic Index, share of tasks observed being performed with Claude (CC-BY 4.0). |
| Academic AI exposure | 72nd percentile | Measured — Felten-Raj-Seamans AIOE index across 774 occupations; the index underlying Statistics Canada's Canadian estimates. |
| Automation-pattern usage | 93% | Measured — the share of observed Claude usage in this occupation where the task is handed over rather than iterated on (Anthropic Economic Index). |
| Augmentation-pattern usage | 7% | Measured — the complement of the row above; the two sum to 100% by construction. This is the pattern where the person stays in the loop. |
| Estimated task automation (modelled) | 50% | Modelled from this occupation's measured telemetry composite, mapped through anchors calibrated to Anthropic's published aggregate findings. Our estimate, not per-occupation telemetry. |
| Estimated task reshaping (modelled) | 71% | Share of tasks where AI acts as co-pilot rather than replacement. Modelled from the measured telemetry composite, calibrated to BCG's published aggregate reshaping rates. Our estimate. |
This skill domain faces significant AI substitution. The opportunity is in pivoting to AI orchestration and higher-order human judgment within the domain.
In Canada: NOC 13201
Public safety telecommunicators map to NOC 13201 — Production and transportation logistics coordinators. ESDC's COPS 2024–2033 projection for this unit group is Balance.
Mapped via Statistics Canada's official SOC 2018 → NOC 2016 → NOC 2021 correspondence tables (closest match of several correspondence candidates). TEER is the second digit of the NOC code, so it is only as certain as the code is. Several correspondence candidates were available here and we took the closest by title, so we do not report a TEER level for it.
What this job actually involves
These are the O*NET task statements for Public safety telecommunicators— the work itself, as reported by people doing the job — grouped by the work activity each task belongs to. Showing 12 of 18, core tasks first.
The exposure figures above are for the occupation as a whole. We do not have a per-task measurement: no published dataset tells us which of these specific tasks AI is doing. Read this as what the job is made of, not as a ranking of what is at risk.
Microsoft's applicability score was itself produced by classifying Copilot conversations against the O*NET work-activity catalogue — the same catalogue these groups come from. The published file gives one number per occupation, not one per activity, so we can tell you that 35% of this occupation's work activities are covered by observed AI usage, but not which ones.
Getting Information · 2 tasks
Read and effectively interpret small-scale maps and information from a computer screen to determine locations and provide directions.
Core task · Importance 4.6/5 (O*NET)
Enter, update, and retrieve information from teletype networks and computerized data systems regarding such things as wanted persons, stolen property, vehicle registration, and stolen vehicles.
Core task · Importance 4.6/5 (O*NET)
Controlling Machines and Processes · 2 tasks
Monitor various radio frequencies, such as those used by public works departments, school security, and civil defense, to stay apprised of developing situations.
Core task · Importance 4.7/5 (O*NET)
Scan status charts and computer screens, and contact emergency response field units to determine emergency units available for dispatch.
Core task · Importance 4.5/5 (O*NET)
Communicating with People Outside the Organization · 2 tasks
Receive incoming telephone or alarm system calls regarding emergency and non-emergency police and fire service, emergency ambulance service, information, and after-hours calls for departments within a city.
Core task · Importance 4.8/5 (O*NET)
Answer routine inquiries, and refer calls not requiring dispatches to appropriate departments and agencies.
Core task · Importance 4.5/5 (O*NET)
Performing General Physical Activities · 1 task
Maintain access to, and security of, highly sensitive materials.
Core task · Importance 4.6/5 (O*NET)
Documenting/Recording Information · 1 task
Record details of calls, dispatches, and messages.
Core task · Importance 4.7/5 (O*NET)
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others · 1 task
Question callers to determine their locations and the nature of their problems to determine type of response needed.
Core task · Importance 4.9/5 (O*NET)
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates · 1 task
Relay information and messages to and from emergency sites, to law enforcement agencies, and to all other individuals or groups requiring notification.
Core task · Importance 4.7/5 (O*NET)
Assisting and Caring for Others · 1 task
Provide emergency medical instructions to callers.
Core task · Importance 4.9/5 (O*NET)
Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates · 1 task
Determine response requirements and relative priorities of situations, and dispatch units in accordance with established procedures.
Core task · Importance 4.8/5 (O*NET)
Task statements and work activities from the O*NET Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not reviewed or approved this material.
That's the average. Is this you?
Everything above describes Public safety telecommunicators as a whole. Three questions, and nothing is stored or sent.
Where are you in your career?
What does your week mostly look like?
Is your employer deploying AI?
Where the leverage is
Transition to high-value advisory, complex case analysis, or AI system oversight. The pivot is to move from routine execution to AI orchestration and quality assurance.
Cognitive, information-based tasks are highly exposed. Entry-level displacement pressure is high, necessitating transition to advisory and governance roles.
Upskill in AI prompt engineering, model validation, and governance. Focus on transition playbooks to pivot toward high-value advisory services.
This guidance is written per exposure band — three texts across all 342 occupations, framed on the ILO's transformation-versus-displacement distinction. It is editorial guidance for the high risk band, not an occupation-specific research finding about public safety telecommunicators.
Sources for this occupation
Only the sources that hold data for public safety telecommunicators are listed. A study that does not cover this occupation is not cited here.
- Microsoft Research — Working with AI (Tomlinson et al., arXiv:2507.07935): Measured AI applicability, from 200,000 anonymised Copilot conversations classified against O*NET work activities.
- Anthropic Economic Index: Measured observed AI usage per occupation, from Anthropic's open per-SOC dataset (CC-BY 4.0).
- Felten, Raj & Seamans — AI Occupational Exposure index: Measured academic exposure percentile; the index underlying Statistics Canada's Canadian AI-exposure estimates (Mehdi & Morissette, 2024).
- O*NET Database 31.0 (USDOL/ETA), CC BY 4.0: The occupation's task statements and work activities, verbatim. Joined on SOC 2018 with no crosswalk — O*NET-SOC is built on SOC — and carrying no claim about which tasks AI touches.
- Anthropic Economic Index — collaboration split (release 2026-06-26, CC-BY 4.0): Measured share of observed Claude usage following an automation rather than an augmentation pattern. This is the second axis of the grouping above.
- Statistics Canada NOC 2021 concordance: Official SOC 2018 → NOC 2016 V1.3 → NOC 2021 V1.0 correspondence tables. TEER is the second digit of the resolved code, so we report it only where the concordance gave a single candidate.
- ESDC COPS 2024–2033: Projected labour-market assessment per NOC 2021 unit group, from the Canadian Occupational Projection System open dataset.
- BCG — AI Will Reshape More Jobs Than It Replaces (April 3, 2026): Published aggregate reshaping rates, used to calibrate our modelled percentages. The per-occupation figures here are our estimates, not BCG's data.
Related occupations
Other roles in Management & Ops.
This is the picture for the role. What about your skills?
These numbers describe an occupation, not a person. Map your own skills against them, see which pathways stay open, and plan the transition you actually want.