Confer with customers or users to assess problems.

Confer with customers or users to assess problems. is a detailed work activity in O*NET — a concrete unit of work shared across 16 occupations and seen in 16 occupation-specific tasks. It rolls up into the broader work activity Confer with clients to determine needs or order specifications. in Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates .

Detailed work activities are the most granular shared layer in O*NET's work-activity hierarchy (Generalized → Intermediate → Detailed → occupation-specific task). The figures below describe how this activity shows up across the economy and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the work will be automated.

AI exposure

Of the 16 tasks under this activity that the OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rated, 6 (38%) are flagged as directly exposed to language models (E1) or exposed via model-powered tools (E2).

The Anthropic Economic Index observes real AI use on 2 of these tasks, with a mean mapped-usage share of 0.007% per task.

Exposure estimates overlap with model capabilities — whether a model could speed the task up — not whether the work will be done by software. Observed AI use is augmentation and assistance today, not jobs replaced.

Member tasks

Occupation-specific tasks O*NET maps to this detailed work activity, most important first.

• Examine and listen to equipment, read inspection reports, and confer with customers to locate and diagnose malfunctions. · Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Listen to engines, examine vehicle frames, or confer with customers to determine nature and extent of malfunction or damage. · Motorcycle Mechanics · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Talk to customers or refer to work orders to establish the nature of appliance malfunctions. · Home Appliance Repairers · importance 4.4 · exposure with tools
• Discuss heating or cooling system malfunctions with users to isolate problems or to verify that repairs corrected malfunctions. · Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers · importance 4.4 · no direct exposure
• Converse with customers to determine details of equipment problems. · Computer, Automated Teller, and Office Machine Repairers · importance 4.4 · exposure with tools
• Confer with customers to determine the nature of malfunctions. · Electronic Equipment Installers and Repairers, Motor Vehicles · importance 4.3 · no direct exposure
• Gather information from customers about a timepiece's problems and its service history. · Watch and Clock Repairers · importance 4.3 · direct LLM exposure
• Obtain problem descriptions from customers, and prepare cost estimates for repairs. · Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics · importance 4.3 · direct LLM exposure
• Confer with customers to obtain descriptions of vehicle problems and to discuss work to be performed and future repair requirements. · Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics · importance 4.2 · no direct exposure
• Confer with customers, read work orders, or examine vehicles needing repair to determine the nature and extent of damage. · Recreational Vehicle Service Technicians · importance 4.2 · no direct exposure
• Consult with clients to assess risks and to determine security requirements. · Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers · importance 4.0 · no direct exposure
• Confer with customers to determine the nature of problems or to explain repairs. · Audiovisual Equipment Installers and Repairers · importance 4.0 · no direct exposure
• Consult with customers, supervisors, or engineers to plan layout of equipment or to resolve problems in system operation or maintenance. · Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment · importance 3.9 · exposure with tools
• Confer with customers to determine the nature of malfunctions. · Electrical and Electronics Installers and Repairers, Transportation Equipment · importance 3.9 · direct LLM exposure
• Confer with customers or read work orders to determine the nature and extent of damage to units. · Manufactured Building and Mobile Home Installers · importance 3.7 · no direct exposure
• Read specifications or confer with customers to determine the desired custom modifications for altering the appearance of vehicles. · Automotive Body and Related Repairers · importance 3.7 · no direct exposure

Occupations that perform this

• Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians
• Motorcycle Mechanics
• Home Appliance Repairers
• Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers
• Computer, Automated Teller, and Office Machine Repairers
• Electronic Equipment Installers and Repairers, Motor Vehicles
• Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics
• Watch and Clock Repairers
• Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics
• Recreational Vehicle Service Technicians
• Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers
• Audiovisual Equipment Installers and Repairers
• Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment
• Electrical and Electronics Installers and Repairers, Transportation Equipment
• Manufactured Building and Mobile Home Installers
• Automotive Body and Related Repairers

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-confer-with-customers-or-users-to-assess-problems,
  title  = {Confer with customers or users to assess problems.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/detailed-activities/confer-with-customers-or-users-to-assess-problems}
}