# Counter and Rental Clerks

> Receive orders, generally in person, for repairs, rentals, and services. May describe available options, compute cost, and accept payment.

- **SOC code:** 41-2021.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-41-2021-00
- **Also known as:** Counter Clerk, Rental Agent, Rental Sales Representative, Video Clerk, Counter Service Representative, Leasing Consultant, Rental Assistant, Rental Associate
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Compute charges for merchandise or services and receive payments.
- Receive orders for services, such as rentals, repairs, dry cleaning, and storage.
- Explain rental fees, policies, and procedures.
- Provide information about rental items, such as availability, operation, or description.
- Advise customers on use and care of merchandise.
- Greet customers and discuss the type, quality, and quantity of merchandise sought for rental.
- Answer telephones to provide information and receive orders.
- Prepare rental forms, obtaining customer signature and other information, such as required licenses.
- Inspect and adjust rental items to meet needs of customer.
- Rent items, arrange for provision of services to customers, and accept returns.
- Keep records of transactions and of the number of customers entering an establishment.
- Receive, examine, and tag articles to be altered, cleaned, stored, or repaired.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Customer and Personal Service _(knowledge)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_
- English Language _(knowledge)_
- Speech Recognition _(ability)_
- Speech Clarity _(ability)_
- Administrative _(knowledge)_
- Sales and Marketing _(knowledge)_
- Speaking _(essential_skill)_
- Service Orientation _(transferable_skill)_
- Near Vision _(ability)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Excel _(Common Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Social Perceptiveness _(Common Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Mathematics _(Common Skill)_
- Writing _(Common Skill)_
- Time Management _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology)_
- Oracle Database _(hot technology)_
- Database software
- Inventory management systems

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 71st percentile (High) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 50th percentile (Moderate) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 66th percentile (Moderate) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 96th percentile (High) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 94th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** no — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 3.2% growth (About average); 45.9k annual openings; 408.2k → 421.3k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $38,540; 398,620 employed.

## How people actually use AI here

Anthropic Economic Index — measured AI conversations mapped to this occupation's tasks:

- **Automation vs augmentation:** 39% automation, 55% augmentation (usage-weighted).
- **Autonomy median:** 3.5 (higher = AI acts more independently).
- **Dominant collaboration mode:** directive.

**Tasks most handed to AI here:**
- Recommend and provide advice on a wide variety of products and services. _(6.2% of measured AI use; task iteration)_
- Explain rental fees, policies, and procedures. _(2.6% of measured AI use; learning)_
- Provide information about rental items, such as availability, operation, or description. _(1.5% of measured AI use; directive)_
- Advise customers on use and care of merchandise. _(1.0% of measured AI use; learning)_

**Example prompts (honest phrasings of the tasks above — starting points, not endorsed instructions):**
- Help me recommend and provide advice on a wide variety of products and services.
- Help me explain rental fees, policies, and procedures.
- Help me provide information about rental items, such as availability, operation, or description.
- Help me advise customers on use and care of merchandise.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-41-2021-00_