Read incoming correspondence to ascertain nature of writers' concerns and to determine disposition of correspondence.

“Read incoming correspondence to ascertain nature of writers' concerns and to determine disposition of correspondence.” is a core task performed by Correspondence Clerks. Among the occupation's 21 rated tasks, workers place it 19th by importance (#3 most important). About 86% of workers say it is relevant to their job.

This is a single occupation-specific task statement from O*NET. The figures below describe how central the task is to the job and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the task will be automated.

Work activities this task rolls up to

O*NET groups concrete tasks into broader work activities shared across many occupations.

• Read documents or materials to inform work processes. in Getting Information

AI exposure

The OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rates this task E1. Direct exposure — a language model could plausibly cut the time to do this task by at least half.

Exposure measures whether a model could meaningfully speed the task up — it is an estimate of overlap with model capabilities, not a measure of whether the work will be done by software. The study's intermediate score (β) for this task is 1.00. Automation potential label: T3.

Other tasks in this occupation

• Ensure that money collected is properly recorded and secured. · importance 4.4
• Maintain files and control records to show correspondence activities. · importance 4.1
• Gather records pertinent to specific problems, review them for completeness and accuracy, and attach records to correspondence as necessary. · importance 4.0
• Prepare documents and correspondence, such as damage claims, credit and billing inquiries, invoices, and service complaints. · importance 4.0
• Process orders for goods requested in correspondence. · importance 3.9
• Compile data from records to prepare periodic reports. · importance 3.8
• Compose letters in reply to correspondence concerning such items as requests for merchandise, damage claims, credit information requests, delinquent accounts, incorrect billing, or unsatisfactory service. · importance 3.8
• Present clear and concise explanations of governing rules and regulations. · importance 3.7
• Review correspondence for format and typographical accuracy, assemble the information into a prescribed form with the correct number of copies, and submit it to an authorized official for signature. · importance 3.7
• Compute costs of records furnished to requesters, and write letters to obtain payment. · importance 3.6
• Type acknowledgment letters to persons sending correspondence. · importance 3.5
• Compile data pertinent to manufacture of special products for customers. · importance 3.5
• Route correspondence to other departments for reply. · importance 3.5
• Complete form letters in response to requests or problems identified by correspondence. · importance 3.4

See all tasks on the Correspondence Clerks page.

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
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

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

@misc{singulariki-task-11273,
  title  = {Read incoming correspondence to ascertain nature of writers' concerns and to determine disposition of correspondence.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/tasks/task-11273}
}