Accept and check containers of mail from large volume mailers, couriers, and contractors.

“Accept and check containers of mail from large volume mailers, couriers, and contractors.” is a supplemental task performed by Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators. Among the occupation's 17 rated tasks, workers place it 3rd by importance (#15 most important).

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.

AI exposure

The OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rates this task E0. No direct exposure — current language models give little or no time savings on this task.

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 0.00. Automation potential label: T1.

Other tasks in this occupation

• Direct items according to established routing schemes, using computer-controlled keyboards or voice-recognition equipment. · importance 4.5
• Check items to ensure that addresses are legible and correct, that sufficient postage has been paid or the appropriate documentation is attached, and that items are in a suitable condition for processing. · importance 4.5
• Clear jams in sorting equipment. · importance 4.4
• Bundle, label, and route sorted mail to designated areas, depending on destinations and according to established procedures and deadlines. · importance 4.4
• Operate various types of equipment, such as computer scanning equipment, addressographs, mimeographs, optical character readers, and bar-code sorters. · importance 4.3
• Move containers of mail, using equipment, such as forklifts and automated "trains". · importance 4.3
• Open and label mail containers. · importance 4.3
• Load and unload mail trucks, sometimes lifting containers of mail onto equipment that transports items to sorting stations. · importance 4.2
• Distribute incoming mail into the correct boxes or pigeonholes. · importance 4.1
• Sort odd-sized mail by hand, sort mail that other workers have been unable to sort, and segregate items requiring special handling. · importance 4.1
• Rewrap soiled or broken parcels. · importance 4.1
• Train new workers. · importance 4.0
• Search directories to find correct addresses for redirected mail. · importance 4.0
• Cancel letter or parcel post stamps by hand. · importance 3.8

See all tasks on the Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators 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-8228,
  title  = {Accept and check containers of mail from large volume mailers, couriers, and contractors.},
  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-8228}
}