Can Agents Work?

Jobs / Office and administrative support / 43-5031.00

Public Safety Telecommunicators

Operate telephone, radio, or other communication systems to receive and communicate requests for emergency assistance at 9-1-1 public safety answering points and emergency operations centers. Take information from the public and other sources regarding crimes, threats, disturbances, acts of terrorism, fires, medical emergencies, and other public safety matters. May coordinate and provide information to law enforcement and emergency response personnel. May access sensitive databases and other information sources as needed. May provide additional instructions to callers based on knowledge of and certification in law enforcement, fire, or emergency medical procedures.

US jobs
102,500
Median wage
$53,040 a year
Job family
Office and administrative support

Can agents do the work of public safety telecommunicators?

We read the evidence at the level of the job family, Office and administrative support:

  • Task levelStrongOn computer-use and office-task benchmarks, top agents pass most tasks: 90.2% on OSWorld-Verified (humans: 72.4%), 83.1% on SpreadsheetBench, and 63.3% on WorkArena L1 under the standard protocol. Limits: many top entries are self-submitted and not re-run by the maintainers, and on TheAgentCompany's multi-step workplace tasks the best agent resolves 42.9%.
  • Project levelPartialOnly adjacent evidence. OpenAI reports that GPT-5.5's GDPval deliverables won or tied against professionals' work in 84.9% of comparisons, but GDPval tasks are one-shot and fully specified. No benchmark in our collection tests multi-day administrative work, such as running a calendar or a purchasing process.

Benchmarks for the job family

These cover work in office and administrative support, not always this occupation's tasks.

Typical tasks

From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.

  • Provide emergency medical instructions to callers.
  • Question callers to determine their locations and the nature of their problems to determine type of response needed.
  • Determine response requirements and relative priorities of situations, and dispatch units in accordance with established procedures.
  • 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.
  • Relay information and messages to and from emergency sites, to law enforcement agencies, and to all other individuals or groups requiring notification.
  • Record details of calls, dispatches, and messages.
  • Monitor various radio frequencies, such as those used by public works departments, school security, and civil defense, to stay apprised of developing situations.
  • Read and effectively interpret small-scale maps and information from a computer screen to determine locations and provide directions.
  • Maintain access to, and security of, highly sensitive materials.
  • 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.
  • Scan status charts and computer screens, and contact emergency response field units to determine emergency units available for dispatch.
  • Answer routine inquiries, and refer calls not requiring dispatches to appropriate departments and agencies.
Other job titles for this occupation (46)

911 Dispatcher · Communications Officer · Communications Operator · Communications Specialist · Emergency Communications Dispatcher · Emergency Communications Operator (ECO) · Police Dispatcher · Public Safety Dispatcher · Telecommunicator · 911 Emergency Dispatcher · 911 Emergency Services Dispatcher · 911 Operator · 911 Telecommunicator · Alarm Operator · Ambulance Dispatcher · Call Person · Call Taker · Communications Dispatcher · Dispatch Officer · Dispatch Operator · Dispatch Specialist · Dispatch Technician (Dispatch Tech) · Dispatcher · Emergency Communications Officer (ECO) · Emergency Dispatcher · Emergency Medical Dispatcher (EMD) · Emergency Operator · Emergency Services Dispatcher · Emergency Telecommunications Dispatcher (ETD) · Emergency Vehicle Dispatcher · Fire Dispatcher · Fire Fighters Dispatcher · Forest Fire Fighters Dispatcher · Police and Fire Dispatcher · Police Communications Dispatcher · Police Communications Operator · Police Radio Dispatcher · Police Telecommunicator · Protective Signal Operator · Public Safety Telecommunicator · Radio Dispatcher · Security Dispatch Officer · Security Dispatcher · Telecommunications Officer · Telecommunications Operator · Telecommunications Specialist