AI AND YOUR JOB · CHECKED OCT 2026
Will AI replace bank tellers?
Not all of it, but the job is shrinking fast. Interactive teller machines, mobile deposit and assistants like Bank of America's Erica already handle most routine deposits, payments and questions, while cashing large checks, fixing account problems, balancing the drawer and guarding the vault still need a teller. BLS projects teller jobs to drop 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 26,800 openings a year left mostly by people moving on.
- Tasks from the US Labor Department's O*NET
- Pay and outlook from BLS
- 11 sources
AI EXPOSURE TODAY
High
AI does 3 and helps with 7 of 14 core tasks. 4 are still human.
- AI does it (3)
- AI helps (7)
- Still human (4)
Task by task: what AI can do today
The core tasks of the job, from the US Labor Department's O*NET profile (43-3071.00). Each verdict links to its evidence.
| Task | Verdict | Tools doing it | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Take checks and cash for deposit and verify the amounts | AI does this today | Interactive teller machines, Mobile check deposit | Interactive teller machines now count cash and read stacks of checks around the clock, and mobile deposit covers many of the rest, so tellers mostly see large business deposits and problem items. [2][9][10] |
| Enter customer transactions and print receipts | AI does this today | Interactive teller machines, Video tellers, ATMs | Machines and banking apps post routine deposits, withdrawals and transfers and print or show the receipt on their own, and one remote video teller can cover several branches. [2][9][10] |
| Examine checks and spot counterfeit currency | AI helps, you check | Enhanced ATMs | BLS expects enhanced ATMs to take on counterfeit detection, but a suspicious check at the counter still needs a teller to question it and call a manager. [2] |
| Order debit cards, checks and other special services | AI helps, you check | Enhanced ATMs | Newer ATMs are expected to issue debit cards on the spot, which removes one of the common reasons people visit the teller line. [2] |
| Accept loan, mortgage and utility payments | AI does this today | Interactive teller machines, Online banking | Customers pay loans by cash, check or transfer at interactive teller machines or schedule payments in the app, so tellers mostly handle late or unusual payments. [2][10] |
| Write customer statements and letters about discrepancies or unpaid items | AI helps, you check | ChatGPT | AI writing tools can draft a clear letter from your notes in a bank template, but the facts about someone's money must be checked line by line before it goes out. [3] |
| Cash checks and pay out money after verifying signatures and funds | AI helps, you check | Interactive teller machines, Video tellers | Some credit unions let members cash checks at interactive teller machines with a remote video teller approving, but large or unusual checks and ID problems still come to the counter, where the teller answers for the cash. [9][10] |
| Balance the cash drawer and total the day's transactions | Still human | None | Software tallies the day, but physically counting the drawer and tracking down a missing twenty is a teller's job and a condition of keeping it. |
| Resolve problems or discrepancies in customer accounts | Still human | None | Sorting out a charge someone does not recognize means pulling records, explaining what happened and starting a dispute, and Bank of America's own assistant hands these harder cases to staff. |
| Prepare and verify cashier's checks and money orders | Still human | None | These items are as good as cash, so banks keep a trained employee checking identity and funds before they are issued. |
| Monitor the vault and order cash supplies | Still human | None | Vault access, dual control rules and armored car deliveries are physical security work that banks do not hand to software. |
| Collect information to open accounts or set up savings plans | AI helps, you check | Online account opening | Bank of America says 55% of its sales now happen in digital channels, so many people open accounts on their phone, while walk in customers still need a teller to check ID and walk them through choices. [8] |
| Explain and sell bank products to customers | AI helps, you check | Bank of America Erica | Assistants like Erica now send personal tips and tell customers when they qualify for rewards programs, but listening to someone's situation and recommending the right account at the counter is still the teller's job. [7][8] |
| Answer phone calls and help customers with questions | AI helps, you check | Bank of America Erica | Virtual assistants like Erica answer routine balance and spending questions, and only 4% of customers call as their main way to bank, so the calls that reach a teller are the harder ones. [7][11] |
The job market for bank tellers
Source: Tellers. BLS expects this job to shrink 13% over 2025 to 2035.
Where bank tellers can move next
GROWING · $76,690
Loan officer
Underwriting software makes a recommendation, but a loan officer reviews it, meets the borrower and makes the final call. Your branch experience and customer trust carry over, and mortgage loan officers need an NMLS license with a national exam. [4]
Median pay $76,690 · outlook +1%GROWING · $62,280
Insurance sales agent
Agents need a state license and build long relationships with clients, which keeps a person accountable for the advice. Explaining financial products at the teller line is good practice for this work. [5]
Median pay $62,280 · outlook +3%GROWING · $45,750
Pharmacy technician
If you want to leave finance, pharmacy work rewards the same accuracy and careful counting, and most states regulate the role. Training usually takes a year or less. [6]
Median pay $45,750 · outlook +6%AI tools changing this job
Our honest reviews of the tools named above.
BANK TELLER AI PROOF KIT
Want the step by step plan for bank tellers?
We are writing a bank teller version of our AI Proof Kit: the tools to learn, how to set them up, a raise script and the safest next roles. We write kits in the order people ask for them.
Want to see what a kit looks like? See the bookkeeper kit.
Quick questions
Will bank tellers be replaced by AI?
The bigger force is self service banking, not chatbots alone. BLS projects teller jobs to fall 13% from 2025 to 2035, about 44,700 fewer, as mobile deposits, video kiosks and enhanced ATMs handle more of the work [2]. In 2025, 54% of bank customers named the mobile app as their main way to bank and only 9% named the branch [11]. About 26,800 openings a year are still expected from people leaving the job [2].
Will bank tellers exist in 10 years?
Yes, but fewer branches will need as many. BLS notes that branch counts have already declined with technological change and that each branch is likely to need fewer tellers [2]. Tellers who also open accounts, refer customers to products and handle problems will be the ones banks keep [1].
Which teller tasks are machines taking over?
Routine deposits and payments are the most exposed. Interactive teller machines take cash, stacks of checks and loan payments around the clock, with a remote video teller on call [10], and Bank of America's Erica assistant has handled over 3 billion customer requests [7]. Cashing large checks, fixing account errors, issuing cashier's checks and balancing the drawer remain teller work [1].
Is bank teller a good job in 2026?
It is a solid entry point into banking, though with a shrinking future. The median teller earned $43,030 in May 2025 [2]. Many treat it as a stepping stone to loan officer, which paid a median $76,690 but requires an NMLS license for mortgage work [4].
What can a bank teller do next?
Roles that need a license and a relationship are the safest bets. Loan officers review what underwriting software recommends before deciding [4], and insurance agents must be licensed in every state where they work [5]. Both build on the money handling and customer trust tellers already have.
Sources
Checked 2026-10-10. Verdicts are Leapscope's reading of these sources. We did not test these tools hands on for this page.
- Tellers (43-3071.00), O*NET OnLine
- Tellers, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Creating and editing documents, spreadsheets, and presentations with ChatGPT Work, OpenAI Help Center
- Loan Officers, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Insurance Sales Agents, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Pharmacy Technicians, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- A Decade of AI Innovation: BofA's Virtual Assistant Erica Surpasses 3 Billion Client Interactions, Bank of America Newsroom
- Digital Interactions by BofA Clients Surge to Over 26 Billion, up 12% Year Over Year, Bank of America Newsroom
- ITMs: The answer to your staffing woes, CUInsight
- Interactive Teller Machines (ITMs), Metro Credit Union
- ABA survey: Bank apps continue to be most popular option among customers, ABA Banking Journal
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