Present information to the public
Part of the output can be produced by software today.
Software drafts well and sends at volume, and vertical support agents now resolve a large share of inbound questions end to end. What does not transfer is the relationship, and the judgment about when a message should not be sent at all.
| How automatable | Partly automatable |
|---|---|
| Kind of work | Routine communication and explanation |
| Jobs that do it | 16 occupations |
| Tool categories that apply | Vertical agents, Builders |
| O*NET activity | Communicating with People Outside the Organization (4.A.4.a.3) |
What this looks like on the job
Not our paraphrase. These are real task statements recorded against this activity, spread across the 16 occupations that perform it.
- Deliver speeches, write articles, or present information at meetings or conventions to promote services, exchange ideas, or accomplish objectives.
- Write, prepare, and deliver statements for the Congressional Record.
- Identify main client groups and audiences, determine the best way to communicate publicity information to them, and develop and implement a communication plan.
- Write interesting and effective press releases, prepare information for media kits, and develop and maintain company internet or intranet Web pages.
- Inform businesses, community groups, and governmental agencies about educational needs, available programs, and program policies.
- Solicit project support by conferring with officials or providing information to the public.
- Make presentations at professional meetings to further knowledge in the field.
- Develop instructional materials for the public and make presentations to citizens' groups to provide information on emergency plans and their implementation processes.
- Respond to customer, public, or media requests for information about wellness programs or services.
- Plan and develop audio-visual devices for public programs.
- Develop and deliver training on weather topics.
- Explain economic impact of policies to the public.
- Explain sociological research to the general public.
- Provide media commentary or criticism related to public policy and political issues and events.
- Read from sacred texts, such as the Bible, Torah, or Koran.
- Provide assistance to the public, such as directions to court offices.
- Alert constituents of government actions and programs by way of newsletters, personal appearances at town meetings, phone calls, and individual meetings.
- Use computer skills and software to manage Web sites or databases, publish newsletters, or provide webinars.
What we would actually use
One recommendation rather than a shortlist, because a shortlist is just your problem handed back. This is what we would buy for routine communication and explanation, and what it costs.
Drafting replies costs nothing beyond the assistant you already pay for. Only move to a support agent billed per resolution once the inbound volume is large enough that the per-resolution price beats the hour it takes you.
Chosen for the cheapest thing that does the job, not the best funded. Nothing on this site is sponsored, and the full landscape is there when you want to disagree with us.
The rest of the category
Context, not alternatives to weigh up. We name the layer rather than promise a named product does your specific task.
Matched from the kind of work, not from vendor marketing. Check any of them can reach the system your records actually live in — that connection, not the model, is where these projects stall.
How people actually do it
No workflow names this activity yet, but these automate the same kind of work, with the prompts to paste and what to keep for yourself.
Who does this work
16 occupations in the O*NET database perform this activity. Each one has a full breakdown of its other tasks.
- Architectural and Engineering Managers
- Atmospheric and Space Scientists
- Bailiffs
- Chief Executives
- Clergy
- Economists
- Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare
- Emergency Management Directors
- Fitness and Wellness Coordinators
- Fundraising Managers
- Legislators
- Natural Sciences Managers
- Park Naturalists
- Political Scientists
- Public Relations Managers
- Sociologists
Work that goes with it
O*NET groups these under “Provide information or assistance to the public”. In practice they tend to be done by the same person, in the same sitting.
Method. The activity, its taxonomy placement and the occupations that perform it come straight from the public-domain O*NET 30.3 database. The automatability band is ours: we map each of O*NET’s 41 generalized work activities to how much of its output current software can produce, assuming a person still reviews and owns the result. It is a coarse three-way judgment on purpose. A precise-looking percentage here would be invented.