Industry-leading benchmarking report reveals trends in skills training, career advancement, compensation, and AI adoption for administrative professionals.
PORTLAND, ME / ACCESS Newswire / April 23, 2025 / Marking Administrative Professionals Day on April 23, the American Society of Administrative Professionals (ASAP) today published its sixth annual State of the Profession Report, revealing key insights into administrative professionals' Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption, professional development opportunities, career stage progression, and compensation trends in 2025.
The largest-ever benchmarking survey of administrative professionals (APs) - including executive assistants, administrative assistants, and many more job titles - recorded responses from over 3,700 APs to bring clarity to a rapidly evolving profession and support advocacy for and by professionals for career development and advancement.
The comprehensive report creates a foundation for tracking trends in the profession and helps organizations to better understand the diverse capabilities of modern administrative professionals. Key topics include:
Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI adoption has doubled in the past year, with 53% of APs reporting utilizing the tool in 2025 compared to 26% in 2024. This technology is most used for writing and research tasks, with significant growth reported in the use of AI tools for workflow optimization. For example, Microsoft Copilot adoption by APs has skyrocketed from 13% in 2024 to 43% in 2025.
Career Stages: The report found that seniority was significantly influenced by the complexity of APs' responsibilities and strategic skills. For example, while 80% of APs focus heavily on clerical tasks like organizational mail/emails and addressing customer inquiries, those in the Partnering and Leading career stages often handle more critical, executive-level communications and higher procedural responsibilities, including training colleagues or direct reports.
Professional Development: Certification rates among APs have risen to 59% from 27% in 2021. Further, training completion rates exceed 70% for internal training (up from 60% in 2024) and 59% for external training (up from 52% in 2024), with completion rates varying based on career stage. Additionally, employers are becoming increasingly supportive of APs' professional development, evidenced by 68% of survey respondents noting they had participated in employer-paid training in 2025, up from 62% in 2024.
Compensation: This year's survey identified an upward trend in compensation, with the average annual compensation for APs reaching $70,000. Pay was strongly correlated with the skills training and responsibility level of each survey respondent, with 51% who received a performance-based raise in the past year tying their compensation increase to the completion of external professional development education. Those with greater responsibility, experience, and executive-supporting duties were also more likely to receive an annual bonus. Additionally, APs who work directly with executives earn an average of $12,000 more annually than APs in non-executive support roles.
The release of this year's report coincides with ASAP's 20th anniversary, marking two decades of leadership in empowering APs. With a global network of more than 100,000 members, ASAP is recognized as a premier provider for training, community support, and professional guidance for APs.
For more information and to become a member for free, please visit asaporg.com and click here to download the full 2025 State of the Profession Report.
About the ASAP State of the Profession Report
Each year since 2020, ASAP has produced the largest benchmarking survey ever of administrative professionals. This research aims to illustrate the current state of the administrative profession, act as a resource among members for self-advocacy, and help organizations to understand this diverse talent pool.
About ASAP
At 108,000+ members and growing, the American Society of Administrative Professionals (ASAP) is the leading global association for the administrative profession. The Portland, Maine-based organization was founded in 2005 as a resource and community for members seeking to navigate the ever-evolving business climate and develop the skills they need to advance their careers. ASAP provides the latest role-specific training and its own online certification program, Professional Administrative Certification of Excellence (PACE). ASAP also produces the annual Administrative Professionals Conference (APC) and EA Ignite training events. For more information, visit www.asaporg.com.
Media Contacts:
Lindsay Ksanznak / Justine David
Mower
585-402-1916 / 716-880-1427
lksanznak@mower.com / jdavid@mower.com
SOURCE: American Society of Administrative Professionals
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