What does a virtual assistant do?
A virtual assistant is a person who works for you remotely, in your tools and during agreed hours, and takes on tasks you hand over. Their work falls into five groups: admin and personal support, customer and sales support, marketing, design and video, and web and data. The map below links each task to the role that does it.
Written by the Pro Virtual Assist team. Last reviewed 8 November 2026.
A short set of questions that points to a role
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A plain definition
A virtual assistant does work for you without sitting in your office. You hand over tasks, they do them in your tools, and you review the results. The “virtual” part is only the location.
The word covers quite different jobs. One assistant answers your inbox and keeps your diary. Another edits video or runs your paid advertising. What they share is the arrangement: a set number of hours, a defined list of tasks and someone to report to.
How does that differ from the people you might compare it with?
- A secretary or office assistant usually works at your premises and is employed by you.
- A freelancer is self employed and is usually engaged for a job or a set of hours that you arrange and manage yourself. See virtual assistant or freelancer.
- A virtual assistant through Pro Virtual Assist is recruited, screened and managed by us, and works the hours you agree. We run recruitment, payroll management and quality management, and there is no separate recruitment fee.
Tasks, mapped to roles
These are everyday tasks that businesses hand over, grouped by the role that does them. Each role name links to its page, which lists the work in full.
| Task | Group | Role that does it |
|---|---|---|
| Managing an inbox and sorting what needs you | Admin and personal support | Admin and support virtual assistant |
| Data entry and tidying records | Admin and personal support | Admin and support virtual assistant |
| Following up customers | Admin and personal support | Admin and support virtual assistant |
| Keeping a diary and arranging meetings | Admin and personal support | Personal virtual assistant |
| Booking travel and running errands | Admin and personal support | Personal virtual assistant |
| Supporting a senior person’s diary, inbox and board meetings | Admin and personal support | Virtual executive assistant |
| Answering email, chat and ticket queues | Customer and sales support | Customer support virtual assistant |
| Researching leads and supporting outreach | Customer and sales support | Sales virtual assistant |
| Keeping the customer records up to date | Customer and sales support | Sales virtual assistant |
| Keyword research and on page fixes | Marketing | SEO virtual assistant |
| Managing paid advertising campaigns | Marketing | Paid ads virtual assistant |
| Scheduling and managing social media posts | Marketing | Social media virtual assistant |
| Writing web and email copy | Marketing | Copywriter |
| Building and sending email campaigns | Marketing | Email marketer |
| Social graphics, presentations and brand assets | Design and video | Graphic design virtual assistant |
| Editing video and adding captions | Design and video | Video editor virtual assistant |
| Motion graphics and animated explainers | Design and video | Animator virtual assistant |
| Designing screens and design systems in Figma | Design and video | Figma designer |
| Updating and maintaining a WordPress site | Web and data | WordPress virtual assistant |
| Building pages and fixing a site | Web and data | Web design virtual assistant |
| Reports, dashboards and data cleaning | Web and data | Data analyst virtual assistant |
If your tasks sit in one group, start with that group. If they cut across two, the role finder will suggest where to begin. For the marketing group in particular, see the digital marketing tasks a virtual assistant can take on. If your sector shapes the work, browse virtual assistants by industry.
A short set of questions that points to a role
What a virtual assistant does not do
Knowing the limits stops disappointment later.
- Work in your building. A remote assistant cannot greet visitors or handle post at your door. If you need someone on site, an employee is the better fit.
- Replace regulated advice. An assistant can organise your records for your accountant. They do not give legal, tax or financial advice.
- Set your priorities. They work from the tasks and outcomes you give them. You decide what matters this week.
- Need no direction. The first weeks go better when you describe the work in detail. Our guide to delegating to a virtual assistant shows how.
How the right person is chosen
Who does the work matters more than the title. At Pro Virtual Assist, every candidate goes through four steps, in this order:
- CV screening.
- A first interview on personality and general benchmark criteria.
- A technical interview.
- A practical task to test the candidate in the field.
You then interview the candidates we put forward and choose. The earliest start is within 48 to 72 hours of choosing a candidate. How the process works covers it step by step.
What it costs
You pay an hourly rate in pounds for a set number of hours. A full time assistant is 160 hours a month and a part time assistant is 80 hours a month. Base rates for a beginner run from £4.50 an hour for admin and support, personal assistants and graphic design to £8 for web and software development and animation, and rise with experience. Recruitment, payroll management and other management are included in that price.
Try your own role and hours in the cost calculator, or read how to hire a virtual assistant for the steps from scope to first week. This guide contains no statistics. The task lists come from our role pages and the rates from our pricing page, as at 8 November 2026.
Questions
What tasks can I delegate to a virtual assistant?
Any task that can be done on a computer and described in a few lines. Common ones are inbox and diary management, data entry, customer replies, research, social media scheduling, design, video editing and website upkeep. Start with work that repeats and follows steps. The task map above links each task to a role, and the role finder helps if your tasks cross groups.
What is a virtual assistant?
A virtual assistant is a person who works for you remotely, in your tools and during agreed hours, taking on tasks you hand over. With Pro Virtual Assist, we recruit and screen the person in four steps, and we run payroll management and quality management around them. You decide the tasks and review the work. See our virtual assistant services.
Can a virtual assistant work in my industry?
Usually, where the work can be done on a computer. We have pages for estate and letting agents, ecommerce, marketing agencies, web design agencies, video and design studios and recruitment, and the same roles serve other sectors. See virtual assistants by industry, or book a free call to talk through yours.
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