---
title: "Will AI Replace Counter and Rental Clerks?"
description: "BLS rates counter and rental clerks' exposure to AI as very high. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (+3.0%…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-counter-and-rental-clerks"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Counter and Rental Clerks? (2026)

**Short answer:** AI will reshape this job more than most, but BLS does not forecast it disappearing. The exposure is among the highest BLS measured, yet it still projects employment to grow.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places counter and rental clerks in its very high AI exposure category, among the occupations most exposed to current AI. BLS projects employment to change by +3.0% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 46,100 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Very high | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 52/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | +3.0% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 46,100 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $41,300 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |

## Exposure categories

| BLS category | Occupations |
| --- | --- |
| Low | 203 |
| Moderate | 194 |
| High | 190 |
| Very high (this job) | 199 |

Exposure means AI could be or has been used to assist with or complete some of the work. BLS says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. Method: https://www.bls.gov/emp/publications/ai-exposure-categories.htm

## What holds up

- Face-to-face discussions: 5.0/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Performing for or working directly with the public: 4.4/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Dealing with the public: 4.4/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Operating vehicles, mechanized devices, or equipment: 3.4/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## What AI reaches first

- Processing information: 4.1/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Documenting/recording information: 4.2/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Repeating the same tasks: 3.7/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Working with computers: 3.7/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## O\*NET tasks

- Answer telephones to provide information and receive orders.
- Compute charges for merchandise or services and receive payments.
- Greet customers and discuss the type, quality, and quantity of merchandise sought for rental.
- Recommend and provide advice on a wide variety of products and services.
- Receive orders for services, such as rentals, repairs, dry cleaning, and storage.
- Reserve items for requested times and keep records of items rented.

## Related careers less exposed to AI than counter and rental clerks

- [Stocker and Order Filler](https://nuecareer.com/careers/stocker-and-order-filler): BLS exposure Moderate, median $37,330; [Will AI replace stockers and order fillers?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-stockers-and-order-fillers)
- [Demonstrator and Product Promoter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/demonstrator-and-product-promoter): BLS exposure High, median $39,320
- [First-Line Supervisor of Retail Sales Workers](https://nuecareer.com/careers/first-line-supervisor-of-retail-sales-workers): BLS exposure High, median $48,520; [Will AI replace first-line supervisors of retail sales workers?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-first-line-supervisors-of-retail-sales-workers)

## FAQ

**Will AI replace counter and rental clerks?**

AI will reshape this job more than most, but BLS does not forecast it disappearing. The exposure is among the highest BLS measured, yet it still projects employment to grow. BLS defines exposure as AI being able to assist with or complete some of the work, and says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains or wage effects. BLS projects employment to change by +3.0% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 46,100 openings a year.

**How exposed are counter and rental clerks to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Counter and Rental Clerks are in the very high category, alongside 198 other occupations. The categories combine five public measures of where AI could be or already is used, and they compare occupations with each other rather than giving an absolute risk.

**What parts of a counter and rental clerk's job can AI do?**

In O\*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are processing information, documenting/recording information and repeating the same tasks. The parts that hold up best are face-to-face discussions, performing for or working directly with the public and dealing with the public. These come from O\*NET ratings of how important each activity is to the job, read through NueCareer's AI-resilience method.

**Is being a counter and rental clerk a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, counter and rental clerks score 52 out of 100, higher than 66% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $41,300 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No job is fully safe from technological change, but the federal exposure category and the projected openings are the two numbers worth weighing.

**What careers similar to counter and rental clerks are less exposed to AI?**

Stocker and Order Filler (moderate exposure, $37,330 median), Demonstrator and Product Promoter (high exposure, $39,320 median), First-Line Supervisor of Retail Sales Workers (high exposure, $48,520 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than counter and rental clerks, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/counter-and-rental-clerk.

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This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology