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

# Will AI Replace Parts Salespersons? (2026)

**Short answer:** Not replaced, but changed. BLS rates the exposure as high, so AI can help with a real share of the work, yet it still projects employment to grow.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places parts salespersons in its high AI exposure category, above the middle of the pack: a substantial share of the work overlaps with what AI can do. BLS projects employment to change by +3.0% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 30,000 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | High | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 51/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | +3.0% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 30,000 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $38,630 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |

## Exposure categories

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

- Performing for or working directly with the public: 4.3/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Face-to-face discussions: 4.2/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Dealing with the public: 4.8/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships: 3.9/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## What AI reaches first

- Documenting/recording information: 4.0/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Working with computers: 4.5/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Repeating the same tasks: 4.0/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Processing information: 3.7/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## O\*NET tasks

- Examine returned parts for defects, and exchange defective parts or refund money.
- Maintain and clean work and inventory areas.
- Receive payment or obtain credit authorization.
- Assist customers, such as responding to customer complaints and updating them about back-ordered parts.
- Advise customers on substitution or modification of parts when identical replacements are not available.
- Read catalogs, microfiche viewers, or computer displays to determine replacement part stock numbers and prices.

## Related careers less exposed to AI than parts salespersons

- [Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendant](https://nuecareer.com/careers/automotive-and-watercraft-service-attendant): BLS exposure Low, median $35,670; [Will AI replace automotive and watercraft service attendants?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-automotive-and-watercraft-service-attendants)
- [Engine and Other Machine Assembler](https://nuecareer.com/careers/engine-and-other-machine-assembler): BLS exposure Low, median $53,710
- [Laborer and Freight, Stock, and Material Mover, Hand](https://nuecareer.com/careers/laborer-and-freight-stock-and-material-mover-hand): BLS exposure Low, median $40,240; [Will AI replace warehouse workers?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-warehouse-workers)
- [Home Appliance Repairer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/home-appliance-repairer): BLS exposure Moderate, median $50,990
- [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)

## FAQ

**Will AI replace parts salespersons?**

Not replaced, but changed. BLS rates the exposure as high, so AI can help with a real share of the work, 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 30,000 openings a year.

**How exposed are parts salespersons to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Parts Salespersons are in the high category, alongside 189 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 parts salesperson's job can AI do?**

In O\*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are documenting/recording information, working with computers and repeating the same tasks. The parts that hold up best are performing for or working directly with the public, face-to-face discussions 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 parts salesperson a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, parts salespersons score 51 out of 100, higher than 63% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $38,630 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 parts salespersons are less exposed to AI?**

Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendant (low exposure, $35,670 median), Engine and Other Machine Assembler (low exposure, $53,710 median), Laborer and Freight, Stock, and Material Mover, Hand (low exposure, $40,240 median), Home Appliance Repairer (moderate exposure, $50,990 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than parts salespersons, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/parts-salesperson.

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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