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AI and jobs

Will AI Replace Retail Salespersons? (2026)

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places retail salespersons in its very high AI exposure category, among the occupations most exposed to current AI. BLS projects employment to fall by 0.3% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 520,600 openings a year.

Short answer

This is one of the most exposed jobs, and BLS projects it to shrink. Exposure is not a forecast of job loss on its own, but here the two point the same way.

BLS AI exposure
Very highBLS EP supplemental table
AI-resilience score
56/100Higher than 75% of jobs · NueCareer
Projected change
-0.3%BLS EP 2025–2035; all jobs 3.5%
Openings a year
520,600BLS EP 2025–2035

The federal measure

How exposed retail salespersons are to AI

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a relative AI exposure category for each occupation it projects, built from five public measures of where AI could be, or already is, used to assist with or complete the work. Retail Salespersons land in the very high category: among the occupations most exposed to current AI.

Where this job sits on the BLS scale

786 occupations in the NueCareer bank, in BLS's four relative categories; width shows how many fall in each

  1. Low203 occupations · 26%
  2. Moderate194 occupations · 25%
  3. High190 occupations · 24%
  4. Very high · this job199 occupations · 25%

Source: BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories supplemental table.

  1. Exposure is relative. The categories rank occupations against each other; they are not a probability that a job is automated.
  2. BLS says exposure does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. A highly exposed job can still grow if AI makes the people in it more productive.
  3. The classification reflects AI capabilities as the underlying studies measured them. Read the BLS method and limitations.

Inside the work

What AI can and cannot do in this job

O*NET rates how important each work activity is to an occupation and how often each working condition comes up. The ratings below are the ones that move the job's NueCareer AI-resilience score the most: the ones that pull it up, and the ones that pull it down. Only ratings clearly above the midpoint count.

What holds up

Physical, hands-on and person-to-person work

  • Performing for or working directly with the public4.7/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Face-to-face discussions4.9/5
    O*NET work context, frequency or level
  • Dealing with the public4.6/5
    O*NET work context, frequency or level
  • Establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships4.0/5
    O*NET work activity, importance

What AI reaches first

Routine, repeatable and screen-based work

  • Getting information4.1/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Repeating the same tasks3.5/5
    O*NET work context, frequency or level
  • Email3.9/5
    O*NET work context, frequency or level
  • Being exact or highly accurate4.2/5
    O*NET work context, frequency or level

The tasks O*NET lists for retail salespersons

  • Greet customers and ascertain what each customer wants or needs.
  • Describe merchandise and explain use, operation, and care of merchandise to customers.
  • Maintain knowledge of current sales and promotions, policies regarding payment and exchanges, and security practices.
  • Recommend, select, and help locate or obtain merchandise based on customer needs and desires.
  • Answer questions regarding the store and its merchandise.
  • Ticket, arrange, and display merchandise to promote sales.

O*NET 31.0 Database task statements, most important first.

The jobs

Will there still be jobs?

Exposure says where AI meets the work. The BLS projection says what the labor market is expected to do over 2025–2035. BLS projects -0.3% change in employment over the decade, against 3.5% across all occupations, and about 520,600 openings a year once retirements and career changes are counted. About 3,897,860 people work in the job today, at a median of $35,410 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Full retail salesperson profile: pay by state, entry route and skills

Options

Related careers less exposed to AI than retail salespersons

Careers O*NET lists as related to the work, or in the same field at similar pay, that BLS places in a lower exposure category.

  1. Stocker and Order Filler

    Transportation and Material Moving

    Median pay
    $37,330median a year
    Growth
    +8.9%
    Openings / yr
    430,700
    Education
    No formal credential
    Moderate
    BLS AI exposure
    57/100
    resilience

    Receive, store, and issue merchandise, materials, equipment, and other items from stockroom, warehouse, or storage yard to fill shelves, racks, tables, or customers' orders.

  2. Demonstrator and Product Promoter

    Sales and Related

    Median pay
    $39,320median a year
    Growth
    +0.2%
    Openings / yr
    11,400
    Education
    No formal credential
    High
    BLS AI exposure
    57/100
    resilience

    Demonstrate merchandise and answer questions for the purpose of creating public interest in buying the product.

Will AI replace stockers and order fillers?

Questions

Will AI Replace Retail Salespersons? FAQ

Will AI replace retail salespersons?

This is one of the most exposed jobs, and BLS projects it to shrink. Exposure is not a forecast of job loss on its own, but here the two point the same way. 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 fall by 0.3% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 520,600 openings a year.

How exposed are retail salespersons to AI?

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Retail Salespersons 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 retail 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 getting information, repeating the same tasks and email. 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 retail salesperson a safe career from AI?

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O*NET work activities, retail salespersons score 56 out of 100, higher than 75% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $35,410 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 retail salespersons are less exposed to AI?

Stocker and Order Filler (moderate exposure, $37,330 median), Demonstrator and Product Promoter (high exposure, $39,320 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than retail salespersons, and most are listed by O*NET as related to the work.

The AI exposure category is the Bureau of Labor Statistics'. The AI-resilience score and the activity breakdown are NueCareer's analysis of O*NET 31.0 Database data (method), not a federal figure. More: jobs most exposed to AI, jobs least exposed to AI, or check any job.