---
title: "Will AI Replace Retail Salespersons? (2026)"
description: "BLS rates retail salespersons' exposure to AI as very high. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (-0.3%…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-retail-salespersons"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Retail Salespersons? (2026)

**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.

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.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Very high | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 56/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | -0.3% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 520,600 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $35,410 | 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

- Performing for or working directly with the public: 4.7/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Face-to-face discussions: 4.9/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Dealing with the public: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships: 4.0/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## What AI reaches first

- Getting information: 4.1/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Repeating the same tasks: 3.5/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Email: 3.9/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Being exact or highly accurate: 4.2/5 (O\*NET work context)

## O\*NET tasks

- 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.

## Related careers less exposed to AI than retail salespersons

- [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

## 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.

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

---

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