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AI exposure Sales

Will AI replace sales representatives?

Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products. US occupation 41-4011.

27.1%

of the time sales representatives spend on their work goes on tasks where AI is already being used to do that work.of sales representatives' working hours go on tasks AI has already started taking off their plate.

Ranked 81 of 756 US occupations. More exposed than 89% of them.Further along than 89% of them.

Average US job 7.7%

Well above the typical job.Ahead of most of the workforce.

What AI already does for sales representativesWhat sales representatives no longer do alone

O*NET lists 46 tasks for sales representatives. AI use at work shows up in 14 of them. Each score runs from 0.5, where every observed use helps a person with the task, to 1, where every use does the task outright.

  1. Inform customers of estimated delivery schedules, service contracts, warranties, or other information pertaining to purchased products.Core task mostly automated 1.00
  2. Maintain customer records, using automated systems.Core task mostly automated 1.00
  3. Prepare and submit sales contracts for orders.Core task mostly automated 1.00
  4. Select or assist customers in selecting products based on customer needs, product specifications, and applicable regulations.Core task mostly automated 1.00
  5. Contact new or existing customers to discuss how specific products or services can meet their needs.Core task mostly automated 0.99
  6. Answer customers' questions about products, prices, availability, or credit terms.Core task mostly automated 0.98
  7. Provide customers with ongoing technical support.Core task mostly automated 0.98
  8. Negotiate prices or terms of sales or service agreements.Core task mostly automated 0.97
Show the other 6
  1. Study documentation or other information for new scientific or technical products.Core task mostly automated 0.94
  2. Attend sales or trade meetings or read related publications to obtain information about market conditions, business trends, environmental regulations, or industry developments.Core task mostly automated 0.93
  3. Collaborate with colleagues to exchange information, such as selling strategies or marketing information.Core task mostly automated 0.93
  4. Provide technical information about solar power, solar systems, equipment, and services to potential customers or dealers.Core task mostly automated 0.88
  5. Prepare sales presentations or proposals to explain product specifications or applications.Core task mostly automated 0.87
  6. Identify prospective customers, using business directories, leads from existing clients, participation in organizations, or trade show or conference attendance.Core task automated and assisted 0.72

What it does not touch, yetWhat still needs a human

32 of the 46 tasks show no AI use at work in the data.

  • Advise customers on product usage to improve production.Core task
  • Assess sites to determine suitability for solar equipment, using equipment such as tape measures, compasses, and computer software.Core task
  • Calculate potential solar resources or solar array production for a particular site considering issues such as climate, shading, and roof orientation.Core task
  • Complete expense reports, sales reports, or other paperwork.Core task
  • Compute customer's installation or production costs and estimate savings from new services, products, or equipment.Core task
  • Create customized energy management packages to satisfy customer needs.Core task
Show the other 26
  • Demonstrate use of solar and related equipment to customers or dealers.Core task
  • Develop marketing or strategic plans for sales territories.Core task
  • Emphasize product features, based on analyses of customers' needs and on technical knowledge of product capabilities and limitations.Core task
  • Gather information from prospective customers to identify their solar energy needs.Core task
  • Generate solar energy customer leads to develop new accounts.Core task
  • Prepare or review detailed design drawings, specifications, or lists related to solar installations.Core task
  • Prepare proposals, quotes, contracts, or presentations for potential solar customers.Core task
  • Provide customers with information, such as quotes, orders, sales, shipping, warranties, credit, funding options, incentives, or tax rebates.Core task
  • Quote prices, credit terms, or other bid specifications.Core task
  • Select solar energy products, systems, or services for customers based on electrical energy requirements, site conditions, price, or other factors.Core task
  • Stock or distribute resources, such as samples or promotional or educational materials.Core task
  • Take quote requests or orders from dealers or customers.Core task
  • Verify that delivery schedules meet project deadlines.Core task
  • Visit establishments to evaluate needs or to promote product or service sales.Core task
  • Arrange for installation and testing of products or machinery.
  • Consult with engineers regarding technical problems with products.
  • Demonstrate the operation or use of technical or scientific products.
  • Inform customers about issues related to responsible use and disposal of products, such as waste reduction or product or byproduct recycling or disposal.
  • Initiate sales campaigns to meet sales and production expectations.
  • Present information to customers about the energy efficiency or environmental impact of scientific or technical products.
  • Provide feedback to product design teams so that products can be tailored to clients' needs.
  • Sell service contracts for technical or scientific products.
  • Sell technical and scientific products that are environmentally sound or designed for environmental remediation.
  • Verify accuracy of materials lists.
  • Verify customer credit ratings.
  • Visit establishments, such as pharmacies, to determine product sales.

How that compares

Among the 20 sales occupations, sales representatives rank 9. The group averages 23.6%, and its most exposed job is Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products at 62.8%. The average US occupation sits at 7.7%.

All 756 occupations, ranked

Just above in the ranking

  1. 77Training and Development Specialists 27.9%
  2. 79Computer Systems Analysts 27.6%
  3. 80Physicists 27.3%

Just below

  1. 82Financial Risk Specialists 26.5%
  2. 83First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers 26.3%
  3. 84Education Teachers, Postsecondary 26.2%

What this does and does not mean

Exposure is observed use, not a forecast. Anthropic maps work conversations with Claude onto the tasks O*NET lists for each job and asks, of the tasks AI could speed up, which are actually being used for at work. A use that does the task outright counts in full and a use that assists a person counts half. The task scores are averaged into the occupation figure by the share of time spent on each task.

A high figure means AI is already part of how this work gets done. It does not mean anyone has been replaced. Anthropic's own reading of the labour market finds no systematic rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting exposed jobs.No measurable rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting these jobs. Gap years for everyone. Labor market impacts, 5 March 2026.

Task list and titles from O*NET 31.0 by the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Scores from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY). Checked 1 November 2026. How the ranking works.