How over is it?

A mood ring wired to real instruments

AI exposure Sales

Will AI replace telemarketers?

Telemarketers. US occupation 41-9041.

28.5%

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

Ranked 75 of 756 US occupations. More exposed than 90% of them.Further along than 90% of them.

Average US job 7.7%

One of the most exposed jobs in the country.Front of the queue for an AI assistant.

What AI already does for telemarketersWhat telemarketers no longer do alone

O*NET lists 12 tasks for telemarketers. AI use at work shows up in 4 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. Contact businesses or private individuals by telephone to solicit sales for goods or services, or to request donations for charitable causes.Core task mostly automated 1.00
  2. Schedule appointments for sales representatives to meet with prospective customers or for customers to attend sales presentations. mostly automated 1.00
  3. Obtain customer information such as name, address, and payment method, and enter orders into computers.Core task mostly automated 0.99
  4. Explain products or services and prices, and answer questions from customers.Core task mostly automated 0.96

What it does not touch, yetWhat still needs a human

8 of the 12 tasks show no AI use at work in the data.

  • Answer telephone calls from potential customers who have been solicited through advertisements.Core task
  • Deliver prepared sales talks, reading from scripts that describe products or services, to persuade potential customers to purchase a product or service or to make a donation.Core task
  • Maintain records of contacts, accounts, and orders.Core task
  • Record names, addresses, purchases, and reactions of prospects contacted.Core task
  • Telephone or write letters to respond to correspondence from customers or to follow up initial sales contacts.Core task
  • Adjust sales scripts to better target the needs and interests of specific individuals.
Show the other 2
  • Conduct client or market surveys to obtain information about potential customers.
  • Obtain names and telephone numbers of potential customers from sources such as telephone directories, magazine reply cards, and lists purchased from other organizations.

How that compares

Among the 20 sales occupations, telemarketers rank 7. 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. 72Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education 29.0%
  2. 73Software Developers 28.8%
  3. 74Computer Network Support Specialists 28.7%

Just below

  1. 76Real Estate Sales Agents 28.3%
  2. 77Correspondence Clerks 27.9%
  3. 77Training and Development Specialists 27.9%

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.