Jobs · Retail salesperson

Will AI replace retail salespersons?

Part of the work, not the whole job. AI could take on about 35% of the working time in a typical retail salesperson job today. The other 65% still needs a person.

24 responsibilities · a typical retail salesperson job

65% of the work still needs a person.

Still needs a person: 65% of the timeAI could take on: 35%

Median pay $35,410 a year in the U.S. (BLS, May 2025).

Still needs a person

  • Greet customers and find out their needs
  • Ring up sales and take payment
  • Prepare merchandise for sale or rent
  • Count and balance the register
  • Bag purchases and wrap gifts
  • Demonstrate how products work

AI can do or help with

  • Recommend and help find merchandise AI helps
  • Answer customer questions about merchandise AI helps
  • Know current promotions and policies AI helps
  • Explain products and how to care for them AI helps
  • Fill out sales slips and contracts AI helps
  • Keep sales records up to date AI can do it

The biggest responsibilities of each kind. "AI helps" means a person still does it, with AI taking on part of the time. See all 24, with the reason for each and the cost of handing them to AI.

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Questions people ask

Will AI replace retail salespersons?

Part of the work, not the whole job. AI could take on about 35% of the working time in a typical retail salesperson job today. The other 65% still needs a person. That is a split of the work, not a forecast of jobs lost.

Which parts of the job can AI do?

The biggest ones AI can do or help with: recommend and help find merchandise, answer customer questions about merchandise, know current promotions and policies, explain products and how to care for them, fill out sales slips and contracts, keep sales records up to date.

Which parts still need a person?

The biggest ones: greet customers and find out their needs, ring up sales and take payment, prepare merchandise for sale or rent, count and balance the register, bag purchases and wrap gifts, demonstrate how products work.

How is this measured?

Each of the 24 responsibilities the U.S. Department of Labor lists for this job (O*NET 31.0) is scored on 4 questions: can AI do it, does it get it right, must a person sign for it, and do people need to deal with a real person. The split is weighted by how much of the job each responsibility takes up. Scores version 0.4.2, updated September 28, 2026.

Responsibilities from O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor). Pay from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025. Scores are calibrated to published research and updated every month. How it works.

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