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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products?
Task-level automation exposure for Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products: 33 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
59%
weighted task index
33 of 33 tasks scored
Median Salary
$104,920 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
High
284,800 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+1.2%
employment change
23,600 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 50 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$62,160 – $135,000
Highest medians
Colorado $135,000
New Jersey $131,360
Kansas $130,850
New York $129,410
Georgia $128,850
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $62,160
Arkansas $71,830
Oklahoma $72,480
Mississippi $74,990
Alaska $77,080
State figures come from the 41-4011 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.
What the score is made of
Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.
Automation potential 59%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 3%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 41%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 11%
Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.
Rewritten by O*NET 0%
Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.
Consequence of error 11/100
Low
O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.
Constituent Task Mix
33 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.
High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 54%
17 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 36%
12 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 10%
4 tasks
How would you survive?
Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.
Simulate Upskilling →Constituent Tasks
#11240 · Core · 38% automatable
Negotiate prices or terms of sales or service agreements.
interpersonal — Price negotiation needs live give-and-take
Negotiate prices or other sales terms.
#20608 · Core · 60% automatable
Prepare and submit sales contracts for orders.
text generation — Draft contracts; legal terms human-owned
Prepare sales or other contracts. Process sales or other transactions.
#11251 · Core · 48% automatable
Visit establishments to evaluate needs or to promote product or service sales.
interpersonal — Customer needs discovery needs live interaction
Gather customer or product information to determine customer needs. Contact current or potential customers to promote products or services.
#11241 · Core · 82% automatable
Maintain customer records, using automated systems.
data analysis — Maintain structured customer account records
Maintain records of customer accounts.
#11237 · Core · 68% automatable
Answer customers' questions about products, prices, availability, or credit terms.
information retrieval — Product questions answered from knowledge base
Answer customer questions about goods or services.
#11238 · Core · 72% automatable
Quote prices, credit terms, or other bid specifications.
decision support — Estimates costs/terms; human negotiates and commits
Estimate costs or terms of sales.
#20609 · Core · 45% automatable
Contact new or existing customers to discuss how specific products or services can meet their needs.
interpersonal — Outreach scripts drafted; live customer contact is human
Contact current or potential customers to promote products or services.
#11239 · Core · 55% automatable
Emphasize product features, based on analyses of customers' needs and on technical knowledge of product capabilities and limitations.
interpersonal — Technical explanation to customers needs live interaction
Explain technical product or service information to customers.
#11261 · Core · 72% automatable
Compute customer's installation or production costs and estimate savings from new services, products, or equipment.
decision support — Estimates costs/terms; human negotiates and commits
Estimate costs or terms of sales.
#20610 · Core · 60% automatable
Select or assist customers in selecting products based on customer needs, product specifications, and applicable regulations.
decision support — Product recommendations need customer context and persuasion
Recommend products or services to customers.
#11246 · Core · 75% automatable
Prepare sales presentations or proposals to explain product specifications or applications.
text generation — Generates sales content drafts; human tailors and approves
Develop content for sales presentations or other materials.
#11252 · Core · 82% automatable
Complete expense reports, sales reports, or other paperwork.
data analysis — Maintain structured sales records via tools
Prepare financial documents, reports, or budgets. Maintain records of sales or other business transactions.
#20611 · Core · 55% automatable
Verify that delivery schedules meet project deadlines.
decision support — AI can arrange deliveries; exceptions need human handling
Arrange delivery of goods or services.
#20612 · Core · 68% automatable
Identify prospective customers, using business directories, leads from existing clients, participation in organizations, or trade show or conference attendance.
data analysis — AI analyzes market data to identify prospects
Identify potential customers.
#11249 · Core · 55% automatable
Inform customers of estimated delivery schedules, service contracts, warranties, or other information pertaining to purchased products.
interpersonal — Technical explanation to customers needs live interaction
Explain technical product or service information to customers.
#11245 · Core · 65% automatable
Collaborate with colleagues to exchange information, such as selling strategies or marketing information.
text generation — Sharing market information is largely informational
Share sales-related or market information with colleagues.
#11248 · Core · 70% automatable
Provide customers with ongoing technical support.
information retrieval — Product-use advice is largely informational with review
Advise customers on the use of products or services.
#20613 · Core · 70% automatable
Advise customers on product usage to improve production.
information retrieval — Product-use advice is largely informational with review
Advise customers on the use of products or services.
#20614 · Core · 82% automatable
Study documentation or other information for new scientific or technical products.
information retrieval — AI extracts product specs and summarizes
Study product information to acquire professional knowledge.
#11265 · Core · 13% automatable
Stock or distribute resources, such as samples or promotional or educational materials.
physical manipulation — Physically distributing samples and literature
Stock products or parts. Distribute promotional literature or samples to customers.
#20615 · Core · 49% automatable
Attend sales or trade meetings or read related publications to obtain information about market conditions, business trends, environmental regulations, or industry developments.
information retrieval — AI aggregates and analyzes market data at scale
Monitor market conditions or trends. Attend events to develop professional knowledge.
#20616 · Supplemental · 32% automatable
Sell service contracts for technical or scientific products.
interpersonal — Closing sales requires persuasion and accountability
Sell products or services.
#20617 · Supplemental · 20% automatable
Demonstrate the operation or use of technical or scientific products.
interpersonal — Live product demonstration requires physical presence
Demonstrate products to consumers.
#11256 · Supplemental · 58% automatable
Provide feedback to product design teams so that products can be tailored to clients' needs.
interpersonal — Discussing design features with staff is relational exchange
Discuss design or technical features of products or services with technical personnel.
#11257 · Supplemental · 55% automatable
Arrange for installation and testing of products or machinery.
decision support — AI can arrange deliveries; exceptions need human handling
Arrange delivery of goods or services.
#20618 · Supplemental · 50% automatable
Initiate sales campaigns to meet sales and production expectations.
decision support — Campaign coordination needs human judgment and relationships
Coordinate sales campaigns.
#20619 · Supplemental · 82% automatable
Verify accuracy of materials lists.
data analysis — Cross-checking records against criteria, human spot-checks
Verify accuracy of records.
#20620 · Supplemental · 72% automatable
Verify customer credit ratings.
data analysis — Credit data screening against criteria, human decides
Verify customer credit information.
#11262 · Supplemental · 58% automatable
Consult with engineers regarding technical problems with products.
interpersonal — Discussing design features with staff is relational exchange
Discuss design or technical features of products or services with technical personnel.
#19828 · Supplemental · 32% automatable
Sell technical and scientific products that are environmentally sound or designed for environmental remediation.
interpersonal — Closing sales requires persuasion and accountability
Sell products or services.
#11267 · Supplemental · 68% automatable
Visit establishments, such as pharmacies, to determine product sales.
data analysis — Sales metrics monitored by AI; human interprets and acts
Monitor sales activities.
#19826 · Supplemental · 53% automatable
Present information to customers about the energy efficiency or environmental impact of scientific or technical products.
interpersonal — Technical explanation to customers needs live interaction
Explain technical product or service information to customers. Deliver promotional presentations to current or prospective customers.
#19825 · Supplemental · 70% automatable
Inform customers about issues related to responsible use and disposal of products, such as waste reduction or product or byproduct recycling or disposal.
information retrieval — Product-use advice is largely informational with review
Advise customers on the use of products or services.
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How this was scored
- 1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
- 2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
- 3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
- 4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.
Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.
Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast
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