Are Sales and Related Workers, All Others at Risk Due to AI?

All sales and related workers not listed separately.

The occupation "Sales and Related Workers, All Other" is assigned a base automation risk of 0.0%. This rating indicates that current advances in artificial intelligence and robotics technologies do not pose a significant threat to automating the core responsibilities performed by workers in this job category. The role functions as a catch-all category for sales roles not specified elsewhere, generally encompassing diverse and frequently changing activities. Since the tasks performed are often unique, adaptive, and require nuanced human interaction, they remain largely outside the reach of current automation solutions. The complexity and unpredictability of many sales-related scenarios also make it difficult to standardize processes in a way that enables effective automation. When examining the top three most automatable tasks within this occupation, they typically include elements such as maintaining basic sales records, inputting and updating customer information, and scheduling follow-up appointments. These tasks involve structured data and routine procedures, which can be supported by customer relationship management (CRM) software and automatic scheduling tools. Simple information retrieval and dissemination—such as providing price lists or routine product information—constitute another set of easily automatable duties. However, these automatable elements represent only a minor proportion of the occupation’s overall scope, leaving the pivotal, high-touch sales aspects unaffected. Conversely, the three most resistant tasks to automation are building and sustaining client relationships, negotiating complex deals, and providing personalized consultative services. These activities require advanced social perceptiveness, emotional intelligence, and the ability to creatively adapt solutions to each client’s unique needs—skills currently unattainable by automated systems. The bottleneck skills for these highly resistant aspects include persuasion (advanced level), negotiation (advanced level), and active listening (expert level). These capabilities necessitate nuanced human judgment and empathy, reinforcing the occupation’s strong resistance to automation risk and ensuring ongoing demand for skilled professionals within this broad sales category.