AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 41-9031.00
Will AI replace Sales Engineers?
Sales Engineers: AI can already handle 13 of 25 tasks; the work mostly needs a frontier-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 25 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Sales Engineers, from most to least exposed. 13 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diagnose problems with installed equipment. | Observed | Frontier | |
| Provide technical and non-technical support and services to clients or other staff members regarding the use, operation, and maintenance of equipment. | Observed | Frontier | |
| Write technical documentation for products. | Observed | Efficient | |
| Develop, present, or respond to proposals for specific customer requirements, including request for proposal responses and industry-specific solutions. | Observed | Efficient | |
| Collaborate with sales teams to understand customer requirements, to promote the sale of company products, and to provide sales support. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Create sales or service contracts for products or services. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Visit prospective buyers at commercial, industrial, or other establishments to show samples or catalogs, and to inform them about product pricing, availability, and advantages. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Document account activities, generate reports, and keep records of business transactions with customers and suppliers. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Secure and renew orders and arrange delivery. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Report to supervisors about prospective firms' credit ratings. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Prepare and deliver technical presentations that explain products or services to customers and prospective customers. | Observed | Frontier | |
| Confer with customers and engineers to assess equipment needs and to determine system requirements. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Recommend improved materials or machinery to customers, documenting how such changes will lower costs or increase production. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Keep informed on industry news and trends, products, services, competitors, relevant information about legacy, existing, and emerging technologies, and the latest product-line developments. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Identify resale opportunities and support them to achieve sales plans. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Plan and modify product configurations to meet customer needs. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Provide information needed for the development of custom-made machinery. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Attend trade shows and seminars to promote products or to learn about industry developments. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Research and identify potential customers for products or services. | Observed | Standard | |
| Develop sales plans to introduce products in new markets. | Observed | Standard | |
| Attend company training seminars to become familiar with product lines. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Train team members in the customer applications of technologies. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Sell products requiring extensive technical expertise and support for installation and use, such as material handling equipment, numerical-control machinery, or computer systems. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Maintain sales forecasting reports. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Arrange for demonstrations or trial installations of equipment. | Estimated | Standard |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 7 of 25 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 18 of 25. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.
The model tier this role needs
A frontier-tier model or lower covers 100% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 100% of the work is something AI can address at some tier.
Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.
Wages, employment and outlook
- US employment
- 51,790
- Median annual wage
- $124,900
- Middle half of earners
- $92,890 to $161,230
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +5.5%
Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.
Adjacent roles
The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.
- Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products 71% skill overlap, about 10 months to move Exposure48
- Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products 65% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure41
- Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel 64% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure61
- Mechanical Engineers 62% skill overlap, about 14 months to move Exposure48
- Sales Managers 62% skill overlap, about 14 months to move Exposure45
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Sales Engineers and AI
Will AI replace Sales Engineers?
AI already handles 13 of the 25 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 59 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by +5.5% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Sales Engineers?
59 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 7 of the 25 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 18 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Sales Engineers tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Diagnose problems with installed equipment; Provide technical and non-technical support and services to clients or other staff members regarding the use, operation, and maintenance of equipment; Write technical documentation for products. They are three of the 13 tasks that reach 60 or more.
What AI model tier does this role need?
A frontier-tier model or lower covers 100% of the role's importance-weighted task work. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.
How many people work as Sales Engineers, and what do they earn?
51,790 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $124,900 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +5.5% from 2024 to 2034.
How to cite
Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.
JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Sales Engineers. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/sales-engineers
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