AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 11-2022.00
Will AI replace Sales Managers?
Sales Managers: AI can already handle 5 of 17 tasks; the work mostly needs a standard-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 17 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Sales Managers, from most to least exposed. 5 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Review operational records and reports to project sales and determine profitability. | Observed | Standard | |
| Confer with potential customers regarding equipment needs, and advise customers on types of equipment to purchase. | Observed | Frontier | |
| Assess marketing potential of new and existing store locations, considering statistics and expenditures. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Direct, coordinate, and review sales and service accounting and record-keeping, as well as receiving and shipping. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Confer or consult with department heads to plan advertising services and to secure information on equipment and customer specifications. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Plan and direct staffing, training, and performance evaluations to develop and control sales and service programs. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Direct and coordinate activities involving sales of manufactured products, services, commodities, real estate, or other subjects of sale. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Advise dealers and distributors on policies and operating procedures to ensure functional effectiveness of business. | Observed | Standard | |
| Oversee regional and local sales managers and their staffs. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Resolve customer complaints regarding sales and service. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Monitor customer preferences to determine focus of sales efforts. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Determine price schedules and discount rates. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Prepare budgets and approve budget expenditures. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Visit franchised dealers to stimulate interest in establishment or expansion of leasing programs. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Represent company at trade association meetings to promote products. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Direct foreign sales and service outlets of an organization. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Direct clerical staff to keep records of export correspondence, bid requests, and credit collections, and to maintain current information on tariffs, licenses, and restrictions. | Estimated | Standard |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 3 of 17 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 14 of 17. 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 standard-tier model or lower covers 82% 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
- 637,080
- Median annual wage
- $148,270
- Middle half of earners
- $100,360 to $207,340
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +4.7%
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.
- Marketing Managers 74% skill overlap, about 9 months to move Exposure59
- Supply Chain Managers 64% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure41
- General and Operations Managers 64% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure54
- Advertising and Promotions Managers 64% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure45
- First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers 63% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure40
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Sales Managers and AI
Will AI replace Sales Managers?
AI already handles 5 of the 17 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 45 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 +4.7% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Sales Managers?
45 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. 3 of the 17 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 14 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Sales Managers tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Review operational records and reports to project sales and determine profitability; Confer with potential customers regarding equipment needs, and advise customers on types of equipment to purchase; Assess marketing potential of new and existing store locations, considering statistics and expenditures. They are three of the 5 tasks that reach 60 or more.
What AI model tier does this role need?
A standard-tier model or lower covers 82% 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 Managers, and what do they earn?
637,080 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $148,270 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +4.7% 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 Managers. 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-managers
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