# Will online merchants be replaced by AI? Updated October 2026 Online merchants score 66 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 52%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 40% outright, and 8% stays with people. - **40%** AI can do it - **52%** AI helps - **8%** Needs a person High exposure Higher than 97% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 34 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 12 of them today, speeds up 19 and leaves 3 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Deliver e-mail confirmation of completed transactions and shipment. Standard automated confirmation emails; trivially generated. | 90% AI can do it | | Calculate purchase subtotals, taxes, and shipping costs for submission to customers. Checkout software computes totals, taxes and shipping automatically. | 90% AI can do it | | Compose descriptions of merchandise for posting to online storefront, auction sites, or other shopping Web sites. Generative AI writes product descriptions well; human reviews. | 85% AI can do it | | Prepare or organize online storefront marketing material, including product descriptions or subject lines, optimizing content to search engine criteria. Generative AI drafts copy and SEO-optimized subject lines well. | 85% AI can do it | | Create or maintain database of customer accounts. Customer database upkeep is routine digital data management. | 85% AI can do it | [See what AI can take on across a sales team](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/sales/) ## How online merchants compare All occupations (923) Business and financial operations (48) **Online merchants score 66**, marked by the dark line. Each dot is a score, darker where more occupations share it. The short marks show the averages, 37 for all occupations and 55 for business and financial operations. ## Pay and outlook in the US Median pay $83,050 a year, May 2025 People employed 271,772 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs +3.9% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Source used and collectible stock at estate sales and auctions - Pack and hand off customer orders for shipping - Maintain shipping supply counts and restock on site - Edit AI-drafted product descriptions and check them in Shopify - Query customer records and repeat buyers in SQL - Build purchase budgets and stock plans in Microsoft Excel ## Safer roles nearby 5 related occupations with lower scores. - [Marketing managers55 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/marketing-managers/) - [Sales managers45 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/sales-managers/) - [Buyers51 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/buyers/) - [Digital marketers62 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/digital-marketers/) - [Advertising sales agents61 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/advertising-sales-agents/) ## Questions about online merchants and AI Will AI replace online merchants? Partly. About 6 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly writing product descriptions and calculating checkout totals. Packing orders, restocking shipping supplies and sourcing stock still need a person. Which tasks will AI take over for online merchants? Order confirmation emails, checkout totals and product descriptions go first. Confirmation emails score 90 on exposure and send from standard templates, while checkout software already computes taxes and shipping at the same score. Generative AI drafts listing copy at exposure 85, and a person only reviews it. Which tasks stay human for online merchants? Packing and handing off customer orders, restocking shipping supplies and sourcing stock stay with people. Software only routes orders, and counting or restocking boxes and tape is physical work. Sourcing at estate sales, liquidators and trade shows requires being there in person. How can online merchants stay valuable? Keep the physical work and let AI handle copy and data. Source stock in person, inspect used goods, and pack orders yourself. Review AI-drafted product descriptions in Shopify, then check Google Analytics to see which listings convert. Query customer records in SQL to find repeat buyers. ## Related jobs - [SEO specialists62 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/seo-specialists/) - [Data analysts65 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/data-analysts/) - [Stockbrokers64 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/stockbrokers/) - [Purchasing managers51 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/purchasing-managers/) ## Next steps for online merchants - ### Check your job Your job title is a rough guide. Your actual tasks decide your score. Paste your job description or CV and see which of your tasks AI can do. [Check your job](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/ai-exposure-checker/) [Check your CV](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/cv-checker/) ### Check which roles in your team AI can take on We map your team's tasks, show what AI can do today and build the automations that pay back first. [Book an AI audit](https://www.aigentcy.com/audit/) ## Related topics - [**Jobs AI can't replace**Cement masons score lowest, at 8.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-ai-cant-replace/) - [**Jobs most at risk from AI**Proofreaders score highest, at 76.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-most-exposed-to-ai/) - [**High-paying jobs with low AI exposure**Radiologists earn a median $420,860 and score 46.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/high-paying-jobs-low-ai-exposure/) - [**Entry-level jobs with low AI exposure**Cement masons need little prior training and score 8.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/entry-level-jobs-low-ai-exposure/) - [**Jobs AI speeds up the most**For natural sciences managers, AI speeds up 96% of task time.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-ai-speeds-up/) - [**AI and jobs in Malta**15 iGaming roles graded task by task.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/malta/) - [**Skills that keep work human**The skills to build in the jobs AI changes least.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/skills/) - [**Jobs A to Z**Every job we publish, by first letter.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs/) - [**AI exposure by industry**Average scores for 22 occupation groups.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/industries/) - [**Write a CV screening software can read**How applicant tracking systems read a CV, and what to change.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/cv-screening-guide/) - [**AI for businesses**The tasks to automate first in each team and industry.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/) - [**How we score AI exposure**The grading, the weights and every source.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/) Occupation data from the O\*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and modified by Aigentcy. O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Wage, employment and projection data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. EU occupation names from ESCO, European Commission. AI usage signals from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY) and Microsoft Research (CC BY 4.0). [Methodology and sources](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/). Scores © Aigentcy. Quote them with a link to the page.