Will AI replace sales engineers?
Updated
Sales engineers score 57 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 60%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 21% outright, and 19% stays with people.
- 21% AI can do it
- 60% AI helps
- 19% Needs a person
High exposure
Higher than 87% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 25 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 5 of them today, speeds up 15 and leaves 5 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Document account activities, generate reports, and keep records of business transactions with customers and suppliers. CRM logging and report generation are routine digital work. | 78% AI can do it |
| Write technical documentation for products. AI drafts technical documentation well; engineers review accuracy. | 72% AI can do it |
| Maintain sales forecasting reports. Forecast reports built from CRM data with light review. | 70% AI can do it |
| Keep informed on industry news and trends, products, services, competitors, relevant information about legacy, existing, and emerging technologies, and the latest product-line developments. AI can monitor and summarize news, competitors, and trends. | 65% AI can do it |
| Research and identify potential customers for products or services. AI research tools identify and profile prospects; reps verify. | 65% AI can do it |
| Develop, present, or respond to proposals for specific customer requirements, including request for proposal responses and industry-specific solutions. LLMs draft RFP responses fast; engineer is responsible for technical accuracy. | 60% AI helps |
| Create sales or service contracts for products or services. Contract drafting from templates is AI-friendly; legal review remains. | 55% AI helps |
| Provide technical and non-technical support and services to clients or other staff members regarding the use, operation, and maintenance of equipment. Knowledge bases and AI assistants answer many usage questions. | 55% AI helps |
| Report to supervisors about prospective firms' credit ratings. AI can pull and summarize credit data; judgement stays with analyst. | 55% AI helps |
| Plan and modify product configurations to meet customer needs. Configurators and AI suggest configurations; engineer validates fit. | 50% AI helps |
Show the other 15 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Recommend improved materials or machinery to customers, documenting how such changes will lower costs or increase production. AI can build cost-benefit analyses; engineer validates recommendations. | 50% AI helps |
| Prepare and deliver technical presentations that explain products or services to customers and prospective customers. AI drafts slides and talking points; presenter delivers. | 45% AI helps |
| Secure and renew orders and arrange delivery. Order handling is routine; negotiation and delivery coordination need people. | 45% AI helps |
| Develop sales plans to introduce products in new markets. AI helps analyze markets and draft plans; strategy stays human. | 45% AI helps |
| Identify resale opportunities and support them to achieve sales plans. AI can flag resale leads; account relationships stay human. | 40% AI helps |
| Provide information needed for the development of custom-made machinery. AI can draft specs from notes; engineers confirm technical detail. | 40% AI helps |
| Collaborate with sales teams to understand customer requirements, to promote the sale of company products, and to provide sales support. Requirement gathering with sales teams stays people-driven. | 35% AI helps |
| Train team members in the customer applications of technologies. AI can build training materials; live instruction stays human. | 35% AI helps |
| Sell products requiring extensive technical expertise and support for installation and use, such as material handling equipment, numerical-control machinery, or computer systems. Complex technical sales need live judgement and installation support. | 30% AI helps |
| Confer with customers and engineers to assess equipment needs and to determine system requirements. Live customer and engineer discussions drive requirement assessment. | 28% AI helps |
| Diagnose problems with installed equipment. Hands-on fault diagnosis on installed equipment needs physical presence. | 20% Needs a person |
| Attend company training seminars to become familiar with product lines. Attending seminars is in-person; AI adds little beyond study aids. | 15% Needs a person |
| Visit prospective buyers at commercial, industrial, or other establishments to show samples or catalogs, and to inform them about product pricing, availability, and advantages. In-person visits to show samples need physical presence. | 12% Needs a person |
| Arrange for demonstrations or trial installations of equipment. Demos and trial installations need hands-on physical work on site. | 12% Needs a person |
| Attend trade shows and seminars to promote products or to learn about industry developments. Trade show attendance requires physical presence and live networking. | 8% Needs a person |
How sales engineers compare
All occupations (923)
Sales and related (22)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $124,900 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 51,790 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +2.8% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Review AI-drafted RFP responses for technical accuracy in Microsoft Word
- Build forecast models from CRM data in Excel and Python
- Diagnose faults on installed equipment during customer site visits
- Hold an AWS or Azure cloud architecture certification
- Assess equipment needs in live customer and engineer discussions
- Lead demos and trial installations of equipment on site
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about sales engineers and AI
Will sales engineers be replaced by AI?
Partly. About 4 in 10 working hours for sales engineers go to tasks AI can already do, mostly CRM logging and report generation plus sales forecasting reports. What stays with people is the on-site work and the live customer discussions that set the technical requirements.
Which tasks is AI taking over for sales engineers?
AI is taking over CRM record keeping, sales forecasting reports, and prospect research. Document account activities scores 78 on exposure, the highest in this job, because Salesforce logging and report generation are routine digital work. Maintain sales forecasting reports scores 70 since forecasts built from CRM data need only light review.
Which tasks stay human for sales engineers?
Diagnosing problems with installed equipment stays human at an exposure score of 20, since fault finding needs hands on the hardware at the customer site. Arranging demonstrations and trial installations scores 12, and visiting prospective buyers to show samples also scores 12, because both need physical presence. Attending trade shows scores 8 for the same reason.
How can sales engineers stay valuable as AI takes on more tasks?
Start by reviewing AI-drafted RFP responses in Microsoft Word, checking every technical claim against the product spec before sending. Build forecast models in Excel or Python so you can explain the numbers that Salesforce reports produce. Earn an AWS or Azure cloud certification so you can scope architecture in live customer meetings, and spend more hours on site diagnostics and trial installations where people are still needed.
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