# Will visual merchandisers be replaced by AI? Updated October 2026 Visual merchandisers score 29 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 2% outright, and 46% stays with people. - **2%** AI can do it - **52%** AI helps - **46%** Needs a person Low exposure Lower than 64% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 24 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 1 of them today, speeds up 12 and leaves 11 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Use computers to produce signage. Digital signage design and text generation done by software. | 65% AI can do it | | Develop ideas or plans for merchandise displays or window decorations. Idea generation is well suited to AI image and text tools. | 50% AI helps | | Prepare sketches, floor plans, or models of proposed displays. Sketches and floor plans via design software; models need hands. | 50% AI helps | | Select themes, lighting, colors, or props to be used. AI can suggest themes, palettes and props; person decides. | 45% AI helps | | Plan commercial displays to entice and appeal to customers. Creative planning; AI can generate concepts and mood boards. | 40% AI helps | ## How visual merchandisers compare All occupations (923) Arts, design, entertainment, sports and media (40) **Visual merchandisers score 29**, 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 44 for arts, design, entertainment, sports and media. ## Pay and outlook in the US Median pay $39,390 a year, May 2025 People employed 165,220 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs +2.7% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Draft floor plans and display layouts in AutoCAD - Produce concept boards in Adobe Illustrator and InDesign - Build display components with hand and power tools - Dress and pose mannequins for store windows - Plan display timing with sales and advertising staff - Install banners, flags and lights at height on site ## Questions about visual merchandisers and AI Will AI replace visual merchandisers? Partly. About 2 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly producing signage and generating display ideas. Hands-on installation, dressing mannequins and building displays stay with people because they need a person physically in the store. Which visual merchandiser tasks is AI taking over? Producing signage is the most exposed task, with an exposure score of 65, because design software and text generation can make digital signs from a brief. Developing display ideas, with an exposure score of 50, is next, since AI image and text tools can produce concepts and mood boards quickly. Which visual merchandiser tasks stay human? Installing banners, flags and lights at height scores 3 on exposure, the lowest in the job, because it needs a person physically on site. Dressing mannequins and assembling displays in store, scoring 5 and 8, stay with people because they work with physical materials and hands. How can visual merchandisers stay valuable? Use AI tools for concept boards in Adobe Illustrator, then check each draft against the store floor plan in AutoCAD. Keep hands-on skills sharp, such as dressing mannequins and building displays from glass, paper and plastic. Lead planning meetings with advertising and sales staff, where merchandise and timing get decided. ## Related jobs - [Retail salespeople48 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/retail-salespeople/) - [Advertising sales agents61 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/advertising-sales-agents/) - [Product demonstrators42 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/product-demonstrators/) - [Interior designers47 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/interior-designers/) ## Next steps for visual merchandisers - ### 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.