# AI in retail: which tasks to automate first Updated October 2026 Across the 16 million US jobs in retail, the work scores 41 of 100 for AI exposure, weighted by how many people do each job. AI can take on about 655 hours a year per full-time person, 33% of a working year. The task that frees the most hours across the industry is to answer questions regarding the store and its merchandise, about 73 hours a year for each person who does it. AI exposure, weighted by employment 41 out of 100 Moderate exposure Hours AI can take on 655 hours a year per full-time person Task time AI can do today 20% AI speeds up another 40% ## Tasks to automate first The 15 tasks where AI can take on the most hours across retail: how exposed each task is, how much of the job it takes and how many people do that job. Hours are per person in the role that does the task. [How we score each task](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/). | Task and who does it | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Answer questions regarding the store and its merchandise. Store chatbots and knowledge bases answer product and store questions well. Done by retail salespeople. | 65% AI can do it 73 hours a year for each person in the role | | Compute sales prices, total purchases, and receive and process cash or credit payment. POS software totals sales, but staff handle cash and card payments. Done by retail salespeople. | 58% AI helps 66 hours a year for each person in the role | | Place special orders or call other stores to find desired items. Searching stock and placing orders can run through software and agents. Done by retail salespeople. | 60% AI can do it 56 hours a year for each person in the role | | Describe merchandise and explain use, operation, and care of merchandise to customers. AI can draft clear product descriptions and care guidance quickly. Done by retail salespeople. | 50% AI helps 54 hours a year for each person in the role | | Answer customers' questions, and provide information on procedures or policies. LLM assistants can answer policy questions from store documents. Done by cashiers. | 70% AI can do it 70 hours a year for each person in the role | ## What stays with people 40% of the task time across these roles needs a person, and the output of the rest still needs someone to check it. The tasks below take the most of that time. - **20%** AI can do it - **40%** AI helps - **40%** Needs a person - Greet customers and ascertain what each customer wants or needs. Retail salespeople, 12% exposed - Prepare merchandise for purchase or rental. Retail salespeople, 12% exposed - Demonstrate use or operation of merchandise. Retail salespeople, 12% exposed - Ticket, arrange, and display merchandise to promote sales. Retail salespeople, 12% exposed - Watch for and recognize security risks and thefts and know how to prevent or handle these situations. Retail salespeople, 15% exposed ## Adoption path Start with the tasks where AI helps a person, then automate the routine ones, then give whole workflows to agents with a person approving the output. 1. ### Quick wins Staff get product descriptions, customer replies and promotion copy from an approved assistant. Example: Compute sales prices. AI helps with 58% of the time. [AI governance](https://www.aigentcy.com/services/ai-governance/) 2. ### Workflow automation Order updates, returns, stock alerts and catalogue updates run as automations. Example: Answer questions regarding the store and its merchandise. AI can do 65% of it. [Process automation](https://www.aigentcy.com/services/process-automation/) 3. ### Agents An agent answers order and returns questions end to end and passes complaints to a person. 9 of the 15 tasks on this page are ones AI can do end to end, the work an agent takes on. [Private AI](https://www.aigentcy.com/services/private-ai/) ## Teams in this industry The business functions in retail, by share of the workforce, with each one's exposure. 1. [Sales, 50.8% of the workforce, score **46**](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/sales/) 2. [Operations and admin, 5.2% of the workforce, score **50**](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/operations/) 3. [Customer service, 3.1% of the workforce, score **73**](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/customer-service/) 4. [Procurement and supply chain, 1.3% of the workforce, score **49**](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/procurement/) 5. [Finance and accounting, 1.3% of the workforce, score **63**](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/finance/) ## Roles in retail The 20 largest roles, each linked to its task-by-task score. Shares come from the BLS industry staffing estimates, May 2025. Of the roles with at least 2% of the jobs, customer service representatives score highest at 74, warehouse workers lowest at 17. 1. [Retail salespeople, 23.3% of the workforce, score **48** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/retail-salespeople/) 2. [Cashiers, 16.8% of the workforce, score **43** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/cashiers/) 3. [Stockers, 12% of the workforce, score **30** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/stockers/) 4. [Retail supervisors, 6.5% of the workforce, score **43** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/retail-supervisors/) 5. [General managers, 2.9% of the workforce, score **44** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/general-managers/) 6. [Customer service representatives, 2.7% of the workforce, score **74** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/customer-service-representatives/) 7. [Auto mechanics, 2.3% of the workforce, score **21** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/auto-mechanics/) 8. [Warehouse workers, 2.3% of the workforce, score **17** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/warehouse-workers/) 9. [Pharmacy technicians, 2.2% of the workforce, score **44** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/pharmacy-technicians/) 10. [Food preparation workers, 1.6% of the workforce, score **17** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/food-preparation-workers/) 11. [Fast food workers, 1.4% of the workforce, score **24** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/fast-food-workers/) 12. [Parts salespersons, 1.3% of the workforce, score **38** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/parts-salespersons/) 13. [Light truck drivers, 1.2% of the workforce, score **32** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/light-truck-drivers/) 14. [Pharmacists, 1.1% of the workforce, score **51** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/pharmacists/) 15. [Shipping clerks, 1% of the workforce, score **47** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/shipping-clerks/) 16. [Office clerks, 1% of the workforce, score **60** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/office-clerks/) 17. [Packers, 1% of the workforce, score **19** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/packers/) 18. [Sales representatives of services, 0.8% of the workforce, score **66** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/sales-representatives-of-services/) 19. [Butchers, 0.8% of the workforce, score **27** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/butchers/) 20. [Janitors, 0.7% of the workforce, score **14** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/janitors/) ## Questions about AI in retail Which tasks should a retailer automate first? The first task to automate is to answer questions regarding the store and its merchandise (65% exposed). Next come the tasks to compute sales prices (58%) and to place special orders or call other stores to find desired items (60%). Together they free the most hours across the industry. How many hours can AI save a retailer? About 655 hours a year per full-time person, 33% of a 2,000-hour working year. For a team of 10 that is about 6,550 hours, the time of 3.3 full-time people. The figure is the share of task time AI can remove today, weighted by how many people do each job. Which roles in a retailer are most exposed to AI? Of the roles with at least 2% of the jobs, customer service representatives score highest, at 74 of 100, and warehouse workers lowest, at 17. Each role's page lists its tasks one by one. Will AI replace jobs in retail? AI can do 20% of the task time across these roles today. Another 40% gets faster with AI while a person stays in charge. 40% needs a person. One task that stays with people is to greet customers and ascertain what each customer wants or needs. Where should a retailer start with AI? With the quick wins: approved assistants for the tasks AI helps with, under a written AI policy. Then automate the 9 tasks on this page AI can do end to end. An AI audit maps the tasks in your team and ranks them the same way this page does. ## Next steps ### Find the tasks to automate first in your team We map the tasks in your business, score each one the way this page does and build the automations that pay back first. [Book an AI audit](https://www.aigentcy.com/audit/) 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.