Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel
Also called: National Sales Executive, Sales Representative (Sales Rep)Sell services to individuals or businesses. May describe options or resolve client problems.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 12 of its 15 tasks, yet jobs are projected to grow 2.7% by 2035. In the most exposed occupations, the squeeze shows up first among early-career workers. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 4.1% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 7.9 hires for every 10 job openings in professional and business services, which employs about 39% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.7.9 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $58,840 | $44,960 to $79,120 | 12,840 |
| Alaska | $69,610 | $49,310 to $86,230 | 900 |
| Arizona | $72,920 | $50,260 to $98,790 | 26,340 |
| Arkansas | $50,570 | $40,420 to $75,990 | 5,750 |
| California | $80,850 | $53,800 to $121,590 | 156,110 |
| Colorado | $79,810 | $59,810 to $115,560 | 37,810 |
| Connecticut | $76,940 | $55,700 to $103,460 | 11,420 |
| Delaware | $67,540 | $49,650 to $92,830 | 2,910 |
| District of Columbia | $76,770 | $51,530 to $104,760 | 3,120 |
| Florida | $60,660 | $44,050 to $84,980 | 107,650 |
| Georgia | $75,280 | $48,670 to $104,070 | 46,960 |
| Guam | $37,170 | $29,270 to $45,750 | 160 |
| Hawaii | $58,500 | $43,880 to $80,000 | 3,450 |
| Idaho | $58,930 | $40,990 to $94,190 | 5,030 |
| Illinois | $66,900 | $49,120 to $99,900 | 69,910 |
| Indiana | $63,960 | $47,440 to $91,240 | 21,950 |
| Iowa | $62,420 | $43,720 to $84,990 | 6,530 |
| Kansas | $62,580 | $43,860 to $97,250 | 12,480 |
| Kentucky | $52,750 | $41,160 to $79,350 | 11,860 |
| Louisiana | $55,200 | $38,640 to $83,070 | 8,200 |
| Maine | $63,900 | $46,030 to $81,380 | 2,120 |
| Maryland | $63,310 | $45,830 to $90,500 | 21,580 |
| Massachusetts | $83,760 | $62,610 to $124,380 | 32,300 |
| Michigan | $73,380 | $49,290 to $103,070 | 27,160 |
| Minnesota | $75,370 | $51,440 to $102,790 | 19,220 |
| Mississippi | $48,440 | $37,610 to $66,530 | 3,730 |
| Missouri | $60,440 | $40,560 to $82,130 | 14,100 |
| Montana | $58,720 | $45,720 to $78,580 | 1,730 |
| Nebraska | $57,770 | $46,410 to $79,230 | 6,110 |
| Nevada | $62,450 | $45,360 to $88,350 | 10,950 |
| New Hampshire | $71,510 | $52,780 to $95,680 | 4,670 |
| New Jersey | $79,200 | $55,640 to $110,430 | 44,980 |
| New Mexico | $61,880 | $43,040 to $82,420 | 3,790 |
| New York | $92,190 | $61,340 to $133,580 | 80,510 |
| North Carolina | $62,620 | $45,940 to $97,210 | 46,040 |
| North Dakota | $66,060 | $43,610 to $112,570 | 1,620 |
| Ohio | $59,390 | $42,320 to $82,420 | 38,440 |
| Oklahoma | $54,990 | $37,440 to $78,980 | 9,710 |
| Oregon | $67,040 | $47,010 to $95,060 | 10,440 |
| Pennsylvania | $64,480 | $47,570 to $97,370 | 39,920 |
| Puerto Rico | $28,580 | $22,530 to $36,590 | 2,940 |
| Rhode Island | $81,450 | $55,130 to $103,370 | not published |
| South Carolina | $58,510 | $40,600 to $83,810 | 21,070 |
| South Dakota | $61,770 | $39,600 to $78,380 | 630 |
| Tennessee | $60,230 | $42,260 to $80,580 | 21,600 |
| Texas | $61,680 | $45,090 to $88,120 | 135,030 |
| Utah | $62,580 | $46,920 to $85,600 | 16,210 |
| Vermont | $77,530 | $61,440 to $97,890 | 1,130 |
| Virgin Islands | $42,980 | $28,510 to $68,070 | 80 |
| Virginia | $72,640 | $47,900 to $106,600 | 41,390 |
| Washington | $79,920 | $60,640 to $108,600 | 18,950 |
| West Virginia | $50,240 | $37,630 to $73,390 | 2,130 |
| Wisconsin | $64,020 | $49,820 to $87,660 | 22,720 |
| Wyoming | $58,970 | $41,690 to $93,140 | 750 |
Nationally: $69,990. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 12 of its 15 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| AI alone | Answer customers' questions about services, prices, availability, or credit terms. | 0.09% |
| Not much | Contact prospective or existing customers to discuss how services can meet their needs. | 0.01% |
| Not much | Consult with clients after sales or contract signings to resolve problems and provide ongoing support. | 0.01% |
| AI + software | Quote prices, credit terms, contract terms, or fulfillment dates for services. | under 0.01% |
| AI alone | Emphasize or recommend service features based on knowledge of customers' needs and vendor capabilities and limitations. | 0.13% |
| AI alone | Create forms or agreements to complete sales. | Not published |
See all 15 tasks
| AI alone | Identify prospective customers using business directories, leads from clients, or information from conferences or trade shows. | Not published |
| AI + software | Maintain customer records using automated systems. | under 0.01% |
| AI + software | Inform customers of contracts or other information pertaining to purchased services. | 0.01% |
| AI + software | Develop sales presentations or proposals to explain service specifications. | 0.07% |
| AI + software | Negotiate prices or terms of sales or service agreements. | Not published |
| AI + software | Monitor market conditions, innovations, and competitors' services, prices, and sales. | under 0.01% |
| AI alone | Distribute promotional materials at meetings, conferences, or trade shows. | Not published |
| AI + software | Compute and compare costs of services. | 0.01% |
| Not much | Attend sales or trade meetings or read related publications to obtain information about market conditions, business trends, regulations, or industry developments. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 10 of the 15 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 15 tasks fall under 14 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #3 Respond to customer problems or inquiries
- #4 Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise
- #7 Explain technical details of products or services
- and 4 more, in the table below
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise | |||
| Monitor external affairs, trends, or events | |||
| Advise others on products or services | |||
| Determine values or prices of goods or services | |||
| Promote products, services, or programs | |||
| Respond to customer problems or inquiries | |||
| Explain technical details of products or services | |||
| Evaluate the characteristics, usefulness, or performance of products or technologies |
Show all 14 activities
| Develop marketing or promotional materials | |||
| Advise others on business or operational matters | |||
| Prepare documentation for contracts, applications, or permits | |||
| Identify business or organizational opportunities | |||
| Maintain operational records | |||
| Negotiate contracts or agreements |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- Advice or a recommendation29%
- An explanation or answer21%
- A document or report11%
- An email or message10%
- A presentation or slides5%
How they worked with Claude
47% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for sales representatives of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services, and travel specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 177,574 moves out
- 1 Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products Very high -0.9% 9%
- 2 Management Analysts Very high +10.1% 6%
- 3 Sales Managers High +4.5% 6%
- 4 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 5%
- 5 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
Where people moved in from
of 179,599 moves in
- 1 Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products Very high -0.9% 9%
- 2 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 6%
- 3 Sales Managers High +4.5% 5%
- 4 Retail Salespersons Very high -0.3% 4%
- 5 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 2% less than high school
- 16% high school
- 20% some college
- 7% associate's
- 45% bachelor's
- 9% master's
- 1% professional degree
Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation · 7,405 people surveyed.
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation
2 programs: Retailing and Retail Operations and Selling Skills and Sales Operations.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
57.0% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a license | 1.2% | 19.1% |
| a certification | 1.8% | 5.8% |
| an educational certificate | <0.5% | 2.8% |
Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS · Brynjolfsson, Chandar and Chen, Stanford (Aug 2026)
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