Telemarketers
Also called: Telemarketer, Telephone Sales Representative (TSR), Telephone Service Representative (TSR), Telesales Representative (Telesales Rep)Solicit donations or orders for goods or services over the telephone.
On a phone, press and hold a picture to save it to Photos.
opens your phone's share sheet, where you can save both to Photos
What the data says: AI could halve the time on 10 of its 12 tasks, and jobs are projected to shrink 21.4% 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, 13.3% 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 75% 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 | $34,840 | $29,990 to $35,040 | 1,330 |
| Arizona | $37,750 | $32,160 to $43,940 | 1,550 |
| Arkansas | $29,060 | $28,780 to $29,210 | 840 |
| California | $46,000 | $37,290 to $56,910 | 3,880 |
| Colorado | $47,670 | $39,730 to $62,920 | 880 |
| Connecticut | $45,200 | $41,490 to $58,900 | 110 |
| Florida | $35,570 | $27,660 to $36,400 | 9,760 |
| Georgia | $36,020 | $33,060 to $40,190 | 2,620 |
| Idaho | $39,400 | $28,310 to $41,440 | 280 |
| Illinois | $31,200 | $31,200 to $49,740 | 870 |
| Indiana | $31,550 | $24,990 to $36,340 | 690 |
| Iowa | $33,640 | $29,070 to $37,850 | 1,100 |
| Kansas | $48,010 | $24,620 to $50,330 | not published |
| Kentucky | $34,450 | $29,730 to $38,620 | 910 |
| Louisiana | $28,910 | $26,820 to $30,890 | 380 |
| Maine | $32,610 | $30,470 to $47,960 | not published |
| Maryland | $35,590 | $32,930 to $46,650 | 540 |
| Massachusetts | $44,650 | $44,650 to $46,240 | not published |
| Michigan | $33,040 | $30,580 to $34,610 | 1,120 |
| Minnesota | $39,850 | $35,990 to $60,250 | 650 |
| Mississippi | $21,540 | $21,490 to $28,430 | 370 |
| Missouri | $29,840 | $29,120 to $33,640 | 2,710 |
| Nebraska | $31,200 | $28,990 to $51,510 | 490 |
| Nevada | $34,290 | $25,860 to $36,190 | 2,200 |
| New Hampshire | $30,530 | $27,990 to $37,750 | 530 |
| New Jersey | $39,370 | $33,460 to $41,850 | 410 |
| New York | $41,400 | $36,310 to $47,840 | 1,960 |
| North Carolina | $34,380 | $29,870 to $41,790 | 1,820 |
| North Dakota | $23,440 | $21,440 to $25,940 | 120 |
| Ohio | $35,290 | $29,030 to $37,540 | 3,090 |
| Oklahoma | $26,880 | $26,210 to $32,160 | 470 |
| Oregon | $42,060 | $37,390 to $46,860 | 420 |
| Pennsylvania | $28,430 | $25,230 to $32,240 | 1,710 |
| Puerto Rico | $28,580 | $21,840 to $28,580 | 1,170 |
| South Carolina | $37,090 | $28,360 to $39,750 | 1,060 |
| Tennessee | $29,470 | $22,490 to $37,730 | 2,210 |
| Texas | $34,290 | $28,460 to $39,310 | 3,660 |
| Utah | $36,610 | $33,770 to $38,250 | 390 |
| Virginia | $37,440 | $35,360 to $44,180 | not published |
| Washington | $39,670 | $35,630 to $40,060 | 300 |
| West Virginia | $33,370 | $29,820 to $34,040 | 440 |
| Wisconsin | $33,260 | $29,280 to $37,310 | 1,160 |
Nationally: $35,450. 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 10 of its 12 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| AI alone | Explain products or services and prices, and answer questions from customers. | 0.23% |
| AI + software | Obtain customer information such as name, address, and payment method, and enter orders into computers. | Not published |
| AI + software | Record names, addresses, purchases, and reactions of prospects contacted. | Not published |
| AI + software | Maintain records of contacts, accounts, and orders. | under 0.01% |
| AI alone | Answer telephone calls from potential customers who have been solicited through advertisements. | Not published |
| AI + software | Deliver prepared sales talks, reading from scripts that describe products or services, to persuade potential customers to purchase a product or service or to make a donation. | Not published |
See all 12 tasks
| Not much | Contact businesses or private individuals by telephone to solicit sales for goods or services, or to request donations for charitable causes. | Not published |
| Not much | Telephone or write letters to respond to correspondence from customers or to follow up initial sales contacts. | 0.01% |
| AI + software | Adjust sales scripts to better target the needs and interests of specific individuals. | 0.22% |
| AI alone | Obtain names and telephone numbers of potential customers from sources such as telephone directories, magazine reply cards, and lists purchased from other organizations. | Not published |
| AI + software | Schedule appointments for sales representatives to meet with prospective customers or for customers to attend sales presentations. | under 0.01% |
| AI + software | Conduct client or market surveys to obtain information about potential customers. | 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. 5 of the 12 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 12 tasks fall under 9 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
- #7 Explain technical details of products or services
- #11 Provide information to guests, clients, or customers
- and 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Promote products, services, or programs | |||
| Maintain operational records | |||
| Respond to customer problems or inquiries | |||
| Explain technical details of products or services | |||
| Provide information to guests, clients, or customers | |||
| Monitor external affairs, trends, or events | |||
| Develop marketing or promotional materials | |||
| Identify business or organizational opportunities |
Show all 9 activities
| Schedule appointments |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- An explanation or answer34%
- An email or message23%
- Advice or a recommendation8%
- Marketing or social media content8%
- A document or report6%
How they worked with Claude
55% 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 telemarketers 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 24,293 moves out
- 1 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 9%
- 2 Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products Very high -0.9% 8%
- 3 Retail Salespersons Very high -0.3% 5%
- 4 Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive Very high -6.0% 2%
- 5 First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers High -3.7% 2%
Where people moved in from
of 16,694 moves in
- 1 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 12%
- 2 Retail Salespersons Very high -0.3% 8%
- 3 Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products Very high -0.9% 7%
- 4 Cashiers High -6.5% 5%
- 5 First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers High -3.7% 3%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 20% less than high school
- 39% high school
- 37% some college
- 3% associate's
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 17 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 3% less than high school
- 34% high school
- 35% some college
- 10% associate's
- 14% bachelor's
- 4% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation · 173 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
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)
See it online, and explore any career: https://www.pathmosaic.com/card/41-9041.00