Industry group, 4411
Automobile Dealers
1,290,550 people work in this industry in the US, at mean pay of $64,140 a year (BLS, May 2025). What follows is how much of their working time the best AI models could finish, when, and in which jobs and tasks. Estimates.
of the paid hours. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
a year: 682 million hours at what they cost. Not a forecast of savings.
- 28%
- 19%
- 53%
of the paid hours are within reach now in tasks people already bring to Claude. Another 21% is within reach in tasks not yet seen there.
Across the US: 30% within reach now and 36% by the end of 2028, on the long-run pace at four in five. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
Share of the paid hours within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
What handing the work over would take
For the 1,260,170 people in jobs so far, 98% of the industry's people; the others are in the totals above and join this split as the review reaches their jobs. Shares of their working time within reach now, at the pace and reliability chosen above. Estimates. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
about 361 million hours a year. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
about 316 million hours a year. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
about 196 million hours a year. Short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the totals.
What their work is made of
- 16%
- 12%
- 8%
- 12%
- 53%
Each task's time split among five kinds of doing, judged one task at a time; only documents and systems can count as within reach.
What changes for the people
For the 1,260,170 people in jobs reviewed task by task so far, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five: the shares of their working time, from each job page's own map, weighted by how many people here do that job. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job. Estimates.
Conversation, in-person and hands-on work.
Desk work within reach in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs.
Desk work within reach that is small if wrong, with lighter checks.
What most people here would learn first
How many of them have each skill among the first two things to learn on their job's page. Every state, and the US
- The hands-on craft837,957 (66%)
- Judgment where errors are severe480,865 (38%)
- The conversations428,957 (34%)
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself316,383 (25%)
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts223,788 (18%)
- Running AI inside the business systems138,260 (11%)
- Dealing with people outside the organization82,910 (7%)
- Handling protected records2,560 (under 1%)
- Signing off under your license100 (under 1%)
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this industry's paid hours were within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 2%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 19%. Today's estimate: 26%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 53% of the working time of the people in this industry as physical work. For 35% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 24% in a purpose-built cell, 10% in a structured facility, 2% in any setting. 0.49 of 3.
- Not physical 47%
- No robot shown 17%
- In a purpose-built cell 24%
- In a structured facility 10%
- In any setting 2%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. Weighted by the people in each occupation; each job's page names the robot behind each rated task.
Where the hours are
Jobs by hours within reach now. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index. The 38 largest jobs hold 95% of the people.
| People | Pay here | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Salespersons | 225,610 | 23% | 108 million | $45K |
| Customer Service Representatives | 39,000 | 64% | 52 million | $40K |
| Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks | 22,710 | 88% | 42 million | $46K |
| First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers | 39,100 | 49% | 40 million | $75K |
| Office Clerks, General | 31,570 | 56% | 37 million | $40K |
| Sales Managers | 38,800 | 42% | 33 million | $139K |
| First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers | 33,660 | 47% | 33 million | $84K |
| General and Operations Managers | 31,890 | 45% | 30 million | $133K |
| Receptionists and Information Clerks | 22,300 | 60% | 28 million | $36K |
| Counter and Rental Clerks | 57,750 | 23% | 27 million | $49K |
| Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel | 19,580 | 59% | 24 million | $67K |
| Parts Salespersons | 60,370 | 18% | 23 million | $46K |
People: BLS counts for this industry, May 2025. Pay here: the median paid for the job in this industry, else its mean, else the national median. 127 smaller jobs (62,400 people) count in every total but are not listed. Task data covers 98% of the industry's people; the rest are in BLS "all other" groups with no task list, or in counts BLS does not publish.
The tasks with the most hours within reach by the end of 2028
Across the whole industry, on the chosen pace and reliability.
- Maintain knowledge of current sales and promotions, policies regarding payment and exchanges, and security practices.Retail Salespersons27 million hours50% of the task within reach
- Open and close cash registers, performing tasks such as counting money, separating charge slips, coupons, and vouchers, balancing cash drawers, and making deposits.Retail Salespersons22 million hours50% of the task within reach
- Maintain records related to sales.Retail Salespersons15 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Inventory stock and requisition new stock.Retail Salespersons13 million hours20% of the task within reach
- Develop or implement electronic maintenance programs or computer information management systems.First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers11 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Monitor customer preferences to determine focus of sales efforts.Sales Managers9.2 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Obtain and examine all relevant information to assess validity of complaints and to determine possible causes, such as extreme weather conditions that could increase utility bills.Customer Service Representatives8.8 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Prepare sales slips or sales contracts.Retail Salespersons8.6 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Develop sales presentations or proposals to explain service specifications.Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel8.4 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Complete contract forms, prepare change of address records, or issue service discontinuance orders, using computers.Customer Service Representatives8.1 million hours100% of the task within reach
Scan a typical company in this industry
The industry's largest jobs, in the proportions BLS counts across the whole industry, at the pay it pays, run through the company scan. A starting point before you have a roster, or a benchmark for the one you have. Or choose the whole industry: every occupation BLS publishes for it with task data, at its nationwide headcount, the sector report ($249 for the full report, or included in Pro).
Next to this industry
Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
How it is built: BLS counts the people in each job in this industry; each job's tasks and their lengths give its share within reach at a date; the industry's share is those shares weighted by people. Value is pay times 1.43 for benefits and payroll costs. Seen in Claude use splits today's share by whether Anthropic saw people bring each task to Claude in 2025; other AI tools are not counted. How it works
Questions about this industry
- How much of the work in Automobile Dealers is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 26% of the paid hours in Automobile Dealers are within reach of AI models now and 28% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which jobs in Automobile Dealers carry the most hours within reach?
- By hours within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index): Retail Salespersons (225,610 people, 23% of their time, about 108 million hours a year); Customer Service Representatives (39,000 people, 64% of their time, about 52 million hours a year); and Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks (22,710 people, 88% of their time, about 42 million hours a year).
- Which tasks in Automobile Dealers carry the most hours within reach by the end of 2028?
- Maintain knowledge of current sales and promotions, policies regarding payment and exchanges, and security practices (Retail Salespersons, about 27 million hours a year); Open and close cash registers, performing tasks such as counting money, separating charge slips, coupons, and vouchers, balancing cash drawers, and making deposits (Retail Salespersons, about 22 million hours a year); and Maintain records related to sales (Retail Salespersons, about 15 million hours a year).
- What would people working in Automobile Dealers learn first?
- Among the 1,260,170 people in jobs reviewed task by task, the skills most often among the first two things to learn on their job's page are the hands-on craft (837,957 people); judgment where errors are severe (480,865 people); and the conversations (428,957 people). By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 72% of their working time stays with people, 18% becomes checking a model's work and 10% can be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- How is this estimated?
- BLS counts the people in each occupation in Automobile Dealers (May 2025); each occupation's share of working time within reach comes from its O*NET tasks, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval, and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. The industry's share is those shares weighted by people. Task data covers 98% of its people, and 98% are in occupations reviewed task by task. Data checked November 10, 2026.
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.