Advertising Sales Agents
Sell or solicit advertising space, time, or media in publications, signage, TV, radio, or Internet establishments or public spaces.
91,700 people do this job in the US. $64,820 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 86%
- 3%
- 10%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 44%. Today's estimate: 54%.
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.
The tasks
Sorted by . 20 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Identify new advertising markets, and propose products to serve them.Done daily by most who do it. | 16% | 5 h1.7 h to 2.1 work days | 15%Half by Jun 2027 | |
| Maintain assigned account bases while developing new accounts.Done daily by most who do it. | 14% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | 46%Half by Oct 2026 | |
| Prepare promotional plans, sales literature, media kits, and sales contracts, using computer.Done daily by most who do it. | 10% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | 46%Half by Oct 2026 | |
| Prepare and deliver sales presentations to new and existing customers to sell new advertising programs and to protect and increase existing advertising.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 7% | 1.7 h50 min to 4.2 h | 82%Half by now | |
| Determine advertising medium to be used, and prepare sample advertisements within the selected medium for presentation to customers.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 1.7 h50 min to 4.2 h | 82%Half by now | |
| Attend sales meetings, industry trade shows, and training seminars to gather information, promote products, expand network of contacts, and increase knowledge.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 6% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 1.3 work days | Stays with people | |
| Gather all relevant material for bid processes, and coordinate bidding and contract approval.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 2.5 h50 min to 1 work day | 40%Half by Dec 2026 | |
| Arrange for commercial taping sessions, and accompany clients to sessions.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Locate and contact potential clients to offer advertising services.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | 87%Half by now | |
| Obtain and study information about clients' products, needs, problems, advertising history, and business practices to offer effective sales presentations and appropriate product assistance.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 4% | 50 min25 min to 2.5 h | 95%Half by now | |
| Consult with company officials, sales departments, and advertising agencies to develop promotional plans.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 1.3 h38 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Write copy as part of layout.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 3% | 1.1 h25 min to 2.1 h | 95%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
- Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services43,870 people
- Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers14,720 people
- Radio and Television Broadcasting Stations11,390 people
- Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers6,880 people
- Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services3,280 people
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).