Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products
In short: today's best AI models could do about 60% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about 62% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 38% of the time, stays with people.
Buy merchandise or commodities, other than farm products, for resale to consumers at the wholesale or retail level, including both durable and nondurable goods. Analyze past buying trends, sales records, price, and quality of merchandise to determine value and yield. Select, order, and authorize payment for merchandise according to contractual agreements. May conduct meetings with sales personnel and introduce new products. May negotiate contracts. Includes assistant wholesale and retail buyers of nonfarm products.
$77,710 a year (for the broader BLS group this job sits in).
Reviewed on September 30, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on0 h
- A person checks AI's work24 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet1 h
- Stays with people15 h
Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 0 hours, 24 hours become checking its work, 1 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 15 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Analyze sales trends for buying (about 5 h, a person checks); Select and order merchandise to specification (about 4 h, a person checks); Buy merchandise for resale (about 4 h, a person checks).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 53%
- 9%
- 30%
- 0%
- 8%
Anthropic's data does not cover this job.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
What handing it over would take, now
The 60% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
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, 27%. Today's estimate: 60%.
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.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, 0.085% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 191st largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 3 of its 16 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.023% to 0.0069% (released February and March 2025); 0.0056% to 0.011% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.068% to 0.085% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.023% | 427 of 708 | 4 of 16 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.0069% | 549 of 703 | 3 of 16 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.0056% | 524 of 655 | 2 of 16 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.01% | 477 of 672 | 5 of 16 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.011% | 480 of 677 | 4 of 16 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.068% | 211 of 434 | 2 of 16 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.085% | 191 of 447 | 3 of 16 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 4% of this job's working time as physical work. For 0% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere. 0.00 of 3.
- Not physical 96%
- No robot shown 4%
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. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
37% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Develop products with vendors, the conversation, 13%
- Train or supervise staff, the conversation, 5%
- Learn customer needs from sales staff, the conversation, 4%
- Consult managers on budgets and goods, the conversation, 4%
- Negotiate with suppliers, the conversation, 3%
- Select and order merchandise to specification, the hands-on work, 3%
What becomes checking the machine
62% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it.
- Analyze sales trends for buying, costly if wrong, 14%
- Select and order merchandise to specification, costly if wrong, 11%
- Buy merchandise for resale, costly if wrong, 10%
- Weigh environmental aspects, costly if wrong, 9%
- Recommend mark-ups and prices, costly if wrong, 8%
- Develop products with vendors, costly if wrong, 6%
What to learn
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself. The tasks under What becomes checking the machine, where a mistake costs something, stay a person's to check: spotting what a draft gets wrong is a skill of its own.
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts. About 53% of the time is documents and data, the part models reach first: writing a clear brief, giving the right material, and checking what comes back.
- The conversations. About 30% of the time is conversation and in-person work, which this site leaves with people: listening, explaining, persuading, calming.
- Dealing with people outside the organization. Customers, patients, suppliers or the public: trust with them is built by a person.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 16 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collaborate with vendors to obtain or develop desired products.Conversations with vendors, with the specifications on paper.Done daily by most who do it. | 19% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Conversation 70%, documents 30% | 29%Desk part half by now |
| Monitor and analyze sales records, trends, or economic conditions to anticipate consumer buying patterns, company sales, and needed inventory.Analysis of sales records and conditions to plan stock.Done daily by most who do it. | 14% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Documents 100% | 96%Half by now |
| Examine, select, order, or purchase merchandise consistent with quality, quantity, specification requirements, or other factors, such as environmental soundness.Choosing on paper, entering the order, with samples examined.Done daily by most who do it. | 13% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | Documents 50%, systems 30%, hands-on 20% | 75%Desk part half by now |
| Buy merchandise or commodities for resale to wholesale or retail consumers.Deciding what to buy on paper, entering the order, and a word with the supplier.Done daily by most who do it. | 13% | 1.7 h25 min to 4.2 h | Documents 50%, systems 30%, conversation 20% | 77%Desk part half by now |
| Analyze environmental aspects of competing merchandise when making buying decisions.Analysis of competing goods on paper.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 9% | 1.7 h25 min to 4.2 h | Documents 100% | 97%Half by now |
| Recommend mark-up rates, mark-down rates, or merchandise selling prices.Pricing worked out on paper.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Documents 100% | 99%Half by now |
| Train or supervise sales or clerical staff.Leading sales staff on the floor and clerical staff by phone and message.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 5% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Conversation 50%, hands-on 50% | Stays with people |
| Consult with store or merchandise managers about budgets or goods to be purchased.Conversations with store managers, with the budget on paper.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 5% | 50 min17 min to 2.1 h | Conversation 80%, documents 20% | 20%Desk part half by now |
| Negotiate prices, discount terms, or transportation arrangements with suppliers.Negotiation by phone, with the terms noted.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Conversation 80%, documents 20% | 20%Desk part half by now |
| Obtain information about customer needs or preferences by conferring with sales or purchasing personnel.Conversations with sales and purchasing personnel.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Conversation 100% | Stays with people |
| Inspect merchandise or products to determine quality, value, or yield.Looking over the goods for quality and value.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 2% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Authorize payment of invoices or return of merchandise.Approvals entered in the system after a look at the invoice.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 1% | 21 min8 min to 1.3 h | Systems 70%, documents 30% | 100%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. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% 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.
- Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products65% now, 79% by 2028
- Procurement Clerks72% now, 72% by 2028
- Buyers and Purchasing Agents, Farm Products39% now, 40% by 2028
- Purchasing Managers46% now, 77% by 2028
- Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents69% now, 73% by 2028
- Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products46% now, 47% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 60% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 62% 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 tasks of Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Analyze sales trends for buying (96% of the task's time now); Select and order merchandise to specification (75% of the task's time now); and Buy merchandise for resale (77% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Train or supervise staff; Learn customer needs from sales staff; and Inspect merchandise. Together such tasks are about 12% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are reviewing work you did not do yourself; briefing a model and checking its drafts; and the conversations. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 37% of the working time stays with people, 62% becomes checking a model's work and 1% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.085% went to this job's tasks, the 191st largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 3 of its 16 tasks appeared. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 4% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 0% of the working time. Its index is 0.00 of 3. A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 16 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on September 30, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), 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. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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