Marketing & Advertising
Will AI replace telemarketers?
BLS places telemarketers in its “Very high” AI-exposure category (of four, relative to other occupations). BLS projects employment to decline 21.4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 5,800 openings a year. OEWS May 2025 median pay is $35,450 (10th–90th percentile $27,040–$50,350). Typical entry education: no formal educational credential.
Sources: BLS AI exposure categories and Employment Projections 2025–35 (released 27 August 2026); BLS OEWS May 2025; tasks from O*NET 31.0 (CC BY 4.0).
Figures are for the BLS occupation Telemarketers (SOC 41-9041).
Telemarketers and outbound inside-sales reps contact prospects by phone to sell products or set meetings.
The figures, with their sources
| AI-exposure category | Very high (of Low, Moderate, High, Very high)BLS AI exposure categories, 2025–35 |
|---|---|
| Employment, 2025 → 2035 | 60,900 → 47,800BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 |
| Projected change, 2025–35 | −21.4%BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 |
| Openings per year (2025–35 average) | 5,800BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 |
| Median annual pay | $35,450BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| 10th–90th percentile pay | $27,040 – $50,350BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Typical entry education | No formal educational credentialBLS Employment Projections 2025–35 |
National figures, all industries and all experience levels. Employment and openings are published by BLS in thousands; pay is annual, in US dollars.
What BLS says, in its own words
“Very high” relative AI exposure generally indicates that, compared to other occupations, a larger fraction of an occupation’s tasks can be completed or assisted by AI technology, and that LLMs have been observed performing some of the occupation’s tasks.
“An exposure category is not a forecast of employment growth or decline.” “Exposure does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability, or wage effects.”
“Demand change - share decreases as the Do Not Call registry from the FCC continues to grow, and companies increasingly use alternative digital marketing methods.”
Our count from the BLS table: 141 of the 206 occupations in the “Very high” category are projected to grow from 2025 to 2035. That is our arithmetic on BLS data, not a BLS statement.
What the work is: O*NET® tasks
The occupation’s core tasks, most important first, as O*NET 31.0 words them.
- 1.Contact businesses or private individuals by telephone to solicit sales for goods or services, or to request donations for charitable causes.
- 2.Obtain customer information such as name, address, and payment method, and enter orders into computers.
- 3.Explain products or services and prices, and answer questions from customers.
- 4.Record names, addresses, purchases, and reactions of prospects contacted.
- 5.Maintain records of contacts, accounts, and orders.
- 6.Answer telephone calls from potential customers who have been solicited through advertisements.
- 7.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.Relationships
- 8.Telephone or write letters to respond to correspondence from customers or to follow up initial sales contacts.
How we tag: a task is tagged Judgment, Accountability or Relationships when O*NET’s wording uses one of these verbs. Judgment: evaluate, assess, determine, decide, interpret, diagnose, recommend, investigate, approve, prioritize, resolve. Accountability: direct, supervise, manage, oversee, ensure, plan, establish, authorize, comply. Relationships: confer, consult, negotiate, advise, collaborate, liaise, mentor, train, counsel, persuade, interview, present, meet with. This is our reading of the task text, not an O*NET or BLS classification, and it is not a measure of AI exposure.
For new graduates
- Typical entry education
- No formal educational credential
- BLS Employment Projections 2025–35
- Openings per year
- 5,800
- All levels, not entry-level only
The tasks to show proof for: 1 of 8 are about judgment, accountability or relationships
We point you at these because our method treats them as the work that is hardest to hand to AI. That is our judgment, not a BLS or O*NET finding. A capstone, an internship or a part-time job where you made the call, owned the outcome or worked with the people involved is proof. Write what you did, not what you were assigned.
Show the 1 tasks
- 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.
What this data does not tell you
- How many openings are entry-level, or how many go to new graduates. BLS counts openings at every level.
- How AI will change hiring for junior roles in this occupation. The exposure category is about the occupation’s tasks, and BLS says it is not a forecast.
- Pay or openings in your city or industry. These are national figures.
- Whether your own tasks match these. O*NET describes the occupation, not your job.
BLS also publishes the work experience and on-the-job training usually needed; see the BLS projections table.
Proof worth finding for a Telemarketer / Inside Sales (Outbound) application
Our editorial starting list, not a survey of postings. The posting you apply to decides what counts.
- Quantified sales metrics: call volume, conversion rates, pipeline generated, quota attainment
- CRM experience (Salesforce, HubSpot) and familiarity with sales engagement platforms
- Evidence of consultative selling or complex deal involvement beyond script-based calls
- Industry or product domain knowledge that enables consultative conversations
- History of handling objections, building rapport quickly, and managing rejection constructively
Show your proof for one real posting
- Step 1Job Match · 5 tokensPaste a real posting. For each requirement, we quote the line in your resume that proves it, or say nothing was found.
- Step 2Resume · 15 tokensRewrite toward that posting from your own words. Any number we could not find in them is listed for you to check.
- Step 3Know your tasks · FreeYour own tasks against the telemarketers data above, labeled task by task.
Related role guides
Marketing & Advertising guide- Marketing ManagerMarketing managers plan campaigns, set budgets, choose channels and answer for the results.
- Content WriterContent writers research and write articles, emails, pages and copy for a defined audience and goal.
- Graphic DesignerGraphic designers create the visual material of a brand: identities, layouts, campaigns and product graphics.
Questions people ask
Will AI replace telemarketers?
The data does not say so. BLS places telemarketers in its “Very high” relative AI-exposure category and states that “An exposure category is not a forecast of employment growth or decline.” In BLS’s words: “Very high” relative AI exposure generally indicates that, compared to other occupations, a larger fraction of an occupation’s tasks can be completed or assisted by AI technology, and that LLMs have been observed performing some of the occupation’s tasks. BLS projects employment to decline 21.4% from 2025 to 2035 (BLS Employment Projections 2025–35). By our count from the BLS table, 141 of the 206 occupations in the “Very high” category are projected to grow.
How many telemarketers jobs open each year?
BLS projects about 5,800 openings a year for telemarketers, averaged over 2025–35. BLS defines openings as net employment change plus workers permanently leaving the occupation, so a declining occupation can still have openings. Employment was 60,900 in 2025.
How much do telemarketers earn?
BLS OEWS (May 2025) puts the national median annual wage for telemarketers at $35,450. The 10th percentile is $27,040, the 25th $29,640, the 75th $40,230 and the 90th $50,350. These are all industries and all experience levels in the United States; pay in your city and at your level will differ.
What education do telemarketers need?
BLS lists “No formal educational credential” as the typical education needed to enter telemarketers. It is the typical path, not a rule: postings set their own requirements.
How does AISkillScore check a Telemarketer / Inside Sales (Outbound) application?
We count, we do not guess. Job Match reads the posting’s requirements and, for each one, quotes the line in your resume that proves it, or says nothing was found. The resume rewrite keeps your claims and lists any number it could not find in your own words so you can check it before you send.
Sources
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Artificial Intelligence (AI) exposure categories; Occupational projections, 2025–35, and worker characteristics; Employment Projections definitions; Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: Telemarketers. BLS data is in the public domain.
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0 · Telemarketers on O*NET OnLine. Changes: we show up to eight of the occupation’s core tasks, most important first, merged across the O*NET codes BLS groups into one occupation, and we add our own task tags.
Check your proof against a real Telemarketer / Inside Sales (Outbound) posting
Job Match shows which of the posting’s requirements your resume proves, quote by quote. 30 free tokens when you sign up.
Run Job MatchOr, free and without an account: check which Telemarketer / Inside Sales (Outbound) tasks still need you.