Will AI replace Online Merchants?
The Stanford WORKBank study rates tasks, not whole jobs, so it cannot say whether any one job disappears. What it shows: AI experts rate 12 of the 15 studied Online Merchants tasks as do-able by AI today, and 8 of those are tasks workers also want automated.
of tasks in the Online Merchants role are ones AI can already do, per AI experts.
From a Stanford study where AI experts and online merchants workers rated each real task (O*NET). Not a guess from the job title.
Key statistics
Free to cite, with a link back to Automatable.
- AI can already do 80% of the 15 work tasks in the Online Merchants role, according to AI experts in the Stanford WORKBank study (O*NET SOC 13-1199.06).
- Workers in the Online Merchants role rate 67% of their tasks 3 or higher out of 5 for wanting them automated (Stanford WORKBank, 1,500 U.S. workers).
- 8 of 15 Online Merchants tasks are Automation Green Light, wanted by workers and do-able by AI, that is 53% of the role (Stanford WORKBank).
- The typical Online Merchants task scores 3.25/5 for worker desire to automate and 4.23/5 for AI capability today (Stanford WORKBank, 1-5 scale).
Top tasks to automate
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- Calculate revenue, sales, and expenses, using financial accounting or spreadsheet software.
- Deliver e-mail confirmation of completed transactions and shipment.
- Create or maintain database of customer accounts.
- Cancel orders based on customer requests or inventory or delivery problems.
- Compose descriptions of merchandise for posting to online storefront, auction sites, or other shopping Web sites.
- Create, manage, or automate orders or invoices, using order management or invoicing software.
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What workers told Stanford
Of the 15 tasks studied for Online Merchants, 8 (53%) are in the Automation Green Light zone, AI can largely do them and workers want it. Across all tasks, workers rate 67% of their tasks 3 or higher out of 5 for wanting them automated. The typical task scores 3.25/5 for worker desire and 4.23/5 for AI capability.
All 15 tasks, most-wanted first
Create or maintain database of customer accounts.
Green Lightwant 4.5 · AI 4.33Calculate revenue, sales, and expenses, using financial accounting or spreadsheet software.
Green Lightwant 4.4 · AI 5Deliver e-mail confirmation of completed transactions and shipment.
Green Lightwant 4.1 · AI 5Investigate products or markets to determine areas for opportunity or viability for merchandising specific products, using online or offline sources.
R&D Opportunitywant 4 · AI 2.33Compose descriptions of merchandise for posting to online storefront, auction sites, or other shopping Web sites.
Green Lightwant 3.6 · AI 4.67Cancel orders based on customer requests or inventory or delivery problems.
Green Lightwant 3.5 · AI 5Correspond with online customers via electronic mail, telephone, or other electronic messaging to address questions or complaints about products, policies, or shipping methods.
Green Lightwant 3.2 · AI 3.67Prepare or organize online storefront marketing material, including product descriptions or subject lines, optimizing content to search engine criteria.
R&D Opportunitywant 3.14 · AI 3Create, manage, or automate orders or invoices, using order management or invoicing software.
Green Lightwant 3.1 · AI 5Promote products in online communities through weblog or discussion-forum postings, e-mail marketing programs, or online advertising.
Green Lightwant 3 · AI 4.5Calculate purchase subtotals, taxes, and shipping costs for submission to customers.
Red Lightwant 2.7 · AI 5Upload digital media, such as photos, video, or scanned images to online storefront, auction sites, or other shopping Web sites.
Red Lightwant 2.6 · AI 4Receive and process payments from customers, using electronic transaction services.
Red Lightwant 2.4 · AI 5Determine and set product prices.
Red Lightwant 2.3 · AI 4Order or purchase merchandise to maintain optimal inventory levels.
Low Prioritywant 2.2 · AI 3
Related occupations
Other Business and Financial Operations roles in the Stanford WORKBank study, closest AI-capability share first.
- Credit AnalystsAI can do 83% of tasks today · workers want 67% automated
- Management AnalystsAI can do 75% of tasks today · workers want 25% automated
- Cost EstimatorsAI can do 75% of tasks today · workers want 0% automated
- Accountants and AuditorsAI can do 86% of tasks today · workers want 29% automated
- Search Marketing StrategistsAI can do 86% of tasks today · workers want 100% automated
- Loan OfficersAI can do 88% of tasks today · workers want 63% automated
Lower-automation alternatives
Less of these jobs is automatable today: AI experts rate a smaller share of their tasks as doable than the 80% for Online Merchants (Stanford WORKBank).
Online Merchants ranks #25 of 104 studied roles by the share of tasks AI experts rate as do-able today. See which roles top and bottom the list in the most automatable jobs in 2026.