Retail and wholesale trade managers
An AI agent can at least partly carry out 92.3% of the task time of retail and wholesale trade managers, and finish 0.0% alone. The barrier that holds most of the rest back is access to the systems the work runs on.
48th of 433 · interval 75.9–100.0
201st of 433 · interval 0.0–0.0
132nd of 433 · interval 39.9–56.2
task statements rated by two models and weighted by importance and frequency. World employment: 13.7 million.
How the tasks rate
What stops the agent
Share of task weight flagged by each barrier; a task can carry several.
| Task statement (O*NET occupation) | Sonnet · Haiku | Barriers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct and coordinate activities of businesses or departments concerned with the production, pricing, sales, or distribution of products.General and Operations Managers | 8.3% | L2 | L2L2 | 40% | 5.0 h | Accountability, Trust and care, Access to systems |
| Manage the movement of goods into and out of production facilities to ensure efficiency, effectiveness, or sustainability of operations.General and Operations Managers · supplemental task | 7.8% | L2 | L2L2 | 52% | 3.0 h | Trust and care, Access to systems |
| Direct administrative activities directly related to making products or providing services.General and Operations Managers | 7.8% | L2 | L2L2 | 50% | 2.5 h | Trust and care, Access to systems |
| Prepare staff work schedules and assign specific duties.General and Operations Managers | 7.7% | L2 | L2L2 | 68% | 2.0 h | Access to systems |
| Perform sales floor work, such as greeting or assisting customers, stocking shelves, or taking inventory.General and Operations Managers · supplemental task | 7.7% | L0 | L0L0 | 5% | 2.5 h | Physical presence, Trust and care, Access to systems |
| Set prices or credit terms for goods or services, based on forecasts of customer demand.General and Operations Managers · supplemental task | 7.5% | L2 | L2L2 | 60% | 3.0 h | Access to systems |
| Review financial statements, sales or activity reports, or other performance data to measure productivity or goal achievement or to identify areas needing cost reduction or program improvement.General and Operations Managers | 7.2% | L2 | L2L2 | 65% | 3.5 h | Access to systems |
| Plan or direct activities, such as sales promotions, that require coordination with other department managers.General and Operations Managers | 6.7% | L2 | L2L2 | 52% | 6.0 h | Trust and care, Access to systems |
| Direct non-merchandising departments of businesses, such as advertising or purchasing.General and Operations Managers · supplemental task | 5.8% | L2 | L2L2 | 40% | 5.0 h | Accountability, Trust and care, Access to systems |
| Direct or coordinate financial or budget activities to fund operations, maximize investments, or increase efficiency.General and Operations Managers | 5.3% | L2 | L2L2 | 48% | 4.0 h | Accountability, Trust and care, Access to systems |
| Establish or implement departmental policies, goals, objectives, or procedures in conjunction with board members, organization officials, or staff members.General and Operations Managers | 5.2% | L2 | L2L2 | 45% | 7.0 h | Trust and care, Access to systems |
| Perform personnel functions, such as selection, training, or evaluation.General and Operations Managers | 5.0% | L2 | L2L2 | 48% | 3.5 h | Accountability, Trust and care, Access to systems |
| Monitor suppliers to ensure that they efficiently and effectively provide needed goods or services within budgetary limits.General and Operations Managers | 4.6% | L2 | L2L2 | 60% | 3.0 h | Trust and care, Access to systems |
| Develop or implement product-marketing strategies, including advertising campaigns or sales promotions.General and Operations Managers · supplemental task | 4.3% | L2 | L2L2 | 62% | 8.0 h | Access to systems |
| Implement or oversee environmental management or sustainability programs addressing issues such as recycling, conservation, or waste management.General and Operations Managers · supplemental task | 3.6% | L2 | L2L2 | 42% | 4.0 h | Physical presence, Accountability, Trust and care, Access to systems |
Show the other 2 tasks
| Task statement (O*NET occupation) | Sonnet · Haiku | Barriers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan store layouts or design displays.General and Operations Managers · supplemental task | 3.4% | L2 | L2L2 | 52% | 4.0 h | Physical presence, Access to systems |
| Recommend locations for new facilities, or oversee the remodeling or renovating of current facilities.General and Operations Managers · supplemental task | 2.1% | L2 | L2L2 | 50% | 24 h | Physical presence, Accountability, Trust and care, Access to systems |
Level: consensus of the two models (the lower level when they disagree). Share: part of the task’s working time an agent could take over. Human time: minutes a competent person needs for one instance, as estimated by the models.
Exposure is not delegation
| Measure | Value | Percentile | Pct |
|---|---|---|---|
| ADI (this index) | 92.3% | 89 | |
| Eloundou et al. (2024), GPT exposure β | 0.462 | 70 | |
| Felten et al. (2021), AI occupational exposure | 0.575 | 66 | |
| Webb (2020), AI patent exposure | 68 | 61 | |
| Eisfeldt et al. (2026), generative AI exposure | 0.294 | 67 | |
| Anthropic Economic Index, observed use | 0.138 | 78 |
Earlier indices measure whether AI can touch a task; ADI measures how much of it an agent can carry out from a goal. – : the source does not cover this occupation.
Neighbouring occupations
| Occupation | ADI | % |
|---|---|---|
| Services managers not elsewhere classified 1439 | 88.6 | |
| Sports, recreation and cultural centre managers 1431 | 86.5 | |
| Hotel managers 1411 | 81.1 | |
| Restaurant managers 1412 | 69.2 |
Dashed line: retail and wholesale trade managers (92.3%).
Espinal Maya, Cristian, and Santiago Jiménez Londoño. 2026. ADI v2026.1: Agent Delegability Index data, code and MCP server. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23552918. Record: Retail and wholesale trade managers (ISCO-08 1420), https://balamlabs.org/adi/occupations/1420
@misc{espinal2026adidata,
title = {{ADI} v2026.1: Agent Delegability Index data, code and {MCP} server},
author = {Espinal Maya, Cristian and Jim{\'e}nez Londo{\~n}o, Santiago},
year = {2026},
publisher = {Zenodo},
version = {v2026.1},
doi = {10.5281/zenodo.23552918},
url = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23552918},
note = {Record: Retail and wholesale trade managers (ISCO-08 1420)}
}The same record as static JSON, with its citation: /adi/v2026.1/isco/1420.json.