Will AI replace cashiers?

Some tasks are already being done by AI or machines; the rest still needs a person. About 3h 47m of a typical shift is made up of tasks that AI or robots have done on their own in real use somewhere. That doesn't mean those hours are automated in a typical workplace. The breakdown: 59m that AI mostly does alone, 2h 48m that robots have done in real workplaces. The other 4h 13m (53%) stays with people. Separately, BLS expects about 6.5% fewer of these jobs by 2035 (all jobs: +3.5%).

AI shows up regularly in 2 of 28 tasks, about 59m of a typical shift. The biggest ones:

• Assist customers by providing information and resolving their complaints. (34m a shift, AI mostly does it alone)
• Answer customers' questions, and provide information on procedures or policies. (25m a shift, AI mostly does it alone)

For some tasks, yes. Robots have done 6 of this job's tasks in workplaces like this one, about 2h 48m of a typical shift. 7 more tasks have only been done in factory setups built around the machine, so they stay with people here. For 2 physical tasks, no robot has shown it can do the work yet.

• Receive payment by cash, check, credit cards, vouchers, or automatic debits. (1h 41m a shift; e.g. Self-checkout terminals (installed base, US grocery), in use)
• Issue receipts, refunds, credits, or change due to customers. (34m a shift; e.g. NCR self-checkout at Royal Farms stores, in use)
• Calculate total payments received during a time period, and reconcile this with total sales. (8m a shift; e.g. Glory CI-100X at Waitrose, in use)
• Count money in cash drawers at the beginning of shifts to ensure that amounts are correct and that there is adequate change. (8m a shift; e.g. Glory CASHINFINITY CI-100X back-office cash recycler, in use)

4h 13m of a typical shift, or 53%, goes to tasks with no AI or robot evidence yet. No AI usage or robot deployment has shown up for these so far. The biggest:

• Establish or identify prices of goods, services, or admission, and tabulate bills, using calculators, cash registers, or optical price scanners. (1h 7m a shift)
• Greet customers entering establishments. (25m a shift)
• Help customers find the location of products. (17m a shift)
• Maintain clean and orderly checkout areas, and complete other general cleaning duties, such as mopping floors and emptying trash cans. (17m a shift)
• Assist with duties in other areas of the store, such as monitoring fitting rooms or bagging and carrying out customers' items. (17m a shift)

Much of it comes down to where and how the work happens. In-person, hands-on and high-stakes work is where AI and robots have made the least headway so far. In the official O*NET survey of people in this job:

• 96% are in constant contact with other people
• 79% talk face to face with others every day
• 69% spend more than half the day on their feet

We track 6 sourced company moves that affect this job, including at least one pullback. Most recent:

• Oct 14, 2026: Square launches a restaurant kiosk that takes orders by voice (Announced)
• Oct 6, 2026: Only 36% of retailers plan to invest in self-checkout (Pulled back)
• May 12, 2026: SenseTime opens robot run stores in Shanghai and plans 100 by end of 2026 (Rolling out)

For the 2 tasks in this job where AI shows up and timing data exists, a typical request takes about 59m for a person alone and about 16m with AI. These are Claude's own estimates from real conversations in April and May 2026 (Anthropic Economic Index). They describe single requests, not whole workdays, and time saved on a task doesn't mean jobs are cut. The biggest gaps:

• Answer customers' questions, and provide information on procedures or policies (about 1h 19m alone, 17m with AI)
• Assist customers by providing information and resolving their complaints (about 38m alone, 14m with AI)

On Indeed, job postings in the Retail sector are at 90% of their February 2020 level (all U.S. postings: 104%), up 4.2% from a year earlier, as of Oct 9, 2026. BLS separately expects about 521,000 openings a year in this job through 2035. Across all U.S. postings, 7.3% now mention AI skills. Sector postings cover more than this one job and move for many reasons besides AI.

The median pay is about $32,880 a year ($15.81 an hour), 36% below the median for all U.S. jobs ($50,980). Most people in this job earn between $24,530 and $40,410 a year; that range covers the middle 80%. Pay figures are from BLS, May 2025, and vary a lot by state and employer. Pick a state to compare:

BLS projects a decline of 6.5% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% growth for all jobs. That's about 2.9 million jobs in 2035. Even so, it expects about 521,000 openings a year, mostly from people retiring or changing careers. These projections don't single out AI as a cause.

About 3.1 million people in the U.S., roughly 2.0% of all workers (BLS, May 2025). That makes it the 7th largest of the 796 jobs on this site. BLS expects about 2.9 million in 2035.

The most common requirement is a high school diploma: about 44% of people in the job said so in the official O*NET survey. O*NET rates the job at level 2 of 5 for preparation, which usually means: high school diploma, some training. Requirements vary by state and employer, especially for licensed work.

These come from the job's official skill ratings and from the tasks that AI and robots touch least today. Building them keeps you strong in the parts of the work that still need a person:

• Skills that matter more here than in most jobs: Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, Speaking, Active Listening
• Get strong at the parts of the job that stay with people (listed above), which take 4h 13m of a typical shift
• Tools employers list: Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Windows
• Learn to use AI well on the tasks where it already shows up in this job (listed above)

These use similar skills, with less of a typical shift touched by AI or robots. Matches come from 109 official ratings of skills, knowledge and work activities, and each needs the same or less preparation unless the official list relates the jobs directly:

• Gambling Dealers (1h 31m touched, $34k median pay)
• Locker Room, Coatroom, and Dressing Room Attendants (1h 46m touched, $36k median pay)
• Ushers, Lobby Attendants, and Ticket Takers (2h 17m touched, $33k median pay)
• Postal Service Mail Carriers (1h 22m touched, $61k median pay)
• Fast Food and Counter Workers (58m touched, $31k median pay)

Each task carries its own evidence label. For this job: 2 observed in real AI use, 8 with robots in real deployments, 18 with no AI or robot evidence found. The minutes per task are estimates, not measured hours, and "no evidence" doesn't prove a task is safe.