Can Agents Work?

Jobs / Management and business operations / 13-1199.06

Online Merchants

Conduct retail activities of businesses operating exclusively online. May perform duties such as preparing business strategies, buying merchandise, managing inventory, implementing marketing activities, fulfilling and shipping online orders, and balancing financial records.

US jobs
1,087,090 (SOC 13-1199 group, "Business Operations Specialists, All Other")
Median wage
$83,050 a year
Job family
Management and business operations

Can agents do the work of online merchants?

We read the evidence at the level of the job family, Management and business operations:

  • Task levelPartialOnly adjacent evidence. On TheAgentCompany, which gives agents workplace tasks inside a simulated software company, the best agent resolves 42.9% of tasks (a November 2025 result). No task-level benchmark in our collection maps directly to management or business operations.
  • Project levelPartialMixed. OpenAI reports that GPT-5.5's GDPval deliverables won or tied against professionals' work in 84.9% of comparisons, and the best agent passes 73.5% of APEX-Agents tasks on the first try. Running a business is weaker: on Vending-Bench 2 the best model ends a simulated year with $15,515, about a quarter of Andon Labs' estimate for a good strategy.

Benchmarks for the job family

These cover work in management and business operations, not always this occupation's tasks.

Typical tasks

From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.

  • Fill customer orders by packaging sold items and documentation for direct shipping or by transferring orders to manufacturers or third-party distributors.
  • Receive and process payments from customers, using electronic transaction services.
  • Create, manage, or automate orders or invoices, using order management or invoicing software.
  • Deliver e-mail confirmation of completed transactions and shipment.
  • Correspond with online customers via electronic mail, telephone, or other electronic messaging to address questions or complaints about products, policies, or shipping methods.
  • Purchase new or used items from online or physical sources for resale via retail or auction Web site.
  • Determine and set product prices.
  • Calculate purchase subtotals, taxes, and shipping costs for submission to customers.
  • Compose descriptions of merchandise for posting to online storefront, auction sites, or other shopping Web sites.
  • Compose images of products, using video or still cameras, lighting equipment, props, or photo or video editing software.
  • Upload digital media, such as photos, video, or scanned images to online storefront, auction sites, or other shopping Web sites.
  • Calculate revenue, sales, and expenses, using financial accounting or spreadsheet software.
Other job titles for this occupation (46)

Online Services Manager · E-Commerce Account Manager · E-Commerce Administrator · E-Commerce Analyst · E-Commerce Assistant · E-Commerce Associate · E-Commerce Business Analyst · E-Commerce Business Channel Specialist · E-Commerce Clerk · E-Commerce Coordinator · E-Commerce Developer · E-Commerce Digital Marketing Manager (Electronic Commerce Digital Marketing Manager) · E-Commerce Manager · E-Commerce Marketing Manager · E-Commerce Merchandiser · E-Commerce Merchant · E-Commerce Operations Manager · E-Commerce Personal Shopper · E-Commerce Product Manager · E-Commerce Project Manager · E-Commerce Retailer · E-Commerce Sales Analyst · E-Commerce Sales Associate · E-Commerce Sales Clerk · E-Commerce Sales Coordinator · E-Commerce Sales Manager · E-Commerce Sales Product Manager · E-Commerce Sales Specialist · E-Commerce Specialist · E-Commerce Supervisor · E-Merchant · E-tailer · Fulfillment Associate · Internet Merchant · Internet Retailer · Marketplace Manager · Merchandiser · Online Merchant · Online Retailer · Personal Shopper · Retail E-Commerce Sales Associate · Sales Associate · Store E-Commerce Supervisor · Transaction Coordinator · Web Merchant · Web Retailer