How likely is AI to replace Food Preparation Workers?

Published research puts Food Preparation Workers at 22 out of 100 for AI displacement risk, in the lower risk band. The number is a weighted consensus of 6 research sources and describes the typical version of the role, not any individual.

Do researchers agree on the risk for Food Preparation Workers?

Only partly. Individual estimates for Food Preparation Workers run from 5 to 47 out of 100 across the 6 sources behind this score, so the single number smooths over real disagreement. More recent and higher confidence studies carry more weight in it.

Which hospitality roles face similar AI exposure?

The closest published hospitality roles to Food Preparation Workers by score are Bartenders (21/100), Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria (21/100), and Cooks, Short Order (21/100). Each has its own page with the research behind its number.

Occupation baseline · Research consensus

Will AI replace Food Preparation Workers?

Lower risk

Baseline AI displacement risk for Food Preparation Workers, aggregated from 6 research sources.

What this score means

Food Preparation Workers is among the least exposed roles in Hospitality. Most of what the job involves still sits outside what current AI can do, even as the tools around it keep changing. At 22 out of 100 it sits close to the Hospitality average of 24. Across the 6 sources behind this baseline, individual estimates run from 5 to 47, so the score is a weighted consensus rather than any single figure.

The number is a consensus estimate for the typical version of the role, built from published academic and industry research scored occupation by occupation. It is not a prediction about any individual. How scoring works

What this job actually involves

Exposure follows the work itself rather than the job title, so it is worth seeing what the role is made of. These are the tasks O*NET records for Food Preparation Workers, most central first, showing 12 of 31.

01Clean and sanitize work areas, equipment, utensils, dishes, or silverware.
02Assist cooks and kitchen staff with various tasks as needed, and provide cooks with needed items.
03Take and record temperature of food and food storage areas, such as refrigerators and freezers.
04Carry food supplies, equipment, and utensils to and from storage and work areas.
05Remove trash and clean kitchen garbage containers.
06Store food in designated containers and storage areas to prevent spoilage.
07Weigh or measure ingredients.
08Vacuum dining area and sweep and mop kitchen floor.
09Inform supervisors when equipment is not working properly and when food and supplies are getting low, and order needed items.
10Wash, peel, and cut various foods, such as fruits and vegetables, to prepare for cooking or serving.
11Prepare a variety of foods, such as meats, vegetables, or desserts, according to customers' orders or supervisors' instructions, following approved procedures.
12Assemble meal trays with foods in accordance with patients' diets.

Task statements from O*NET by the National Center for O*NET Development, used under CC BY 4.0. The tasks are descriptive; the exposure score above is ours.

The research behind this score

This baseline aggregates 6 research sources that scored Food Preparation Workers for AI and automation exposure. More recent, higher confidence studies carry more weight in the final number.

01Anthropic Economic Index 2026 - AI Task Exposure · 2026Anthropic
02Global Automation Atlas: Task Substitution Exposure by Occupation · 2026Garg, Crosta, Baier (2026), arXiv:2605.17086
03The Fearless Future: 2026 Global AI Jobs Barometer — UAE Analysis · 2026PwC, Global AI Jobs Barometer (2026)
04Working with AI: Measuring the Applicability of Generative AI to Occupations · 2025Tomlinson, Jaffe et al., Microsoft Research (2025)
05GPTs are GPTs: Labor Market Impact Potential of LLMs · 2024Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin, Rock (Science, 2024)
06AI Occupational Exposure to Language Modeling · 2023Felten, Raj, Seamans (2023)

Common questions

How likely is AI to replace Food Preparation Workers?: Published research puts Food Preparation Workers at 22 out of 100 for AI displacement risk, in the lower risk band. The number is a weighted consensus of 6 research sources and describes the typical version of the role, not any individual.
Do researchers agree on the risk for Food Preparation Workers?: Only partly. Individual estimates for Food Preparation Workers run from 5 to 47 out of 100 across the 6 sources behind this score, so the single number smooths over real disagreement. More recent and higher confidence studies carry more weight in it.
Which hospitality roles face similar AI exposure?: The closest published hospitality roles to Food Preparation Workers by score are Bartenders (21/100), Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria (21/100), and Cooks, Short Order (21/100). Each has its own page with the research behind its number.

Also covers

Cafeteria Aide · Carver · Caterer · Caterer Helper · Catering Assistant · Chicken and Fish Butcher · Coffee Brewer · Coffee Maker and related titles

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Informational guidance based on published research, not professional career or financial advice. Scores update as new research is ingested.