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AI exposure Production

Will AI replace food and tobacco roasting?

Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders. US occupation 51-3091.

0.0%

of the time food and tobacco roasting spend on their work goes on tasks where AI is already being used to do that work.of food and tobacco roasting's working hours go on tasks AI has already started taking off their plate.

Ranked 346 of 756 US occupations. No AI use seen in the work yet, along with 410 other occupations.No handover started yet, along with 410 other occupations.

Average US job 7.7%

Among the least exposed jobs there are.Still waiting for liberation.

What AI already does for food and tobacco roastingWhat food and tobacco roasting no longer do alone

O*NET lists 19 tasks for food and tobacco roasting. None of them shows meaningful AI use at work yet.

What it does not touch, yetWhat still needs a human

19 of the 19 tasks show no AI use at work in the data.

  • Fill or remove product from trays, carts, hoppers, or equipment, using scoops, peels, or shovels, or by hand.Core task
  • Observe flow of materials and listen for machine malfunctions, such as jamming or spillage, and notify supervisors if corrective actions fail.Core task
  • Observe temperature, humidity, pressure gauges, and product samples and adjust controls, such as thermostats and valves, to maintain prescribed operating conditions for specific stages.Core task
  • Observe, feel, taste, or otherwise examine products during and after processing to ensure conformance to standards.Core task
  • Operate or tend equipment that roasts, bakes, dries, or cures food items such as cocoa and coffee beans, grains, nuts, and bakery products.Core task
  • Read work orders to determine quantities and types of products to be baked, dried, or roasted.Core task
Show the other 13
  • Record production data, such as weight and amount of product processed, type of product, and time and temperature of processing.Core task
  • Set temperature and time controls, light ovens, burners, driers, or roasters, and start equipment, such as conveyors, cylinders, blowers, driers, or pumps.Core task
  • Signal coworkers to synchronize flow of materials.Core task
  • Weigh or measure products, using scale hoppers or scale conveyors.Core task
  • Clean equipment with steam, hot water, and hoses.
  • Clear or dislodge blockages in bins, screens, or other equipment, using poles, brushes, or mallets.
  • Install equipment, such as spray units, cutting blades, or screens, using hand tools.
  • Open valves, gates, or chutes or use shovels to load or remove products from ovens or other equipment.
  • Push racks or carts to transfer products to storage, cooling stations, or the next stage of processing.
  • Smooth out products in bins, pans, trays, or conveyors, using rakes or shovels.
  • Start conveyors to move roasted grain to cooling pans and agitate grain with rakes as blowers force air through perforated bottoms of pans.
  • Take product samples during or after processing for laboratory analyses.
  • Test products for moisture content, using moisture meters.

How that compares

Among the 98 production occupations, food and tobacco roasting rank 41. The group averages 0.8%, and its most exposed job is Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers at 12.1%. The average US occupation sits at 7.7%.

All 756 occupations, ranked

Level with 0.0%

  1. 346Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles 0.0%
  2. 346Floor Sanders and Finishers 0.0%
  3. 346Floral Designers 0.0%

What this does and does not mean

Exposure is observed use, not a forecast. Anthropic maps work conversations with Claude onto the tasks O*NET lists for each job and asks, of the tasks AI could speed up, which are actually being used for at work. A use that does the task outright counts in full and a use that assists a person counts half. The task scores are averaged into the occupation figure by the share of time spent on each task.

A high figure means AI is already part of how this work gets done. It does not mean anyone has been replaced. Anthropic's own reading of the labour market finds no systematic rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting exposed jobs.No measurable rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting these jobs. Gap years for everyone. Labor market impacts, 5 March 2026.

Task list and titles from O*NET 31.0 by the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Scores from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY). Checked 1 November 2026. How the ranking works.