AI exposure Production
Will AI replace food cooking machine operators and tenders?
Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders. US occupation 51-3093.
The reading
0.0%
of the time food cooking machine operators and tenders spend on their work goes on tasks where AI is already being used to do that work.of food cooking machine operators and tenders' 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.
Per cent of working time Square-law scale
Average US job 7.7%
Among the least exposed jobs there are.Still waiting for liberation.
What AI already does for food cooking machine operators and tendersWhat food cooking machine operators and tenders no longer do alone
O*NET lists 17 tasks for food cooking machine operators and tenders. None of them shows meaningful AI use at work yet.
What it does not touch, yetWhat still needs a human
17 of the 17 tasks show no AI use at work in the data.
- Admit required amounts of water, steam, cooking oils, or compressed air into equipment, such as by opening water valves to cool mixtures to the desired consistency.Core task
- Clean, wash, and sterilize equipment and cooking area, using water hoses, cleaning or sterilizing solutions, or rinses.Core task
- Collect and examine product samples during production to test them for quality, color, content, consistency, viscosity, acidity, or specific gravity.Core task
- Listen for malfunction alarms, and shut down equipment and notify supervisors when necessary.Core task
- Measure or weigh ingredients, using scales or measuring containers.Core task
- Notify or signal other workers to operate equipment or when processing is complete.Core task
Show the other 11
- Observe gauges, dials, and product characteristics, and adjust controls to maintain appropriate temperature, pressure, and flow of ingredients.Core task
- Pour, dump, or load prescribed quantities of ingredients or products into cooking equipment, manually or using a hoist.Core task
- Read work orders, recipes, or formulas to determine cooking times and temperatures, and ingredient specifications.Core task
- Record production and test data, such as processing steps, temperature and steam readings, cooking time, batches processed, and test results.Core task
- Remove cooked material or products from equipment.Core task
- Set temperature, pressure, and time controls, and start conveyers, machines, or pumps.Core task
- Tend or operate and control equipment, such as kettles, cookers, vats and tanks, and boilers, to cook ingredients or prepare products for further processing.Core task
- Turn valves or start pumps to add ingredients or drain products from equipment and to transfer products for storage, cooling, or further processing.Core task
- Activate agitators and paddles to mix or stir ingredients, stopping machines when ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
- Operate auxiliary machines and equipment, such as grinders, canners, and molding presses, to prepare or further process products.
- Place products on conveyors or carts, and monitor product flow.
How that compares
Among the 98 production occupations, food cooking machine operators and tenders rank 43. 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%.
Level with 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.