AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 51-3093.00
Will AI replace Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders?
Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders: AI does not yet handle any of the role's 17 tasks; most of the work is hands-on, and the part AI can address mostly needs an efficient-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 17 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders, from most to least exposed. None reaches 60, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Observe gauges, dials, and product characteristics, and adjust controls to maintain appropriate temperature, pressure, and flow of ingredients. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Notify or signal other workers to operate equipment or when processing is complete. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Measure or weigh ingredients, using scales or measuring containers. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Set temperature, pressure, and time controls, and start conveyers, machines, or pumps. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Activate agitators and paddles to mix or stir ingredients, stopping machines when ingredients are thoroughly mixed. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Remove cooked material or products from equipment. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Collect and examine product samples during production to test them for quality, color, content, consistency, viscosity, acidity, or specific gravity. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Operate auxiliary machines and equipment, such as grinders, canners, and molding presses, to prepare or further process products. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Listen for malfunction alarms, and shut down equipment and notify supervisors when necessary. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Turn valves or start pumps to add ingredients or drain products from equipment and to transfer products for storage, cooling, or further processing. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Place products on conveyors or carts, and monitor product flow. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Clean, wash, and sterilize equipment and cooking area, using water hoses, cleaning or sterilizing solutions, or rinses. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Read work orders, recipes, or formulas to determine cooking times and temperatures, and ingredient specifications. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Tend or operate and control equipment, such as kettles, cookers, vats and tanks, and boilers, to cook ingredients or prepare products for further processing. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Record production and test data, such as processing steps, temperature and steam readings, cooking time, batches processed, and test results. | Estimated | No tier | |
| 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. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Pour, dump, or load prescribed quantities of ingredients or products into cooking equipment, manually or using a hoist. | Estimated | No tier |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 17 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 17 of 17. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.
The model tier this role needs
An efficient-tier model or lower covers 12% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 12% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 88% is hands-on.
Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.
Wages, employment and outlook
- US employment
- 31,250
- Median annual wage
- $41,590
- Middle half of earners
- $36,190 to $47,380
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +0.6%
Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.
Adjacent roles
The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.
- Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders 78% skill overlap, about 8 months to move Exposure14
- Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders 72% skill overlap, about 10 months to move Exposure22
- Cooks, Fast Food 71% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure21
- Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders 70% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure16
- Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders 69% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure27
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders and AI
Will AI replace Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders?
Not on current evidence. None of the 17 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation reaches a task exposure of 60, the level at which JobRoute counts a task as handled by AI, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 14 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears.
What is the AI exposure of Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders?
14 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 0 of the 17 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 17 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders tasks can AI already do?
None reaches 60 yet. The most exposed task is: Observe gauges, dials, and product characteristics, and adjust controls to maintain appropriate temperature, pressure, and flow of ingredients, at 20 out of 100.
What AI model tier does this role need?
An efficient-tier model or lower covers 12% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 88% is hands-on work that no model tier covers. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.
How many people work as Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders, and what do they earn?
31,250 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $41,590 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +0.6% from 2024 to 2034.
How to cite
Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.
JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/food-cooking-machine-operators-and-tenders
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