AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 51-9023.00
Will AI replace Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders?
Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders: AI does not yet handle any of the role's 20 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 20 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Record operational or production data on specified forms. | Observed | Efficient | |
| Clean and maintain equipment, using hand tools. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Weigh or measure materials, ingredients, or products to ensure conformance to requirements. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Read work orders to determine production specifications or information. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Observe production or monitor equipment to ensure safe and efficient operation. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Mix or blend ingredients by starting machines and mixing for specified times. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Stop mixing or blending machines when specified product qualities are obtained and open valves and start pumps to transfer mixtures. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Examine materials, ingredients, or products visually or with hands to ensure conformance to established standards. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Compound or process ingredients or dyes, according to formulas. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Operate or tend machines to mix or blend any of a wide variety of materials, such as spices, dough batter, tobacco, fruit juices, chemicals, livestock feed, food products, color pigments, or explosive ingredients. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Dump or pour specified amounts of materials into machinery or equipment. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Collect samples of materials or products for laboratory testing. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Unload mixtures into containers or onto conveyors for further processing. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Test samples of materials or products to ensure compliance with specifications, using test equipment. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Add or mix chemicals or ingredients for processing, using hand tools or other devices. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Tend accessory equipment, such as pumps or conveyors, to move materials or ingredients through production processes. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Transfer materials, supplies, or products between work areas, using moving equipment or hand tools. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Open valves to drain slurry from mixers into storage tanks. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Dislodge and clear jammed materials or other items from machinery or equipment, using hand tools. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Clean work areas. | Estimated | No tier |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 1 of 20 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 19 of 20. 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 10% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 10% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 90% 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
- 94,920
- Median annual wage
- $48,990
- Middle half of earners
- $42,850 to $59,860
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- -6.8%
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.
- Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 75% skill overlap, about 9 months to move Exposure19
- Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 74% skill overlap, about 9 months to move Exposure23
- Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 71% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure16
- Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders 70% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure27
- Food Batchmakers 70% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure17
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders and AI
Will AI replace Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders?
Not on current evidence. None of the 20 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 16 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 Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders?
16 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. 1 of the 20 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 19 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders tasks can AI already do?
None reaches 60 yet. The most exposed task is: Record operational or production data on specified forms, at 40 out of 100.
What AI model tier does this role need?
An efficient-tier model or lower covers 10% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 90% 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 Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, and what do they earn?
94,920 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $48,990 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of -6.8% 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: Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, 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/mixing-and-blending-machine-setters-operators-and-tenders
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