AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 35-3031.00
Will AI replace Waiters and Waitresses?
Waiters and Waitresses: AI can already handle 3 of 25 tasks; most of the work is hands-on, and the part AI can address mostly needs a standard-tier model.
Have a team in this role?
Get your free 10-role sample: send this role and up to nine others, and a founder sends a board-pack PDF within two business days.
Every task, scored
The 25 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Waiters and Waitresses, from most to least exposed. 3 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provide guests with information about local areas, including directions. | Observed | Standard | |
| Present menus to patrons and answer questions about menu items, making recommendations upon request. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Describe and recommend wines to customers. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Collect payments from customers. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Check patrons' identification to ensure that they meet minimum age requirements for consumption of alcoholic beverages. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Write patrons' food orders on order slips, memorize orders, or enter orders into computers for transmittal to kitchen staff. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Check with customers to ensure that they are enjoying their meals, and take action to correct any problems. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Take orders from patrons for food or beverages. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Prepare checks that itemize and total meal costs and sales taxes. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Remove dishes and glasses from tables or counters, and take them to kitchen for cleaning. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Prepare tables for meals, including setting up items such as linens, silverware, and glassware. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Stock service areas with supplies such as coffee, food, tableware, and linens. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Roll silverware, set up food stations, or set up dining areas to prepare for the next shift or for large parties. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Inform customers of daily specials. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Assist host or hostess by answering phones to take reservations or to-go orders, and by greeting, seating, and thanking guests. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Fill salt, pepper, sugar, cream, condiment, and napkin containers. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Prepare hot, cold, and mixed drinks for patrons, and chill bottles of wine. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Perform food preparation duties, such as preparing salads, appetizers, and cold dishes, portioning desserts, and brewing coffee. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Escort customers to their tables. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Bring wine selections to tables with appropriate glasses, and pour the wines for customers. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Clean tables or counters after patrons have finished dining. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Serve food or beverages to patrons, and prepare or serve specialty dishes at tables as required. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Perform cleaning duties, such as sweeping and mopping floors, vacuuming carpet, tidying up server station, taking out trash, or checking and cleaning bathroom. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Explain how various menu items are prepared, describing ingredients and cooking methods. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Garnish and decorate dishes in preparation for serving. | Estimated | No tier |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 1 of 25 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 24 of 25. 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
A standard-tier model or lower covers 11% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 11% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 89% 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
- 2,270,910
- Median annual wage
- $35,230
- Middle half of earners
- $27,750 to $47,110
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- -0.7%
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.
- Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers 73% skill overlap, about 10 months to move Exposure16
- Bartenders 70% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure28
- Food Servers, Nonrestaurant 69% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure14
- Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop 69% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure23
- Fast Food and Counter Workers 69% 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 Waiters and Waitresses and AI
Will AI replace Waiters and Waitresses?
AI already handles 3 of the 25 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 20 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. BLS projects employment to change by -0.7% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Waiters and Waitresses?
20 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 25 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 24 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Waiters and Waitresses tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Provide guests with information about local areas, including directions; Present menus to patrons and answer questions about menu items, making recommendations upon request; Describe and recommend wines to customers. They are the tasks that reach 60 or more.
What AI model tier does this role need?
A standard-tier model or lower covers 11% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 89% 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 Waiters and Waitresses, and what do they earn?
2,270,910 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $35,230 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of -0.7% 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: Waiters and Waitresses. 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/waiters-and-waitresses
Have a team in this role?
Get your free 10-role sample. Send this role and up to nine others, with no employee data, and a founder sends a PDF in board-pack format within two business days.
A founder replies within one business day.