Food Preparation Workers
In short: today's best AI models could do about 3% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about the same by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 97% of the time, stays with people.
Perform a variety of food preparation duties other than cooking, such as preparing cold foods and shellfish, slicing meat, and brewing coffee or tea.
893,600 people do this job in the US. $35,320 a year.
Reviewed on September 30, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on1 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people39 h
Food Preparation Workers, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 1 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 39 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Record food quantities used (under an hour); Report problems and order items (under an hour).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 0%
- 3%
- 0%
- 3%
- 95%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
What handing it over would take, now
The 3% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 3%. Today's estimate: 3%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, no reportable share went to this job's tasks in May 2026; 0 of its 31 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.036% to 0.023% (released February and March 2025); 0.0089% to 0.022% (August 2025 to February 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.036% | 330 of 708 | 4 of 31 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.023% | 398 of 703 | 2 of 31 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.0089% | 467 of 655 | 1 of 31 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.02% | 387 of 672 | 4 of 31 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.022% | 393 of 677 | 5 of 31 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 31 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 31 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 97% of this job's working time as physical work. For 93% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 83% in a purpose-built cell, 10% in a structured facility. 1.03 of 3, the 103rd highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 3%
- No robot shown 3%
- In a purpose-built cell 83%
- In a structured facility 10%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
97% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Clean and sanitize work areas, the hands-on work, 11%
- Prepare foods to order, the hands-on work, 7%
- Wash, peel and cut produce, the hands-on work, 5%
- Vacuum, sweep and mop, the hands-on work, 5%
- Assist cooks and kitchen staff, the hands-on work, 5%
- Remove trash, the hands-on work, 5%
What becomes checking the machine
No desk work within reach by then in tasks where a mistake costs something. Another 2% is desk work that is small if wrong, which can be handed over with lighter checks.
What to learn
- The hands-on craft. About 95% of the time is hands-on work, which no model here does; robots are rated separately on this page.
- Judgment where errors are severe. Some tasks are severe if wrong. Knowing when not to trust an output matters more there than speed.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 31 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clean and sanitize work areas, equipment, utensils, dishes, or silverware.Cleaning by hand.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Armstrong Robotics dishwashing robot (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 11% | 21 min8 min to 50 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Prepare a variety of foods, such as meats, vegetables, or desserts, according to customers' orders or supervisors' instructions, following approved procedures.Hands-on preparation.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, KRONEN processing lines for lettuce and vegetables (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 38 min13 min to 1.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Wash, peel, and cut various foods, such as fruits and vegetables, to prepare for cooking or serving.Knife work.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, TOMRA Steam Peeling Line (Eco / Orbit steam peelers) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Vacuum dining area and sweep and mop kitchen floor.Cleaning by hand.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Neo / Neo 2W (Avidbots) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 33 min17 min to 50 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Assist cooks and kitchen staff with various tasks as needed, and provide cooks with needed items.Hands-on help in the kitchen.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, AutoStore cube storage and retrieval system (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 17 min8 min to 50 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Remove trash and clean kitchen garbage containers.Carrying trash out.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Tesla Optimus; Loki Robotics wheeled cleaning robot (as assessed by Epoch AI) (Tesla; Loki Robotics) (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 17 min8 min to 25 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Receive and store food supplies, equipment, and utensils in refrigerators, cupboards, and other storage areas.Unloading and putting away by hand.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Stretch (Boston Dynamics) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 29 min13 min to 50 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Butcher and clean fowl, fish, poultry, and shellfish to prepare for cooking or serving.Knife work.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, MAYEKAWA TORIDAS (Mark 2) chicken whole-leg deboning robot (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 33 min17 min to 1.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Carry food supplies, equipment, and utensils to and from storage and work areas.Carrying by hand.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Stretch (Boston Dynamics) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Stock cupboards and refrigerators, and tend salad bars and buffet meals.Restocking by hand.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, TX SCARA (Telexistence, GORDON AI) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Assemble meal trays with foods in accordance with patients' diets.Building each tray by hand to a diet order.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Chef Robotics AI food assembly robot (ChefOS) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 25 min8 min to 38 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Store food in designated containers and storage areas to prevent spoilage.Putting food away by hand.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Chef Robotics Chef+ meal assembly robot (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 17 min8 min to 29 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Food Preparation Workers is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 3% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 3% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Food Preparation Workers come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Record food quantities used (100% of the task's time now); Report problems and order items (40% of the task's time now); and Take and record food temperatures (30% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Food Preparation Workers stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Clean and sanitize work areas; Prepare foods to order; and Wash, peel and cut produce. Together such tasks are about 95% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Food Preparation Workers learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are the hands-on craft; and judgment where errors are severe. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 97% of the working time stays with people, 0% becomes checking a model's work and 2% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Food Preparation Workers?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026, no reportable share went to this job's tasks. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 0%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Food Preparation Workers?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 97% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 93% of the working time, 10% in a structured facility. Its index is 1.03 of 3. One example: Armstrong dishwashing robot (three 7-DoF arms with interchangeable grippers) for "load the dishwasher". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 31 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on September 30, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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