Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop
In short: today's best AI models could do about 22% 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 23% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 77% of the time, stays with people.
Welcome patrons, seat them at tables or in lounge, and help ensure quality of facilities and service.
432,690 people do this job in the US. $31,200 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 on2 h
- A person checks AI's work7 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people31 h
Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 2 hours, 7 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 31 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Do marketing and advertising (about 3 h, a person checks); Help plan the menu (about 2 h, a person checks); Hire, train and supervise servers (about 1 h, a person checks).
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.
- 16%
- 7%
- 9%
- 48%
- 20%
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 22% 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, 2%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 15%. Today's estimate: 23%.
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, 0.11% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 156th largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 1 of its 20 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.016% to 0.0097% (released February and March 2025); 0.0058% to 0.0039% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.1% to 0.11% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.016% | 473 of 708 | 2 of 20 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.0097% | 513 of 703 | 1 of 20 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.0058% | 518 of 655 | 1 of 20 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.002% | 645 of 672 | 1 of 20 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.0039% | 596 of 677 | 2 of 20 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.1% | 163 of 434 | 1 of 20 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.11% | 156 of 447 | 1 of 20 |
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 57% of this job's working time as physical work. For 57% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 19% in a purpose-built cell, 38% in a structured facility. 0.94 of 3, the 150th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 43%
- In a purpose-built cell 19%
- In a structured facility 38%
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
77% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Hire, train and supervise servers, the in-person work, 14%
- Coordinate the dining room staff, the in-person work, 11%
- Keep kitchen, staff and guests in step, the in-person work, 9%
- Check dining areas are ready, the hands-on work, 7%
- Help plan the menu, the in-person work, 5%
- Check and clean restrooms, the hands-on work, 4%
What becomes checking the machine
19% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it. Another 4% is desk work that is small if wrong, which can be handed over with lighter checks.
- Do marketing and advertising, costly if wrong, 8%
- Help plan the menu, costly if wrong, 5%
- Hire, train and supervise servers, costly if wrong, 4%
- Close out receipts and deposit, costly if wrong, 2%
What to learn
- The conversations. About 57% of the time is conversation and in-person work, which this site leaves with people: listening, explaining, persuading, calming.
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself. The tasks under What becomes checking the machine, where a mistake costs something, stay a person's to check: spotting what a draft gets wrong is a skill of its own.
- The hands-on craft. About 20% of the time is hands-on work, which no model here does; robots are rated separately on this page.
- Dealing with people outside the organization. Customers, patients, suppliers or the public: trust with them is built by a person.
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts. About 16% of the time is documents and data, the part models reach first: writing a clear brief, giving the right material, and checking what comes back.
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 . 20 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hire, train, and supervise food and beverage service staff.Interviews, training on the floor, and the hiring paperwork.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 18% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | In person 60%, documents 20%, conversation 20% | 19%Desk part half by now |
| Supervise and coordinate activities of dining room staff to ensure that patrons receive prompt and courteous service.Running the floor with the servers through service.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 11% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Confer with other staff to help plan establishments' menus.Working the menu out together, with costs on paper.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 11% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.1 h | Documents 50%, in person 50% | 50%Desk part half by now |
| Maintain contact with kitchen staff, management, serving staff, and customers to ensure that dining details are handled properly and customers' concerns are addressed.Back and forth on the floor between the kitchen, the servers and the guests.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 9% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Perform marketing and advertising services.Writing promotions and posting them.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 8% | 1.7 h25 min to 3.3 h | Documents 80%, systems 20% | 99%Half by now |
| Inspect dining and serving areas to ensure cleanliness and proper setup.A walk through the room, straightening as you go.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Dishcraft Robotics robotic dishwasher (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Inspect restrooms for cleanliness and availability of supplies, and clean restrooms when necessary.A look at the restrooms and a clean when needed.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, Somatic BCR (Bathroom Cleaning Robot) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 13 min4 min to 21 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Speak with patrons to ensure satisfaction with food and service, to respond to complaints, or to make conversation.Face to face with guests in the dining room.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 7 min3 min to 17 min | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Take and prepare to-go orders.Taking the order by phone or at the counter, keying it in, and packing it up.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Hyper Food Robotics autonomous pizza unit (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 10 min4 min to 17 min | Conversation 40%, systems 30%, hands-on 30% | 30%Desk part half by now |
| Assist other restaurant workers by serving food and beverages, or by bussing tables.Carrying plates and clearing tables.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Bear Robotics Servi / Servi Plus (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 7 min3 min to 13 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Prepare cash receipts after establishments close, and make bank deposits.Counting the takings, balancing them, and making up the deposit.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Glory CASHINFINITY CI-300 back-office cash recycler (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Systems 50%, hands-on 50% | 50%Desk part half by now |
| Greet guests and seat them at tables or in waiting areas.At the door with guests, walking them to the table.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, Servi (Bear Robotics) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 3 min2 min to 5 min | In person 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 Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 23% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 23% 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 Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop 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: Do marketing and advertising (99% of the task's time now); Help plan the menu (50% of the task's time now); and Hire, train and supervise servers (19% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Coordinate the dining room staff; Keep kitchen, staff and guests in step; and Check dining areas are ready. Together such tasks are about 49% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop 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 conversations; reviewing work you did not do yourself; and the hands-on craft. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 77% of the working time stays with people, 19% becomes checking a model's work and 4% 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 Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.11% went to this job's tasks, the 156th largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 1 of its 20 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 7%. 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 Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 57% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 57% of the working time, 38% in a structured facility. Its index is 0.94 of 3. One example: Somatic BCR (Bathroom Cleaning Robot) for "check and clean restrooms". 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 20 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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