Community Sentiment
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Do you agree with the AI automation risk score calculated for this occupation?
AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Baristas?
Task-level automation exposure for Baristas: 19 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
24%
weighted task index
19 of 19 tasks scored
Median Salary
$31,200 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Very High
3,854,050 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+5.8%
employment change
827,400 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 54 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$20,770 – $42,280
Highest medians
California $42,280
Washington $37,710
District of Columbia $37,430
Colorado $36,270
Vermont $36,030
Lowest medians
Guam $20,770
Puerto Rico $22,030
Mississippi $22,610
Louisiana $22,800
Oklahoma $23,430
State figures come from the 35-3023 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.
What the score is made of
Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.
Automation potential 24%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 63%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 5%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 15%
Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.
Rewritten by O*NET 0%
Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.
Consequence of error 0/100
Low
O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.
Constituent Task Mix
19 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.
High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 15%
3 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 21%
4 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 64%
12 tasks
How would you survive?
Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.
Simulate Upskilling →Constituent Tasks
#17582 · Core · 6% automatable
Clean or sanitize work areas, utensils, or equipment.
physical manipulation — Hands-on dishwashing of physical tableware
Clean food service areas. Clean tableware.
#17588 · Core · 70% automatable
Receive and process customer payments.
data analysis — Billing and payment processing largely automated
Process customer bills or payments.
#17581 · Core · 6% automatable
Prepare or serve hot or cold beverages, such as coffee, espresso drinks, blended coffees, or teas.
physical manipulation — Hands-on beverage prep in unpredictable kitchen space
Serve food or beverages. Prepare hot or cold beverages.
#17591 · Core · 63% automatable
Take customer orders and convey them to other employees for preparation.
interpersonal — Order taking automatable; customer rapport partly human
Communicate dining or order details to kitchen personnel. Take customer orders.
#17583 · Core · 5% automatable
Clean service or seating areas.
physical manipulation — Physical cleaning of food service surfaces
Clean food service areas.
#17597 · Core · 5% automatable
Prepare or serve menu items, such as sandwiches or salads.
physical manipulation — Cooking requires hands-on manipulation of real food
Serve food or beverages. Cook foods.
#17594 · Core · 5% automatable
Wrap, label, or date food items for sale.
physical manipulation — Hands-on packing of varied goods
Package food or supplies.
#17584 · Core · 42% automatable
Check temperatures of freezers, refrigerators, or heating equipment to ensure proper functioning.
decision support — AI can interpret readings but hands-on assessment is human
Assess equipment functioning.
#17592 · Core · 5% automatable
Take out garbage.
physical manipulation — Physical collection and removal of trash
Remove trash.
#17585 · Core · 40% automatable
Describe menu items to customers, or suggest products that might appeal to them.
interpersonal — Menu presentation is live service interaction
Present food or beverage information or menus to customers.
#17596 · Core · 30% automatable
Demonstrate the use of retail equipment, such as espresso machines.
physical manipulation — Food prep training is hands-on demonstration
Train food preparation or food service personnel.
#17586 · Core · 42% automatable
Order, receive, or stock supplies or retail products.
decision support — Ordering via systems automatable; human approves spend
Store supplies or goods in kitchens or storage areas. Order materials, supplies, or equipment.
#17589 · Core · 4% automatable
Serve prepared foods, such as muffins, biscotti, or bagels.
physical manipulation — Carrying and serving food by hand
Serve food or beverages.
#17590 · Core · 8% automatable
Stock customer service stations with paper products or beverage preparation items.
physical manipulation — Physically stocking serving stations and dining areas
Stock serving stations or dining areas with food or supplies.
#17587 · Core · 40% automatable
Provide customers with product details, such as coffee blend or preparation descriptions.
interpersonal — Menu presentation is live service interaction
Present food or beverage information or menus to customers.
#17598 · Core · 6% automatable
Set up or restock product displays.
physical manipulation — Setting up displays requires hands-on placement
Set up merchandise displays.
#17593 · Core · 15% automatable
Weigh, grind, or pack coffee beans for customers.
physical manipulation — Physical measuring of ingredients by hand
Measure ingredients. Package food or supplies.
#17595 · Supplemental · 72% automatable
Create signs to advertise store products or events.
text generation — Promotional copy drafted; brand strategy human
Write advertising or promotional material.
#17599 · Supplemental · 5% automatable
Slice fruits, vegetables, desserts, or meats for use in food service.
physical manipulation — Hands-on food cutting
Cut cooked or raw foods.
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How this was scored
- 1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
- 2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
- 3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
- 4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.
Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.
Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast
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