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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Food Batchmakers?
Task-level automation exposure for Food Batchmakers: 25 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
25%
weighted task index
25 of 25 tasks scored
Median Salary
$42,290 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
High
174,520 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+6.5%
employment change
23,100 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 51 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$22,270 – $50,180
Highest medians
Vermont $50,180
Idaho $49,570
Wisconsin $48,360
Iowa $48,300
Illinois $48,130
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $22,270
Louisiana $34,620
West Virginia $34,660
Florida $35,500
Oklahoma $36,320
State figures come from the 51-3092 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 25%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 55%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 29%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 5%
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 29/100
Moderate
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
25 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) 5%
1 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 24%
6 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 71%
18 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
#4919 · Core · 82% automatable
Record production and test data for each food product batch, such as the ingredients used, temperature, test results, and time cycle.
data analysis — Record production data into structured logs
Record operational or production data.
#4921 · Core · 5% automatable
Clean and sterilize vats and factory processing areas.
physical manipulation — Hands-on cleaning of work areas
Clean work areas. Sterilize food cooking or processing equipment.
#4924 · Core · 13% automatable
Set up, operate, and tend equipment that cooks, mixes, blends, or processes ingredients in the manufacturing of food products, according to formulas or recipes.
physical manipulation — Hands-on operation of mixing machinery
Operate cooking, baking, or other food preparation equipment. Operate mixing equipment.
#4925 · Core · 15% automatable
Mix or blend ingredients, according to recipes, using a paddle or an agitator, or by controlling vats that heat and mix ingredients.
physical manipulation — Hands-on operation of mixing machinery
Operate mixing equipment.
#4926 · Core · 10% automatable
Follow recipes to produce food products of specified flavor, texture, clarity, bouquet, or color.
physical manipulation — Hands-on cooking with heat and perishable materials
Operate cooking, baking, or other food preparation equipment.
#4931 · Core · 30% automatable
Give directions to other workers who are assisting in the batchmaking process.
interpersonal — Directing production operations is human supervisory authority
Direct operational or production activities.
#4927 · Core · 42% automatable
Select and measure or weigh ingredients, using English or metric measures and balance scales.
decision support — Input material selection from specs; human approves
Measure ingredients or substances to be used in production processes. Select production input materials.
#4922 · Core · 15% automatable
Press switches and turn knobs to start, adjust, and regulate equipment, such as beaters, extruders, discharge pipes, and salt pumps.
physical manipulation — Hands-on operation of mixing machinery
Operate mixing equipment.
#4929 · Core · 45% automatable
Determine mixing sequences, based on knowledge of temperature effects and of the solubility of specific ingredients.
decision support — Food production methods need practical judgment
Determine food production methods.
#4923 · Core · 52% automatable
Observe and listen to equipment to detect possible malfunctions, such as leaks or plugging, and report malfunctions or undesirable tastes to supervisors.
text generation — Notifying maintenance needs is routine messaging
Watch operating equipment to detect malfunctions. Notify others of equipment repair or maintenance needs.
#4920 · Core · 24% automatable
Observe gauges and thermometers to determine if the mixing chamber temperature is within specified limits, and turn valves to control the temperature.
visual inspection — Instrument monitoring needs physical sensor presence
Monitor instruments to ensure proper production conditions. Adjust temperature controls of ovens or other heating equipment.
#4928 · Core · 10% automatable
Turn valve controls to start equipment and to adjust operation to maintain product quality.
physical manipulation — Hands-on cooking with heat and perishable materials
Operate cooking, baking, or other food preparation equipment.
#4941 · Core · 45% automatable
Modify cooking and forming operations based on the results of sampling processes, adjusting time cycles and ingredients to achieve desired qualities, such as firmness or texture.
decision support — Food production methods need practical judgment
Determine food production methods.
#4934 · Core · 28% automatable
Examine, feel, and taste product samples during production to evaluate quality, color, texture, flavor, and bouquet, and document the results.
visual inspection — Food quality needs taste, smell, physical inspection
Inspect food products. Evaluate quality of food ingredients or prepared foods.
#4935 · Supplemental · 20% automatable
Test food product samples for moisture content, acidity level, specific gravity, or butter-fat content, and continue processing until desired levels are reached.
visual inspection — Food product inspection is sensory and hands-on
Inspect food products.
#4933 · Supplemental · 18% automatable
Inspect vats after cleaning to ensure that fermentable residue has been removed.
visual inspection — Physical inspection of production machinery in situ
Inspect production equipment.
#4930 · Supplemental · 10% automatable
Fill processing or cooking containers, such as kettles, rotating cookers, pressure cookers, or vats, with ingredients, by opening valves, by starting pumps or injectors, or by hand.
physical manipulation — Pumping systems operated and adjusted in field
Load materials into production equipment. Operate pumping systems or equipment.
#4943 · Supplemental · 4% automatable
Manipulate products, by hand or using machines, to separate, spread, knead, spin, cast, cut, pull, or roll products.
physical manipulation — Shaping clay or dough is tactile craft
Shape clay or dough to create products.
#4939 · Supplemental · 10% automatable
Cool food product batches on slabs or in water-cooled kettles.
physical manipulation — Hands-on cooking with heat and perishable materials
Operate cooking, baking, or other food preparation equipment.
#4942 · Supplemental · 8% automatable
Place products on carts or conveyors to transfer them to the next stage of processing.
physical manipulation — Physical moving of products between work areas
Move products, materials, or equipment between work areas.
#4932 · Supplemental · 10% automatable
Homogenize or pasteurize material to prevent separation or to obtain prescribed butterfat content, using a homogenizing device.
physical manipulation — Hands-on cooking with heat and perishable materials
Operate cooking, baking, or other food preparation equipment.
#4938 · Supplemental · 35% automatable
Grade food products according to government regulations or according to type, color, bouquet, and moisture content.
visual inspection — Food quality needs taste, smell, physical inspection
Evaluate quality of food ingredients or prepared foods.
#4940 · Supplemental · 15% automatable
Operate refining machines to reduce the particle size of cooked batches.
physical manipulation — Hands-on operation of mixing machinery
Operate mixing equipment.
#4936 · Supplemental · 45% automatable
Formulate or modify recipes for specific kinds of food products.
decision support — Food production methods need practical judgment
Determine food production methods.
#4937 · Supplemental · 15% automatable
Inspect and pack the final product.
visual inspection — Food product inspection is sensory and hands-on
Inspect food products. Package products for storage or shipment.
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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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