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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Waiters and Waitresses?
Task-level automation exposure for Waiters and Waitresses: 25 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
29%
weighted task index
25 of 25 tasks scored
Median Salary
$35,230 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Very High
2,270,910 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+2.0%
employment change
423,100 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.
$15,080 – $62,390
Highest medians
Hawaii $62,390
Vermont $59,140
Washington $56,130
Oregon $48,410
District of Columbia $47,850
Lowest medians
Louisiana $15,080
Oklahoma $17,910
South Carolina $18,370
Georgia $18,700
Guam $20,320
State figures come from the 35-3031 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 29%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 51%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 8%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 19%
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 2/100
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
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) 19%
4 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 27%
7 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 55%
14 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 →Emerging & rewritten tasks
Tasks O*NET added or rewrote for this occupation in its recent updates (05/2025 – 08/2026), with who proposed them. Additions are not in the scored task inventory — they are new work O*NET is still measuring, so they appear here and nowhere in the index. A Revision replaces a task that is scored, which is why only those move the "Rewritten by O*NET" share.
- New 08/2025 · Incumbent
Check with customers to see if they want to apply any rewards to their purchase.
- New 08/2025 · Incumbent
Perform routine tasks, such as refilling syrups, sanitizer bottles, and other essential supplies.
Constituent Tasks
#2276 · Core · 70% automatable
Collect payments from customers.
data analysis — Billing and payment processing largely automated
Process customer bills or payments.
#2275 · Core · 15% automatable
Check patrons' identification to ensure that they meet minimum age requirements for consumption of alcoholic beverages.
interpersonal — Enforcing rules requires human presence and authority
Enforce rules or regulations.
#2277 · Core · 63% automatable
Write patrons' food orders on order slips, memorize orders, or enter orders into computers for transmittal to kitchen staff.
interpersonal — Order taking automatable; customer rapport partly human
Communicate dining or order details to kitchen personnel. Take customer orders.
#2279 · Core · 50% automatable
Check with customers to ensure that they are enjoying their meals, and take action to correct any problems.
interpersonal — Satisfaction requires human relationship and accountability
Communicate with customers to resolve complaints or ensure satisfaction.
#2278 · Core · 70% automatable
Take orders from patrons for food or beverages.
interpersonal — Order taking automatable; customer rapport partly human
Take customer orders.
#2281 · Core · 70% automatable
Prepare checks that itemize and total meal costs and sales taxes.
data analysis — Billing and payment processing largely automated
Process customer bills or payments.
#18745 · Core · 5% automatable
Remove dishes and glasses from tables or counters, and take them to kitchen for cleaning.
physical manipulation — Collecting dishes requires hands-on bussing
Collect dirty dishes or other tableware.
#2285 · Core · 5% automatable
Clean tables or counters after patrons have finished dining.
physical manipulation — Physical cleaning of food service surfaces
Clean food service areas.
#2280 · Core · 5% automatable
Serve food or beverages to patrons, and prepare or serve specialty dishes at tables as required.
physical manipulation — Cooking requires hands-on manipulation of real food
Serve food or beverages. Cook foods.
#18747 · Core · 10% automatable
Perform cleaning duties, such as sweeping and mopping floors, vacuuming carpet, tidying up server station, taking out trash, or checking and cleaning bathroom.
physical manipulation — Food area cleaning requires physical labor
Clean food preparation areas, facilities, or equipment.
#2283 · Core · 40% automatable
Present menus to patrons and answer questions about menu items, making recommendations upon request.
interpersonal — Menu presentation is live service interaction
Present food or beverage information or menus to customers.
#2288 · Core · 5% automatable
Prepare tables for meals, including setting up items such as linens, silverware, and glassware.
physical manipulation — Physically arranging tables and furniture
Arrange tables or dining areas.
#2290 · Core · 8% automatable
Stock service areas with supplies such as coffee, food, tableware, and linens.
physical manipulation — Physically stocking serving stations and dining areas
Stock serving stations or dining areas with food or supplies.
#18744 · Core · 5% automatable
Roll silverware, set up food stations, or set up dining areas to prepare for the next shift or for large parties.
physical manipulation — Physically arranging tables and furniture
Arrange tables or dining areas.
#2284 · Core · 40% automatable
Inform customers of daily specials.
interpersonal — Menu presentation is live service interaction
Present food or beverage information or menus to customers.
#2287 · Core · 40% automatable
Explain how various menu items are prepared, describing ingredients and cooking methods.
interpersonal — Menu presentation is live service interaction
Present food or beverage information or menus to customers.
#18746 · Core · 50% automatable
Assist host or hostess by answering phones to take reservations or to-go orders, and by greeting, seating, and thanking guests.
data analysis — AI books reservations via tools; human handles issues
Schedule dining reservations. Assist customers with seating arrangements.
#2292 · Core · 8% automatable
Fill salt, pepper, sugar, cream, condiment, and napkin containers.
physical manipulation — Physically stocking serving stations and dining areas
Stock serving stations or dining areas with food or supplies.
#2289 · Core · 7% automatable
Perform food preparation duties, such as preparing salads, appetizers, and cold dishes, portioning desserts, and brewing coffee.
physical manipulation — Hands-on beverage prep in unpredictable kitchen space
Prepare foods for cooking or serving. Prepare hot or cold beverages.
#2286 · Core · 8% automatable
Prepare hot, cold, and mixed drinks for patrons, and chill bottles of wine.
physical manipulation — Hands-on beverage prep in unpredictable kitchen space
Prepare hot or cold beverages.
#2293 · Core · 20% automatable
Escort customers to their tables.
interpersonal — Physical seating arrangement and hosting
Assist customers with seating arrangements.
#18748 · Core · 55% automatable
Provide guests with information about local areas, including directions.
information retrieval — General info answers assisted; live service human
Provide customers with general information or assistance.
#2291 · Supplemental · 5% automatable
Garnish and decorate dishes in preparation for serving.
physical manipulation — Manual garnish placement
Add garnishes to food.
#2295 · Supplemental · 4% automatable
Bring wine selections to tables with appropriate glasses, and pour the wines for customers.
physical manipulation — Carrying and serving food by hand
Serve food or beverages.
#2294 · Supplemental · 40% automatable
Describe and recommend wines to customers.
interpersonal — Menu presentation is live service interaction
Present food or beverage information or menus to customers.
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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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