Will AI replace Cooks, Restaurant?

Prepare, season, and cook dishes such as soups, meats, vegetables, or desserts in restaurants. The percentage shown is a task-exposure model, not a prediction of certain job loss.

O*NET 30.3 · 35-2014.00 · modeled exposure, not guaranteed job loss

LOW TASK EXPOSURE

29%

Estimated share of representative tasks exposed to current AI capabilities.

Last updatedAugust 20, 2026

Evidence confidenceMedium

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Category#

Customer-Facing

Front line / Support

Modeled pay midpoint$

$81,500/yr

Directional estimate — verify locally

Time until impact⌁

6–10+ years

Earliest 2032 · widespread 2036+

Task-level replaceability ⓘ

Representative tasks ranked from highest to lowest AI exposure.

◇Ensure food is stored and cooked at correct temperature by regulating temperature of ovens, broilers, grills, and roasters.39%

⚙Inspect and clean food preparation areas, such as equipment, work surfaces, and serving areas, to ensure safe and sanitary food-handling practices.28%

✦Human empathy and real-time de-escalation24%

✦Physical presence and relationship trust20%

▥Portion, arrange, and garnish food, and serve food to waiters or patrons.16%

Impact timeline ⓘ

How AI assistance may move from early support to wider adoption.

2032Next2036+

Light supportAI provides limited help with ensure food is stored and cooked at correct temperature by regulating temperature of ovens, broilers, grills, and roasters..

AugmentationTools improve productivity without owning outcomes.

Human-ledCore work stays anchored in human empathy and real-time de-escalation.

6–10+ yearsdirectional confidence window

HOW AI CHANGES THIS JOBtyping the logic in plain English

01>Start with the real work done by Cooks, Restaurant.

02>AI can help with: Ensure food is stored and cooked at correct temperature by regulating temperature of ovens, broilers, grills, and roasters.

03>If a task is repetitive and easy to check, AI pressure goes up.

04>But a person is still needed for: Human empathy and real-time de-escalation.

05>Likely result: AI mostly acts as a helper while the core job stays human-led.

06>Important: 29% is estimated task exposure—not a 29% chance of losing the job.

What AI can do

Ensure food is stored and cooked at correct temperature by regulating temperature of ovens, broilers, grills, and roasters.LOW MATCH

Inspect and clean food preparation areas, such as equipment, work surfaces, and serving areas, to ensure safe and sanitary food-handling practices.LOW MATCH

Portion, arrange, and garnish food, and serve food to waiters or patrons.LOW MATCH

How estimates work →

Your human moat

◆

Human empathy and real-time de-escalation

MEDIUM-HIGH

Combined with physical presence and relationship trust, this keeps a human in the loop.

Strength8.2

Similar-role comparison

RoleRisk

Cooks, Restaurant29%

Crematory Operators29%

Customer Success Manager30%

Childcare Workers30%

Why this score?

✓The model evaluates 3 representative core tasks.

✓The core work depends on presence, dexterity, or accountability.

✓Occupation and task language comes from O*NET 30.3.

✓The strongest human advantage is human empathy and real-time de-escalation.

Research basis

O*NET 30.3 occupation tasks plus the ILO 2025 exposure framework. Scores are directional estimates.

Read ILO research →

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