Facilitate food service. Clean tables, remove dirty dishes, replace soiled table linens; set tables; replenish supply of clean linens, silverware, glassware, and dishes; supply service bar with food; and serve items such as water, condiments, and coffee to patrons.
U.S. Workers
522,010
Median Salary
$32,670
10-Year Growth
+6.3%
Annual Openings
99,600
Typical entry: No formal educational credential
23 of 23 tasks have some AI capability
Exposure Trend
This score reflects estimated AI technical capability for tasks in this occupation. It does not predict employment changes, and it does not account for company-specific constraints, regulation, or adoption barriers.
Run cash registers.
AI: Fully automatable - Running cash registers is already fully automatable with POS systems, self‑checkout kiosks, and AI‑driven payment workflows widely deployed.
Carry food, dishes, trays, or silverware from kitchens or supply departments to serving counters.
AI: Fully automatable - Fully automatable — autonomous mobile robots reliably carry trays, dishes, and supplies between kitchens and serving counters in many real-world deployments by 2025, especially along defined routes and handoff points.
Carry trays from food counters to tables for cafeteria patrons.
AI: Fully automatable - Tray‑carrying delivery robots are commercially deployed and can reliably navigate cafeterias and deliver trays to tables in many real‑world settings.
Slice and pit fruit used to garnish drinks.
AI: Fully automatable - Mechanical slicers, corers, and simple robotic end‑effectors can reliably slice and pit fruit for common garnishes in typical hospitality workflows.
Wash glasses or other serving equipment at bars.
AI: Fully automatable - Commercial glasswashers and conveyor dish machines already fully automate washing glasses and most serving equipment in bars and foodservice operations.
Wipe tables or seats with dampened cloths or replace dirty tablecloths.
AI: Partial - Partially automatable — basic table-wiping and cloth replacement can be aided by automation in controlled contexts, but general-purpose wiping and handling varied linens in crowded spaces remains difficult for robots.
Set tables with clean linens, condiments, or other supplies.
AI: Partial - Partially automatable — placing standard items in fixed arrangements can be automated in structured environments, but flexible table-setting with varied linens and ad-hoc requests is still largely manual.
Locate items requested by customers.
AI: Partial - Partially automatable — AI can locate requested items via inventory systems or camera-assisted robots in structured spaces, but reliably finding arbitrary items in cluttered, dynamic dining areas is not fully solved.
Scrape and stack dirty dishes and carry dishes and other tableware to kitchens for cleaning.
AI: Partial - Partially automatable — automated dish scraping and transport are possible in specialized, constrained lines, but robustly scraping, stacking, and carrying a wide variety of dirty tableware across messy environments remains limited.
Perform serving, cleaning, or stocking duties in establishments, such as cafeterias or dining rooms, to facilitate customer service.
AI: Partial - Partially automatable — elements of serving, cleaning, and stocking can be automated or assisted by robots and AI, yet comprehensive, general-purpose execution of all these duties in varied establishments is not fully achieved.
Garnish foods and position them on tables to make them visible and accessible.
AI: Partial - Robotic plating and basic garnishing exist in controlled kitchens, but aesthetically arranging garnishes and positioning them on tables for visibility and accessibility in varied environments is only partially automated.
Clean up spilled food or drink or broken dishes and remove empty bottles and trash.
AI: Partial - Autonomous cleaning robots can detect and mop spills and remove trash, but safely handling broken dishes and ad hoc hazardous debris still typically requires human supervision and dexterous manipulation.
Mix and prepare flavors for mixed drinks.
AI: Partial - Robotic bartenders and automated dispensers can produce standard mixed drinks, but variability in recipes, garnishes, speed/flow in busy service, and social service aspects mean humans are still needed in most settings.
Serve food to customers when waiters or waitresses need assistance.
AI: Partial - Robotic servers and delivery robots can bring plates in controlled layouts, but reliably assisting wait staff in varied, dynamic customer interactions and handoffs remains only partially automated.
Serve ice water, coffee, rolls, or butter to patrons.
AI: Partial - Automated beverage dispensers and delivery robots can serve water or delivered cups, but consistently pouring hot drinks and handling delicate items like rolls or butter with required hygiene and dexterity is not fully autonomous.
Maintain adequate supplies of items, such as clean linens, silverware, glassware, dishes, or trays.
AI: Partial - Inventory systems and some robotic restocking exist for predictable back‑of‑house tasks, but maintaining mixed supplies across variable service areas with fragile items still needs human intervention.
Clean and polish counters, shelves, walls, furniture, or equipment in food service areas or other areas of restaurants and mop or vacuum floors.
AI: Partial - Commercial vacuums and floor‑mopping robots fully automate floors, but comprehensive cleaning and polishing of counters, walls, furniture, and varied equipment surfaces requires dexterous, context‑aware manipulation not yet widespread.
Replenish supplies of food or equipment at steam tables or service bars.
AI: Partial - Automated conveyors and dispensing systems can handle replenishment in highly controlled setups, but the diversity of food containers, hot equipment, and ad hoc adjustments at steam tables make this largely manual.
Fill beverage or ice dispensers.
AI: Partial - Automated beverage dispensers can fill cups and some machines have self‑refill capabilities, but reliably refilling and maintaining ice dispensers and ensuring sanitation across varied settings remains only partially automated.
Stock cabinets or serving areas with condiments and refill condiment containers.
AI: Partial - Robots can restock standardized condiment systems in controlled environments, but refilling diverse condiment containers and arranging them in irregular serving areas still challenges current manipulation and perception systems.
Stock refrigerating units with wines or bottled beer or replace empty beer kegs.
AI: Partial - Inventory tracking can be automated, but the physical tasks of stocking refrigerators and replacing heavy, pressurized kegs with plumbing connections remain largely manual and site‑specific.
Stock vending machines with food.
AI: Partial - Restocking vending machines is repetitive and amenable to automation in controlled contexts, but last‑mile access, varied product handling and small‑scale placements mean humans still perform most of this work.
Carry linens to or from laundry areas.
AI: Partial - Autonomous delivery robots can carry linens in limited, structured environments, but variability in routes, lifts, loading/unloading and complex layouts prevents widespread full automation.