Waiters and Waitresses

Take orders from patrons for food or beverages.

AI: Fully automatable - Ordering is routinely automated via kiosks, apps, and voice systems that can take and transmit food/beverage orders reliably in many service contexts.

Check patrons' identification to ensure that they meet minimum age requirements for consumption of alcoholic beverages.

AI: Fully automatable - Automated ID scanners and AI-based age-verification (including OCR and facial-age estimation) can check IDs and flag underage patrons in real time.

Collect payments from customers.

AI: Fully automatable - Payment collection is widely automated through POS systems, contactless/mobile payments, and self-checkout solutions that require minimal human involvement.

Write patrons' food orders on order slips, memorize orders, or enter orders into computers for transmittal to kitchen staff.

AI: Fully automatable - Transcribing, memorizing, or entering orders into kitchen systems is readily automated via POS entry, voice-to-order, and mobile/kiosk interfaces.

Prepare checks that itemize and total meal costs and sales taxes.

AI: Fully automatable - Integrated POS and AI systems can fully itemize orders and compute totals and sales tax reliably.

Explain how various menu items are prepared, describing ingredients and cooking methods.

AI: Fully automatable - AI can accurately explain ingredients and cooking methods from recipes and menu data and handle customer questions fully.

Inform customers of daily specials.

AI: Fully automatable - Informing customers of daily specials is an informational/communicative task that AI chatbots, digital menus, and voice assistants can fully perform reliably by 2025.

Describe and recommend wines to customers.

AI: Fully automatable - Describing and recommending wines is a knowledge and conversational task that AI systems can perform well using tasting notes, customer preferences, and pairing logic by 2025.

Provide guests with information about local areas, including giving directions.

AI: Fully automatable - Providing local information and directions is a core informational capability of AI and can be fully automated via apps, kiosks, or conversational agents by 2025.

Check with customers to ensure that they are enjoying their meals and take action to correct any problems.

AI: Partial - Automated follow-ups, sensors, and chatbots can detect and solicit feedback, but nuanced interpersonal recovery and on-the-spot corrective actions typically still need human staff.

Present menus to patrons and answer questions about menu items, making recommendations upon request.

AI: Partial - AI can present digital menus and answer questions and give recommendations, but cannot fully replicate the in-person aspects of handing menus and nuanced human interaction in all settings.

Remove dishes and glasses from tables or counters and take them to kitchen for cleaning.

AI: Partial - Dexterous robots can remove dishes in controlled environments, but general-purpose physical bussing remains only partially automated by 2025.

Serve food or beverages to patrons, and prepare or serve specialty dishes at tables as required.

AI: Partial - Automated servers and dispensers can handle many serving tasks, but varied table‑side preparations and complex service scenarios limit full automation.

Clean tables or counters after patrons have finished dining.

AI: Partial - Robotics can clean tables in some venues, yet variability, speed, and edge cases mean table clearing is only partially automated broadly.

Prepare tables for meals, including setting up items such as linens, silverware, and glassware.

AI: Partial - Setting tables requires fine manipulation and contextual judgment; some automation exists but not universal end-to-end replacement.

Assist host or hostess by answering phones to take reservations or to-go orders, and by greeting, seating, and thanking guests.

AI: Partial - Automated phone systems and kiosks can take reservations and orders, but greeting, physical seating, and hospitality nuances remain only partially automatable.

Escort customers to their tables.

AI: Partial - Robots can escort customers in constrained environments, but robust, context-aware escorting with social cues is not fully automated yet.

Perform cleaning duties, such as sweeping and mopping floors, vacuuming carpet, tidying up server station, taking out trash, or checking and cleaning bathroom.

AI: Partial - Many cleaning tasks (vacuuming, floor scrubbing, trash pickup) have automated solutions, but full, reliable end-to-end cleaning including bathrooms and detailed tidying is only partially automated.

Prepare hot, cold, and mixed drinks for patrons, and chill bottles of wine.

AI: Partial - Preparing drinks and chilling bottles involves physical manipulation and variable tasks that some robotic bartenders can handle in controlled settings but not fully across real-world restaurant environments by 2025.

Roll silverware, set up food stations, or set up dining areas to prepare for the next shift or for large parties.

AI: Partial - Rolling silverware and setting up dining areas are repetitive physical tasks that can be partially automated in structured contexts but remain difficult to fully automate in varied, cluttered restaurant spaces.

Stock service areas with supplies such as coffee, food, tableware, and linens.

AI: Partial - Stocking service areas requires navigation, perception, and dexterous handling that robotics can accomplish in constrained setups but not yet reliably across typical restaurants.

Bring wine selections to tables with appropriate glasses, and pour the wines for customers.

AI: Partial - Bringing wine to tables and pouring can be partially automated (delivery robots, some pouring solutions) but full, reliable service including balance and spill avoidance in all settings is not ubiquitous by 2025.

Fill salt, pepper, sugar, cream, condiment, and napkin containers.

AI: Partial - Filling condiment containers is a simple repetitive physical task that can be automated in controlled back-of-house systems but not fully automated everywhere due to dexterity and variability requirements.

Perform food preparation duties such as preparing salads, appetizers, and cold dishes, portioning desserts, and brewing coffee.

AI: Partial - Food preparation tasks like salads, portioning desserts, and brewing coffee are partially automatable with specialized kitchen robots but are not fully automated across the full range of restaurant operations yet.

Garnish and decorate dishes in preparation for serving.

AI: Partial - Garnishing and decorating dishes require fine motor skills and aesthetic judgment; limited robotic solutions exist but complete, general-purpose automation is not yet achieved.