BETA
Updated: Mar 2
BETA
Updated: Mar 2
Evolving
Last Update: 2/18/2026
Your role’s AI Resilience Score is
63.4%
Median Score
Changing Fast
Evolving
Stable
This reflects the reliability of your score based on the number of data sources available for this career and how closely those sources agree on the outlook. A higher confidence means more consistent evidence from labor experts and AI models.
What does this resilience result mean?
These roles are shifting as AI becomes part of everyday workflows. Expect new responsibilities and new opportunities.
AI Resilience Report for
Cooks, Restaurant
They prepare and cook food in restaurants, following recipes to make sure meals taste good and are served on time.
This role is evolving
The career of restaurant cooks is labeled as "Evolving" because AI technology is starting to help with repetitive tasks like flipping burgers or frying fries, allowing human cooks to focus more on creative cooking and customer interaction. While robots can handle some simple chores, they can't replace the human skills of tasting, seasoning, and creating unique recipes.
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View analysisChat with CoachLatest newsMore career infoAnalysisChatNewsMoreThis role is evolving
The career of restaurant cooks is labeled as "Evolving" because AI technology is starting to help with repetitive tasks like flipping burgers or frying fries, allowing human cooks to focus more on creative cooking and customer interaction. While robots can handle some simple chores, they can't replace the human skills of tasting, seasoning, and creating unique recipes.
Read full analysisContributing Sources
We aggregate scores from multiple models and supplement with employment projections for a more accurate picture of this occupation’s resilience. Expand to view all sources.
AI Resilience
AI Resilience Model v1.0
AI Task Resilience
Stable78.1%
78.1%
Microsoft's Working with AI
AI Applicability
Evolving42.9%
42.9%
Anthropic's Economic Index
AI Resilience
Evolving38.8%
38.8%
Will Robots Take My Job
Automation Resilience
Evolving37.7%
37.7%
High Demand
Labor Market Outlook
We use BLS employment projections to complement the AI-focused assessments from other sources.
Learn about this scoreGrowth Rate (2024-34):
14.9%
Growth Percentile:
96.8%
Annual Openings:
250,700
Annual Openings Pct:
95.3%
Analysis of Current AI Resilience
Cooks, Restaurant
Updated Quarterly • Last Update: 2/18/2026
What's changing and what's not
Today, some kitchen jobs can be done by robots, but most cooking still needs people. For example, one restaurant uses a robot arm to load and remove burgers from the oven at just the right time [1]. Other robots handle simple tasks: a machine called “Flippy” can fry fries and pour drinks on demand [2] [3].
In these cases, workers still finish the meal – plating the food and adding finishing touches – so the robot is an assistant. In fact, managers say jobs become nicer: cooks “are enjoying the experience” of working with robots [1] [3].
However, many cooking tasks remain firmly human. An oven can auto-regulate its temperature, but only a cook can taste and season food to perfection. Studies note that people shy away from letting a robot do the “human touch” of cooking [2] [3].
Even in a fully automated kitchen concept, staff still had to greet customers and add toppings by hand [3]. Reviews of kitchen robotics conclude that, for now, automation mostly handles clear, repetitive chores (like flipping or stirring) while creative work stays with people [2] [3].
Sources
AI in the real world
Why might restaurants use these tools? Many kitchens struggle to find enough workers, and turnover can exceed 70% [2]. Robots never call in sick and always follow safety rules [2], which helps keep food consistent when workers are short.
Some experts note that if robots take on drudge work, restaurants could even afford to pay chefs more and reduce their manual labor [2]. In short, machines can help cooks by doing boring, repetitive tasks so humans can focus on cooking skills and customer service.
On the other hand, cost and acceptance slow down new machines. Cooking robots are expensive – one study noted a chef‐robot costs about \$50,000 (or roughly \$3,000 a month to lease) [2] – a big price for a small eatery. Restaurant analysts say most owners “do not have the luxury” to pour money into unproven tech, so they wait for proven solutions from larger chains [4].
Public acceptance is another hurdle: many diners and staff doubt a robot can match a real chef’s creativity and care [2] [3]. For now, experts believe AI will spread slowly – helping in the back kitchen while human cooks keep the creative control. The skills that machines lack – like tasting food, creating recipes, and handling surprises – remain very valuable [2] [3].
Sources
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More Career Info
Career: Cooks, Restaurant
Parent Careers
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Employment & Wage Data
Median Wage
$36,830
Jobs (2024)
1,460,200
Growth (2024-34)
+14.9%
Annual Openings
250,700
Education
No formal educational credential
Experience
Less than 5 years
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2024-2034
Task-Level AI Resilience Scores
AI-generated estimates of task resilience over the next 3 years
1
Substitute for or assist other cooks during emergencies or rush periods.
2
Butcher and dress animals, fowl, or shellfish, or cut and bone meat prior to cooking.
3
Observe and test foods to determine if they have been cooked sufficiently, using methods such as tasting, smelling, or piercing them with utensils.
4
Consult with supervisory staff to plan menus, taking into consideration factors such as costs and special event needs.
5
Plan and price menu items.
6
Coordinate and supervise work of kitchen staff.
7
Estimate expected food consumption, requisition or purchase supplies, or procure food from storage.
Tasks are ranked by their AI resilience, with the most resilient tasks shown first. Core tasks are essential functions of this occupation, while supplemental tasks provide additional context.
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