# Will AI replace chefs? Updated October 2026 Chefs score 36 of 100 for AI exposure. 50% of their task time still needs a person. AI can do 19% today and speed up another 31%. - **19%** AI can do it - **31%** AI helps - **50%** Needs a person Moderate exposure Lower than 52% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 21 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 4 of them today, speeds up 7 and leaves 10 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Record production or operational data on specified forms. Logging production numbers into forms is routine data entry. | 80% AI can do it | | Estimate amounts and costs of required supplies, such as food and ingredients. Recipe costing and scaling are easily computed by software. | 72% AI can do it | | Analyze recipes to assign prices to menu items, based on food, labor, and overhead costs. Recipe cost analysis and menu pricing are well suited to AI. | 70% AI can do it | | Order or requisition food or other supplies needed to ensure efficient operation. Reorder systems and forecasts handle most purchasing, with approval. | 62% AI can do it | | Determine production schedules and staff requirements necessary to ensure timely delivery of services. AI can build schedules and forecasts, but managers must approve. | 55% AI helps | ## How chefs compare All occupations (923) Food preparation and serving (16) **Chefs score 36**, marked by the dark line. Each dot is a score, darker where more occupations share it. The short marks show the averages, 37 for all occupations and 25 for food preparation and serving. ## Pay and outlook in the US Median pay $62,470 a year, May 2025 People employed 200,040 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs +6.6% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Verify recipe costs in ChefTec against supplier invoices - Approve AI-drafted purchase orders before they go out - Taste and grade food quality on the line - Teach knife work and plating to cooks in person - Build menu budgets and forecasts in Microsoft Excel - Hold the ServSafe Food Protection Manager certification ## Safer roles nearby 5 related occupations with lower scores. - [Bakers25 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/bakers/) - [Cooks23 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/cooks/) - [Cafeteria cooks25 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/cafeteria-cooks/) - [Short order cooks20 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/short-order-cooks/) - [Food batchmakers24 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/food-batchmakers/) ## Questions about chefs and AI Will chefs be replaced by AI? Partly. About 3 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly recording production data and estimating food and supply costs. Cooking, tasting, and training cooks stay with people because they need hands, senses, and a person in the kitchen. Which chef tasks is AI taking over? Data entry, supply costing, and menu pricing are the first tasks AI takes over. Logging production numbers scores 80 for exposure, and recipe costing and scaling are easily computed by software, which puts supply estimates at 72 and menu pricing at 70. Which chef tasks stay human? Preparing and cooking food stays human, with an exposure score of 5, the lowest in the job. Quality checks on raw and cooked food score 15, and instructing cooks scores 18, because tasting, plating, and hands-on teaching need a person present. How can chefs stay valuable as AI spreads? Use AI output as a draft and check it against the kitchen. Verify ChefTec and CookenPro recipe costs against real invoices, and approve AI-built purchase orders and schedules before they go out. Spend the hours saved on cooking, tasting, and training cooks on the line. ## Related jobs - [Food service managers41 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/food-service-managers/) - [Food service supervisors41 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/food-service-supervisors/) - [Waiters31 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/waiters/) - [Food preparation workers17 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/food-preparation-workers/) ## Next steps for chefs - ### Check your job Your job title is a rough guide. Your actual tasks decide your score. Paste your job description or CV and see which of your tasks AI can do. [Check your job](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/ai-exposure-checker/) [Check your CV](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/cv-checker/) ### Check which roles in your team AI can take on We map your team's tasks, show what AI can do today and build the automations that pay back first. [Book an AI audit](https://www.aigentcy.com/audit/) ## Related topics - [**Jobs AI can't replace**Cement masons score lowest, at 8.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-ai-cant-replace/) - [**Jobs most at risk from AI**Proofreaders score highest, at 76.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-most-exposed-to-ai/) - [**High-paying jobs with low AI exposure**Radiologists earn a median $420,860 and score 46.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/high-paying-jobs-low-ai-exposure/) - [**Entry-level jobs with low AI exposure**Cement masons need little prior training and score 8.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/entry-level-jobs-low-ai-exposure/) - [**Jobs AI speeds up the most**For natural sciences managers, AI speeds up 96% of task time.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-ai-speeds-up/) - [**AI and jobs in Malta**15 iGaming roles graded task by task.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/malta/) - [**Skills that keep work human**The skills to build in the jobs AI changes least.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/skills/) - [**Jobs A to Z**Every job we publish, by first letter.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs/) - [**AI exposure by industry**Average scores for 22 occupation groups.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/industries/) - [**Write a CV screening software can read**How applicant tracking systems read a CV, and what to change.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/cv-screening-guide/) - [**AI for businesses**The tasks to automate first in each team and industry.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/) - [**How we score AI exposure**The grading, the weights and every source.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/) Occupation data from the O\*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and modified by Aigentcy. O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Wage, employment and projection data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. EU occupation names from ESCO, European Commission. AI usage signals from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY) and Microsoft Research (CC BY 4.0). [Methodology and sources](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/). Scores © Aigentcy. Quote them with a link to the page.