Short answer
Unlikely. BLS rates the work's exposure to AI as moderate, below the middle of the pack, and still projects employment to grow faster than average.
AI and jobs
Will AI Replace Food Batchmakers? (2026)
The Bureau of Labor Statistics places food batchmakers in its moderate AI exposure category, below the middle of the pack: some of the work overlaps with what AI can do, much of it does not. BLS projects employment to change by +6.5% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 23,100 openings a year.
- BLS AI exposure
- ModerateBLS EP supplemental table
- AI-resilience score
- 42/100Higher than 45% of jobs · NueCareer
- Projected change
- +6.5%BLS EP 2025–2035; all jobs 3.5%
- Openings a year
- 23,100BLS EP 2025–2035
The federal measure
How exposed food batchmakers are to AI
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a relative AI exposure category for each occupation it projects, built from five public measures of where AI could be, or already is, used to assist with or complete the work. Food Batchmakers land in the moderate category: below the middle of the pack: some of the work overlaps with what AI can do, much of it does not.
Where this job sits on the BLS scale
786 occupations in the NueCareer bank, in BLS's four relative categories; width shows how many fall in each
- Low203 occupations · 26%
- Moderate · this job194 occupations · 25%
- High190 occupations · 24%
- Very high199 occupations · 25%
Source: BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories supplemental table.
- Exposure is relative. The categories rank occupations against each other; they are not a probability that a job is automated.
- BLS says exposure does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. A highly exposed job can still grow if AI makes the people in it more productive.
- The classification reflects AI capabilities as the underlying studies measured them. Read the BLS method and limitations.
Inside the work
What AI can and cannot do in this job
O*NET rates how important each work activity is to an occupation and how often each working condition comes up. The ratings below are the ones that move the job's NueCareer AI-resilience score the most: the ones that pull it up, and the ones that pull it down. Only ratings clearly above the midpoint count.
What holds up
Physical, hands-on and person-to-person work
- Face-to-face discussions4.6/5O*NET work context, frequency or level
- Performing general physical activities3.7/5O*NET work activity, importance
- Handling and moving objects3.9/5O*NET work activity, importance
- Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials4.2/5O*NET work activity, importance
What AI reaches first
Routine, repeatable and screen-based work
- Documenting/recording information4.3/5O*NET work activity, importance
- Repeating the same tasks4.1/5O*NET work context, frequency or level
- Processing information3.6/5O*NET work activity, importance
- Repetitive motions3.9/5O*NET work context, frequency or level
The tasks O*NET lists for food batchmakers
- Set up, operate, and tend equipment that cooks, mixes, blends, or processes ingredients in the manufacturing of food products, according to formulas or recipes.
- Follow recipes to produce food products of specified flavor, texture, clarity, bouquet, or color.
- Clean and sterilize vats and factory processing areas.
- Record production and test data for each food product batch, such as the ingredients used, temperature, test results, and time cycle.
- Observe and listen to equipment to detect possible malfunctions, such as leaks or plugging, and report malfunctions or undesirable tastes to supervisors.
- Observe gauges and thermometers to determine if the mixing chamber temperature is within specified limits, and turn valves to control the temperature.
O*NET 31.0 Database task statements, most important first.
The jobs
Will there still be jobs?
Exposure says where AI meets the work. The BLS projection says what the labor market is expected to do over 2025–2035. BLS projects +6.5% change in employment over the decade, against 3.5% across all occupations, and about 23,100 openings a year once retirements and career changes are counted. About 174,520 people work in the job today, at a median of $42,290 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Full food batchmaker profile: pay by state, entry route and skills
Options
Related careers less exposed to AI than food batchmakers
Careers O*NET lists as related to the work, or in the same field at similar pay, that BLS places in a lower exposure category.
- Median pay
- $48,990median a year
- Growth
- −6.1%
- Openings / yr
- 7,900
- Education
- High school
- Low
- BLS AI exposure
- 58/100
- resilience
Set up, operate, or tend machines to mix or blend materials, such as chemicals, tobacco, liquids, color pigments, or explosive ingredients.
- Median pay
- $41,330median a year
- Growth
- +5.9%
- Openings / yr
- 800
- Education
- High school
- Low
- BLS AI exposure
- 53/100
- resilience
Operate or tend equipment such as cooling and freezing units, refrigerators, batch freezers, and freezing tunnels, to cool or freeze products, food, blood plasma, and chemicals.
- Median pay
- $43,530median a year
- Growth
- +3.4%
- Openings / yr
- 1,700
- Education
- High school
- Low
- BLS AI exposure
- 52/100
- resilience
Operate or tend machines to wash or clean products, such as barrels or kegs, glass items, tin plate, food, pulp, coal, plastic, or rubber, to remove impurities.
- Median pay
- $44,810median a year
- Growth
- +0.4%
- Openings / yr
- 2,500
- Education
- No formal credential
- Low
- BLS AI exposure
- 50/100
- resilience
Operate or tend food or tobacco roasting, baking, or drying equipment, including hearth ovens, kiln driers, roasters, char kilns, and vacuum drying equipment.
Grader and Sorter, Agricultural Products
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry
- Median pay
- $35,730median a year
- Growth
- −3.4%
- Openings / yr
- 5,800
- Education
- No formal credential
- Low
- BLS AI exposure
- 47/100
- resilience
Grade, sort, or classify unprocessed food and other agricultural products by size, weight, color, or condition.
- Median pay
- $45,760median a year
- Growth
- +1.5%
- Openings / yr
- 5,200
- Education
- High school
- Low
- BLS AI exposure
- 46/100
- resilience
Set up, operate, or tend machines, such as glass-forming machines, plodder machines, and tuber machines, to shape and form products such as glassware, food, rubber, soap, brick, tile, clay, wax, tobacco, or cosmetics.
Questions
Will AI Replace Food Batchmakers? FAQ
Will AI replace food batchmakers?
Unlikely. BLS rates the work's exposure to AI as moderate, below the middle of the pack, and still projects employment to grow faster than average. BLS defines exposure as AI being able to assist with or complete some of the work, and says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains or wage effects. BLS projects employment to change by +6.5% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 23,100 openings a year.
How exposed are food batchmakers to AI?
BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Food Batchmakers are in the moderate category, alongside 193 other occupations. The categories combine five public measures of where AI could be or already is used, and they compare occupations with each other rather than giving an absolute risk.
What parts of a food batchmaker's job can AI do?
In O*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are documenting/recording information, repeating the same tasks and processing information. The parts that hold up best are face-to-face discussions, performing general physical activities and handling and moving objects. These come from O*NET ratings of how important each activity is to the job, read through NueCareer's AI-resilience method.
Is being a food batchmaker a safe career from AI?
On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O*NET work activities, food batchmakers score 42 out of 100, higher than 45% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $42,290 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No job is fully safe from technological change, but the federal exposure category and the projected openings are the two numbers worth weighing.
What careers similar to food batchmakers are less exposed to AI?
Mixing and Blending Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender (low exposure, $48,990 median), Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operator and Tender (low exposure, $41,330 median), Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operator and Tender (low exposure, $43,530 median), Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operator and Tender (low exposure, $44,810 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than food batchmakers, and most are listed by O*NET as related to the work.
The AI exposure category is the Bureau of Labor Statistics'. The AI-resilience score and the activity breakdown are NueCareer's analysis of O*NET 31.0 Database data (method), not a federal figure. More: jobs most exposed to AI, jobs least exposed to AI, or check any job.