Bartenders

49% (Moderate Risk)

Moderate Risk (41-60%): Occupations with a moderate risk of automation usually involve routine tasks but still require some human judgment and interaction.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

User poll

Sentiment

The following graph is included wherever there is a substantial amount of votes to render meaningful data. These visual representations display user poll results over time, providing a significant indication of sentiment trends.

Wages

Very low paid relative to other professions

In 2023, the median annual wage for 'Bartenders' was $31,510, or $15 per hour

'Bartenders' were paid 34.4% lower than the national median wage, which stood at $48,060

Wages over time

Comments

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Bill bob (Moderate) 12 days ago

Tech moves so fast and why pay a wait staff when you could buy AI Bots that dont get sick don't need personal days don't need tips don't need wages food prices go down

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TLB (Low) 9 months ago

There will always be a demand for human interaction. They can go ahead and automate the service well though.

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Chris (Low) 1 year ago

While people could buy a beer or a mixed drink from a vending machine, I don't think that is what people are looking for when they go to the bar. Maybe at a club where something else is the main focus.

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Anthony (No chance) 2 years ago

The hospitality skills that bartenders use on a daily basis are simply irreplaceable by machines. It's possible that SOME establishments could automate certain aspects of the process but I can't see a world where bar staff are eliminated entirely. People come to bars to socialize, and for many people, particularly to socialize with the staff.

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Evgo The Bartender (No chance) 3 years ago

Unless AI becomes so advanced that it can feel emotions, there is no way a robot can replace a human being, as a bartender.

A bartender is much more than a cocktail machine, the bartender is the face of the establishment, and you cannot automate the experience of sitting and chatting with a bartender.

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Jonny 5 months ago

Imagine not having to wait forever to get another round of drinks, automation of that job would be great!

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Brisn (Highly likely) 3 years ago

Bartenders are slow to make drinks when lines are long which leads to upset and lost customers. AI and automated bartending processes won’t be hard to develop to replace this job and serve customer to make them happier through a quicker service while also making bar owners cut down on costs and get more repeat customers.

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ec (Low) 3 years ago

A robot can pour a drink but its going to be a while until they can listen to you talk about your problems

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Anonymous bartender (Low) 3 years ago

Main reason why bartenders will NOT be replaced by robots: mixing and serving the cocktails are only a small portion of the job. The social interaction is the most important part about being a good bartender. Can the robot be a little more efficient or faster? Sure. The hourly labor costs of a bartender does not warrant a need by any owner to replace a human with a robot. The vast majority of most bartenders’ income is from tips. Owners of companies who would find it reasonable to replace humans with robots are humans in different industries where social interaction isn’t the biggest part of the job, who have a higher hourly rate.

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Tristan (Low) 4 years ago

Many people have pointed out many reasons why this is unlikely: bartenders aren't expensive to begin with, bartenders provide social interaction that can't be raplaced by a robot, not enough big financial interest in the bar industry, etc.

There are other things that bartenders do that can't be automated, like being de facto security in bars with no bouncers. You wouldn't expect a robot to be able to identify a drunk and disorderly customer and eject them from the bar any time soon; even if the technology is there the legality of it seems lightyears away.

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Andria (Moderate) 4 years ago

It wouldn't be that hard to have all alcoholic beverages available for use from a robot. It's very easy to program the recipes into a robot as well so it will know exactly how to make it; even faster than humans as we would have to look up an unknown recipe, taking longer than a robot could look one up.

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Aidan 5 years ago

There isn't really a NEED to automate a bartender. They aren't paid that much to begin with, so automating them wouldn't render them all that cost effective. I also doubt the efficiency of getting your drink to begin with would fluctuate all that much. With current technology and the limits of our ability to replicate human dexterity, it's unlikely that the speed and accuracy of a bartender could have any competition to begin with. Think about the customer service aspect as well, who wants to be served by a lifeless robot that just scans you as another customer to serve?

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Bell (Low) 5 years ago

I could see big chains with money doing this, especially restaurants, or places that have less human contact behind the bar.

Smaller places, no. Not enough money.

Bartenders make up a lot of the charm (or frustration) of going out, and automating this literally would take the life out of a place and probably backfire.

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Lee Springer 5 years ago

When robots mix drinks at the bars I'm going to be the saddest person at the bar since I tend to drink alone. Time to put my phone away and attempt conversation with the other humans.

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Jesse (Uncertain) 5 years ago

Bartenders serve libations to Humans. Humans are social beings who drink when socializing. Chances are Humans will go drink to escape robots.

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Anon 5 years ago

Some bartnders have prevented suicides, I feel you can't automate that human experience that a lot of people go to a bar for.

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Lance O'Conner 5 years ago

I can't talk to a robot about Karen taking the kids

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