Job Check
Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders
Operate or tend machines to prepare industrial or consumer products for storage or shipment. Includes cannery workers who pack food products.
10 main tasks · most important first
Your main tasks and AI
Importance- 01Attach identification labels to finished packaged items, or cut stencils and stencil information on containers, such as lot numbers or shipping destinations.Mostly human for now
- 02Sort, grade, weigh, and inspect products, verifying and adjusting product weight or measurement to meet specifications.Mostly human for now
- 03Stop or reset machines when malfunctions occur, clear machine jams, and report malfunctions to a supervisor.Mostly human for now
- 04Observe machine operations to ensure quality and conformity of filled or packaged products to standards.Mostly human for now
- 05Remove finished packaged items from machine and separate rejected items.Mostly human for now
- 06Monitor the production line, watching for problems such as pile-ups, jams, or glue that isn't sticking properly.Mostly human for now
- 07Inspect and remove defective products and packaging material.Mostly human for now
- 08Start machine by engaging controls.Mostly human for now
- 09Tend or operate machine that packages product.Mostly human for now
- 10Clean, oil, and make minor adjustments or repairs to machinery and equipment, such as opening valves or setting guides.Mostly human for now
Tasks from O*NET® 31.0 (US Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0, changed by us), most important first. “Already use” comes from Anthropic’s data on real work chats with Claude; “could speed up” from task ratings made with GPT-4 in 2023.
Four studies, side by side
None is a forecast of job lossToo little dataNot enough work use was seen to measure. This does not mean the job is safe from AI.Anthropic, 2026
0%of this job’s tasks an AI model could do in half the time, counting tasks that need extra tools as half (rated in 2023).Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock, 2023
Above 3% of jobsin how often and how well AI helped with this job’s work in Microsoft Copilot chats (2024 data).Microsoft Research (Tomlinson et al.), 2025
Above 87% of jobsin how much of this job’s physical work robots have been shown to do, from factories to homes (2026).Anthropic, 2026
Your human edge
The main tasks with no real AI use seen and no big speed-up expected. This is where your skill counts most today.
- Attach identification labels to finished packaged items, or cut stencils and stencil information on containers, such as lot numbers or shipping destinations.
- Sort, grade, weigh, and inspect products, verifying and adjusting product weight or measurement to meet specifications.
- Stop or reset machines when malfunctions occur, clear machine jams, and report malfunctions to a supervisor.