Picking fruit and vegetables
Farm Worker · Produce Picker
“Picking fruit and vegetables” (Farm Worker) is being replaced by AI: it entered in 2024 and is projected to be largely replaced by 2036.
AI enters
2024
Largely replaced
2036
Replacement progress
17%
Technology / key factor
Harvesting robots
What this task is
Pickers identify ripe tomatoes, strawberries or apples one by one, pick them carefully and pack them. The work is seasonal and labor is often scarce.
How AI replaces it
Around 2024, harvesting robots combining computer vision and soft grippers began working in structured settings like greenhouses. Because produce bruises easily and grows irregularly, broad replacement of human pickers is expected only around 2036.
What stays human
Workers move toward managing and maintaining picking robots, harvesting fruit the machines cannot reach and working in open orchards, and checking fruit quality before it is packed.