The Albany Gazette - The Super Bowl LX: AI Powers the Bay Area's Biggest Week of Jobs and Spending

New Instawork data shows Super Bowl week driving job demand, rising wages, a surge in visitors, near-sellout hotel occupancy, and a sharp increase in hospitality, event, and stadium jobs across San Francisco and the surrounding region.

What's different in 2026: This is the first Super Bowl run at AI scale.

By the Numbers: The Super Bowl Economy

• 9.06 million visitors are expected across Super Bowl-related events, roughly one million more visitors, or a 13% bump, over an average February

• 95% hotel occupancy is projected citywide, effectively a regional sellout

• $5,553 average spend per visitor is more than three times typical event spending, driving outsized demand for service, event, and stadium labor

• Shift volume is surpassing February 2025 levels with just under one week remaining before the Big Game

• Booked shifts grew 20.7% in the final week compared to last year, reflecting accelerating booking velocity as Super Bowl week approaches

• 12% increase in hourly pay across Bay Area roles

• Warehouse and logistics shift volume grew by 320%, signaling early-stage event preparation and supply movement

• Other top requested shifts showing significant demand vs. last year, include:

  • Brand Ambassador, up +226%

  • Merchandiser, up +56%

  • Barback, up 67%, alongside an 11% increase in hourly rates for the role

• Core hospitality roles such as line cooks, event servers, and dishwashers booked later than last year, consistent with event-specific roles filling closer to the event date

The First AI Super Bowl

Behind the packed hotels, pop-up activations, and sold-out events, the challenge is scaling a massive workforce that must adapt to minute-by-minute changes.

Instawork, a San Francisco-based company, is operating a native AI platform that coordinates tens of thousands of shifts during Super Bowl week, drawing on millions of data points in real time. The system represents one of the largest AI-driven workforce deployments used for a live event.

Instead of manual scheduling and reactive staffing, AI is used to:

• Match skilled workers to roles across venues and partners in real time

• Adjust staffing levels in real time based on live and predicted needs and conditions

• Maintain continuous operations across hospitality, events, and stadium environments

While human workers remain essential for on-the-ground services and tasks, AI's predictive power and massive coordination capabilities manage the scale and complexity of the Super Bowl workforce behind the scenes.

About Instawork

Instawork's mission is to create economic opportunities for businesses and hourly workers across the globe. As the leading AI-powered marketplace for hourly labor, Instawork connects light industrial, hospitality, retail, and robotics companies to skilled workers, turning staffing agility into a competitive advantage. Instawork helps more than nine million workers earn on their terms while developing valuable skills.

Backed by leading investors such as Benchmark, Craft, Greylock, and Spark Capital, Instawork is redefining how businesses stay resilient and how people work.

Media Contact
Amanda Pires
Head of Communications, Instawork
[email protected] | 650-208-3728

SOURCE: Instawork

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

(M.Scott--TAG)