Architects, Except Landscape and Naval
In short: today's best AI models could do about 35% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about 90% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 7% of the time, stays with people.
Plan and design structures, such as private residences, office buildings, theaters, factories, and other structural property.
106,770 people do this job in the US. $99,280 a year.
Reviewed on September 30, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on2 h
- A person checks AI's work12 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet23 h
- Stays with people3 h
Architects, Except Landscape and Naval, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 2 hours, 12 hours become checking its work, 23 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 3 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Prepare drawings and designs (about 3 h, a person checks); Prepare design and cost information (about 2 h, a person checks); Create 3D representations (about 1 h).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 93%
- 0%
- 5%
- 1%
- 2%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
What handing it over would take, now
The 35% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 4%. Today's estimate: 35%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, 0.053% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 222nd largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 4 of its 25 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.071% to 0.078% (released February and March 2025); 0.042% to 0.084% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.034% to 0.053% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.071% | 223 of 708 | 10 of 25 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.078% | 194 of 703 | 11 of 25 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.042% | 263 of 655 | 6 of 25 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.068% | 199 of 672 | 8 of 25 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.084% | 186 of 677 | 8 of 25 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.034% | 250 of 434 | 3 of 25 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.053% | 222 of 447 | 4 of 25 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 6% of this job's working time as physical work. For 0% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere. 0.00 of 3.
- Not physical 94%
- No robot shown 6%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
6% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Direct drafting technicians, the conversation, 2%
- Administer construction contracts, the conversation, 1%
- Review drawings with clients, the in-person work, 0.9%
- Observe construction on site, the hands-on work, 0.7%
- Monitor specialists' work, the conversation, 0.7%
- Inspect structure conditions, the hands-on work, 0.6%
What becomes checking the machine
80% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it. Another 9% is desk work that is small if wrong, which can be handed over with lighter checks.
- Prepare drawings and designs, a licensed person signs, 8%
- Prepare design and cost information, costly if wrong, 8%
- Design structures to regulations, a licensed person signs, 8%
- Prepare contract documents, a licensed person signs, 8%
- Integrate engineering into designs, a licensed person signs, 8%
- Design environmental upgrades, a licensed person signs, 7%
What to learn
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts. About 93% of the time is documents and data, the part models reach first: writing a clear brief, giving the right material, and checking what comes back.
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself. The tasks under What becomes checking the machine, where a mistake costs something, stay a person's to check or sign: spotting what a draft gets wrong is a skill of its own.
- Signing off under your license. Some tasks need a licensed, certified or sworn person to do or sign them. The license, and the judgment it stands for, stays with the person.
- Judgment where errors are severe. Some tasks are severe if wrong. Knowing when not to trust an output matters more there than speed.
- Dealing with people outside the organization. Customers, patients, suppliers or the public: trust with them is built by a person.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 25 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prepare scale drawings or architectural designs, using computer-aided design or other tools.Design work in CAD.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 8% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 1.7 work days | Documents 100% | 91%Half by now |
| Prepare information regarding design, structure specifications, materials, color, equipment, estimated costs, or construction time.Specifications, costs and times written up.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 8% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.5 work days | Documents 100% | 55%Half by now |
| Create three-dimensional or interactive representations of designs, using computer-assisted design software.Models built in software.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 8% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 3.3 work days | Documents 100% | 46%Half by Dec 2026 |
| Prepare contract documents for building contractors.Documents written for the contractor.Done hourly or more by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 8% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 1 work week | Documents 100% | 28%Half by Apr 2027 |
| Integrate engineering elements into unified architectural designs.Design work on paper.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 1 work week | Documents 100% | 28%Half by Apr 2027 |
| Plan or design structures such as residences, office buildings, theatres, factories, or other structural properties in accordance with environmental, safety, or other regulations.Design work on paper.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 2.1 work days6.7 h to 1.3 work weeks | Documents 100% | 27%Half by Mar 2027 |
| Design environmentally sound structural upgrades to existing buildings, such as natural lighting systems, green roofs, or rainwater collection systems.Design work on paper.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 8% | 2.1 work days3.3 h to 1.7 work weeks | Documents 100% | 15%Half by Oct 2027 |
| Design structures that incorporate environmentally friendly building practices or concepts, such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards.Design work on paper.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 8% | 2.1 work days3.3 h to 1.7 work weeks | Documents 100% | 15%Half by Oct 2027 |
| Develop final construction plans that include aesthetic representations of the structure or details for its construction.Plans and details drawn.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 3.3 work days6.7 h to 2.7 work weeks | Documents 100% | 8%Half by Dec 2027 |
| Plan layouts of structural architectural projects.Layouts designed on paper.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 6% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 3.3 work days | Documents 100% | 46%Half by Dec 2026 |
| Design or plan construction of green building projects to minimize adverse environmental impact or conserve energy.Design work on paper.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 2.1 work days3.3 h to 1.7 work weeks | Documents 100% | 15%Half by Oct 2027 |
| Prepare operating and maintenance manuals, studies, or reports.Manuals, studies and reports written.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 4% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 1 work week | Documents 100% | 28%Half by Apr 2027 |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Architects, Except Landscape and Naval is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 35% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 90% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (74% to 93% across the three paces the site shows). Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Architects, Except Landscape and Naval come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Prepare drawings and designs (91% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); Prepare design and cost information (55% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); and Create 3D representations (46% of the task's time now, 99% by the end of 2028).
- Which tasks of Architects, Except Landscape and Naval stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Review drawings with clients; and Determine client requirements. Together such tasks are about 1% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Architects, Except Landscape and Naval learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are briefing a model and checking its drafts; reviewing work you did not do yourself; and signing off under your license. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 6% of the working time stays with people, 80% becomes checking a model's work and 9% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Architects, Except Landscape and Naval?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.053% went to this job's tasks, the 222nd largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 4 of its 25 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 8%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Architects, Except Landscape and Naval?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 6% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 0% of the working time. Its index is 0.00 of 3. A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 25 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on September 30, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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