Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians
In short: today's best AI models could do about 68% 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 99% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The people and hands-on work, about 1% of the time, stays with people.
Assist scientists or related professionals in building, maintaining, modifying, or using geographic information systems (GIS) databases. May also perform some custom application development or provide user support.
$116,580 a year (for the broader BLS group this job sits in).
A typical 40-hour week
Not yet reviewed task by task- AI could take on27 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet13 h
- Stays with people0 h
Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 27 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 13 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 0 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Produce data layers, maps, tables, or reports, using spatial analysis procedures or Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology, equipment, or systems (about 4 h); Maintain or modify existing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) databases (about 3 h); Design, program, or model Geographic Information Systems (GIS) applications or procedures (about 2 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.
- 99%
- 1%
- 0%
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.
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, 17%. Today's estimate: 68%.
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, 0.95% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 27th largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 5 of its 29 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.26% to 0.32% (released February and March 2025); 0.2% to 0.11% (August 2025 to February 2026); 1.1% to 0.95% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.26% | 76 of 708 | 16 of 29 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.32% | 55 of 703 | 12 of 29 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.2% | 94 of 655 | 12 of 29 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.12% | 128 of 672 | 15 of 29 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.11% | 146 of 677 | 15 of 29 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 1.1% | 23 of 434 | 5 of 29 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.95% | 27 of 447 | 5 of 29 |
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 almost none of this job's working time as physical work, so robots do not reach it.
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.
The tasks
Sorted by . 29 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Produce data layers, maps, tables, or reports, using spatial analysis procedures or Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology, equipment, or systems.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 12% | 3.3 h50 min to 6.7 h | 91%Half by now | |
| Design or coordinate the development of integrated Geographic Information Systems (GIS) spatial or non-spatial databases.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 12% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 1 work week | 28%Half by Apr 2027 | |
| Design, program, or model Geographic Information Systems (GIS) applications or procedures.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 10% | 1 work day3.3 h to 4.2 work days | 52%Half by now | |
| Develop specialized computer software routines, internet-based Geographic Information Systems (GIS) databases, or business applications to customize geographic information.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 9% | 1.3 work days3.3 h to 1 work week | 39%Half by Jan 2027 | |
| Maintain or modify existing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) databases.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 2.1 h50 min to 5 h | 99%Half by now | |
| Perform computer programming, data analysis, or software development for Geographic Information Systems (GIS) applications, including the maintenance of existing systems or research and development for future enhancements.Done more than weekly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 6% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 3.3 work days | 46%Half by Dec 2026 | |
| Perform geospatial data building, modeling, or analysis, using advanced spatial analysis, data manipulation, or cartography software.Done more than weekly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 5% | 4.2 h1.7 h to 2.1 work days | 79%Half by now | |
| Enter data into Geographic Information Systems (GIS) databases, using techniques such as coordinate geometry, keyboard entry of tabular data, manual digitizing of maps, scanning or automatic conversion to vectors, or conversion of other sources of digital data.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 2.5 h25 min to 6.7 h | 79%Half by now | |
| Apply three-dimensional (3D) or four-dimensional (4D) technologies to geospatial data to allow for new or different analyses or applications.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 4% | 6.7 h3.3 h to 2.1 work days | 86%Half by now | |
| Create, analyze, report, convert, or transfer data, using specialized applications program software.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 4% | 2.1 h50 min to 4.2 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Design or prepare graphic representations of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data, using GIS hardware or software applications.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | 96%Half by now | |
| Perform integrated or computerized Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analyses to address scientific problems.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 3% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 3.1 work days | 48%Half by now |
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.
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). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
- Federal Executive Branch86,390 people
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services76,660 people
- Management of Companies and Enterprises25,080 people
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services16,520 people
- Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services15,100 people
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 68% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 99% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (94% to 99% 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 Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians 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: Produce data layers, maps, tables, or reports, using spatial analysis procedures or Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology, equipment, or systems (91% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); Maintain or modify existing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) databases (99% of the task's time now); and Design, program, or model Geographic Information Systems (GIS) applications or procedures (52% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028).
- Which tasks of Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Confer with users to analyze, configure, or troubleshoot applications; and Meet with clients to discuss topics such as technical specifications, customized solutions, or operational problems. Together such tasks are about 1% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.95% went to this job's tasks, the 27th largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 5 of its 29 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 31%. 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 Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds almost none of the working time is physical work, so robots do not reach it.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 29 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, each classed as desk, people or body work, 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.
This job in your state or metro area
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.
Your own version of this job
The page above is the occupation. Your job is your title and what you actually do: give both, and they are read against these tasks in your browser, nothing sent anywhere. The headline is free: how much of your working time is within reach now and by the end of 2028, and how many of the tasks your description names.
This occupation has not been reviewed task by task yet, so the full personal report is not offered for it; 402 of 923 occupations are reviewed so far, largest first.