Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers
In short: today's best AI models could do about 0% 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 the same by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 100% of the time, stays with people.
Landscape or maintain grounds of property using hand or power tools or equipment. Workers typically perform a variety of tasks, which may include any combination of the following: sod laying, mowing, trimming, planting, watering, fertilizing, digging, raking, sprinkler installation, and installation of mortarless segmental concrete masonry wall units.
952,640 people do this job in the US. $39,150 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 on0 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people40 h
Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 0 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 40 hours stay with people.
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.
- 0%
- 0%
- 0%
- 0%
- 100%
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 0% 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, 0%. Today's estimate: 0%.
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
None of this job's 19 tasks showed up in the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled in any of its 7 releases, from February 2025 to May 2026.
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 99% of this job's working time as physical work. For 80% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 34% in a purpose-built cell, 46% in a structured facility. 1.26 of 3, the 48th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 1%
- No robot shown 18%
- In a purpose-built cell 34%
- In a structured facility 46%
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
99% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Mow and edge lawns, the hands-on work, 20%
- Prune trees, shrubs and hedges, the hands-on work, 15%
- Care for established lawns, the hands-on work, 12%
- Operate vehicles and power equipment, the hands-on work, 10%
- Use hand tools, the hands-on work, 8%
- Rake, mulch and compost leaves, the hands-on work, 7%
What becomes checking the machine
No desk work within reach by then in tasks where a mistake costs something.
What to learn
- The hands-on craft. About 100% of the time is hands-on work, which no model here does; robots are rated separately on this page.
- Judgment where errors are severe. Some tasks are severe if wrong. Knowing when not to trust an output matters more there than speed.
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 . 19 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mow or edge lawns, using power mowers or edgers.Running mowers and edgers.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, Kress RTKn robotic mowers (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 20% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Prune or trim trees, shrubs, or hedges, using shears, pruners, or chain saws.Cutting by hand and power tool.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, AgriNomix/AdeptAg Revolving Trimmer (nursery shaping trimmer line) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 15% | 50 min17 min to 3.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Care for established lawns by mulching, aerating, weeding, grubbing, removing thatch, or trimming or edging around flower beds, walks, or walls.Mulching, aerating and weeding by hand and machine.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Yarbo Trimmer module (Yarbo Core robot) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 12% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Operate vehicles or powered equipment, such as mowers, tractors, twin-axle vehicles, snow blowers, chainsaws, electric clippers, sod cutters, or pruning saws.Driving tractors and running chainsaws.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, Scythe Robotics M.52 (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 10% | 50 min25 min to 2.5 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Use hand tools, such as shovels, rakes, pruning saws, saws, hedge or brush trimmers, or axes.Shovels, rakes and saws in hand.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, AgriNomix RW 1500 transplanter; Visser FlexPlanter (AgriNomix; Visser Horti Systems) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 8% | 38 min17 min to 1.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Rake, mulch, and compost leaves.Hands-on work.Done more than yearly by most who do it.Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 1.7 h25 min to 3.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Trim or pick flowers and clean flower beds.Hands-on work.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 50 min25 min to 2.5 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Provide proper upkeep of sidewalks, driveways, parking lots, fountains, planters, burial sites, or other grounds features.Hands-on upkeep.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: in a structured facility, Yarbo Core + Snow Blower module (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Care for natural turf fields, making sure the underlying soil has the required composition to allow proper drainage and to support the grasses.Working the soil and turf by hand and machine.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Sabanto autonomy system (Sabanto Steward retrofit kit) (Sabanto, Inc.) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 3.3 h50 min to 6.7 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Gather and remove litter.Picking up by hand.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Shovel snow from walks, driveways, or parking lots, and spread salt in those areas.Hands-on work.Done more than yearly by most who do it.Robots: in a structured facility, Snowbotix Multi-Utility Robot (SMUR) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 2% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Follow planned landscaping designs to determine where to lay sod, sow grass, or plant flowers or foliage.Planting by hand, with the design read as the work goes.Done yearly or less by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Harvest Automation HV-100 (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 1% | 1.7 h25 min to 3.3 h | Hands-on 80%, documents 20% | 20%Desk part 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. 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.
- Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation18% now, 18% by 2028
- Tree Trimmers and Pruners5% now, 6% by 2028
- Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse3% now, 3% by 2028
- First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers29% now, 30% by 2028
- Agricultural Equipment Operators0% now, 0% by 2028
- Highway Maintenance Workers0% now, 0% by 2028
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 Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 0% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 0% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. 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 Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers 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: Follow landscape designs when planting (20% of the task's time now); and Plan and cultivate lawns and gardens (20% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Mow and edge lawns; Prune trees, shrubs and hedges; and Care for established lawns. Together such tasks are about 98% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are the hands-on craft; and judgment where errors are severe. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 99% of the working time stays with people, 0% becomes checking a model's work and 0% 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 Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026, no reportable share went to this job's tasks. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 0%. 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 Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 99% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 80% of the working time, 46% in a structured facility. Its index is 1.26 of 3. One example: Kress RTKn robotic mowers for "mow and edge lawns". 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 19 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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