The Task Exposure Indexv2026.Q3
Occupation · SOC 17-1012.00 · Job Zone 4

AI exposure: Landscape Architects

Plan and design land areas for projects such as parks and other recreational facilities, airports, highways, hospitals, schools, land subdivisions, and commercial, industrial, and residential sites.

Reading this score

computed

41.6% of this occupation's weighted task load is exposed, which puts Landscape Architects at the 74th percentile of 923 occupations. The capability is largely there. Its average task scores 2.7 out of 4 on what a current system can produce, and the frictions that hold other jobs in place are comparatively weak here.

What holds the line here is context. Across this occupation's 19 tasks it averages 1.95 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work depends on knowledge the model cannot hold. Much of this job runs on things that were never written down: what this particular organisation does, what happened last week, what the person across the table actually meant. That context is the barrier, and it erodes as systems are given more access.

The most exposed thing this job does is Develop planting plans to help clients garden productively or to achieve particular aesthetic..., at 73.3%. The least is Inspect proposed sites to identify structural elements of land areas or other important site..., at 8.3%. A gap of 65.0% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.

Within architecture and engineering occupations, this one is more exposed than most. The median across the 56 roles in the group is 37.5%, and only 9 of them score higher than this. Occupational families are not uniform, and the spread inside them is often wider than the gap between them.

What would move this score. Of 19 tasks, 14 are currently banded exposed, 2 assisted and 3 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take cheaper ways to verify output, since the cost of checking is currently doing more to hold this work in place than the cost of producing it. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.

Task by task

19 tasks, O*NET 31.0
TaskExposedAssistedUntouchedImportanceBand
Develop planting plans to help clients garden productively or to achieve particular aesthetic effects.73.3%26.7%0.0%3.90exposed
Provide follow-up consultations for clients to ensure landscape designs are maturing or developing as planned.73.3%26.7%0.0%3.19exposed
Research latest products, technology, or design trends to stay current in the field.65.0%10.0%25.0%3.50exposed
Prepare graphic representations or drawings of proposed plans or designs.55.0%20.0%25.0%4.16exposed
Develop marketing materials, proposals, or presentations to generate new work opportunities.55.0%20.0%25.0%3.65exposed
Prepare conceptual drawings, graphics, or other visual representations of land areas to show predicted growth or development of land areas over time.55.0%20.0%25.0%3.60exposed
Prepare site plans, specifications, or cost estimates for land development.50.0%25.0%25.0%4.40exposed
Confer with clients, engineering personnel, or architects on landscape projects.45.0%30.0%25.0%4.85exposed
Analyze data on conditions such as site location, drainage, or structure location for environmental reports or landscaping plans.45.0%30.0%25.0%4.53exposed
Identify and select appropriate sustainable materials for use in landscape designs, such as recycled wood or recycled concrete boards for structural elements or recycled tires for playground bedding.45.0%30.0%25.0%3.53exposed
Integrate existing land features or landscaping into designs.40.0%35.0%25.0%4.37exposed
Create landscapes that minimize water consumption such as by incorporating drought-resistant grasses or indigenous plants.40.0%35.0%25.0%3.95exposed
Present project plans or designs to public stakeholders, such as government agencies or community groups.40.0%35.0%25.0%3.84exposed
Collaborate with architects or related professionals on whole building design to maximize the aesthetic features of structures or surrounding land and to improve energy efficiency.35.0%40.0%25.0%4.25assisted
Collaborate with estimators to cost projects, create project plans, or coordinate bids from landscaping contractors.35.0%40.0%25.0%3.95assisted
Design and integrate rainwater harvesting or gray and reclaimed water systems to conserve water into building or land designs.26.7%23.3%50.0%3.35exposed
Manage the work of subcontractors to ensure quality control.10.0%15.0%75.0%3.84untouched
Inspect landscape work to ensure compliance with specifications, evaluate quality of materials or work, or advise clients or construction personnel.8.3%16.7%75.0%4.40untouched
Inspect proposed sites to identify structural elements of land areas or other important site information, such as soil condition, existing landscaping, or the proximity of water management facilities.8.3%16.7%75.0%4.05untouched

Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.

Where the score comes from

judged

Every task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.

DimensionMeanScale
Capability2.740-4
Embodiment0.630-3
Presence0.740-3
Accountability1.340-3
Context1.950-3
Verification cost1.550-3

What this means in practice

Where most of a role's weighted task load is exposed, the work that survives is usually the part of the job nobody wrote into the job description: deciding what should be produced rather than producing it, and being answerable for the result. The tasks lowest on this page are a better guide to where to spend your time than any general advice about the future of work.

Occupations either side of this one

The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.

Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.