Will AI replace Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians?
AI reaches most of this job’s work.
60/100
Very high exposure
More exposed to AI than 92% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 20% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 97% of the work
What the job involves
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.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Already happening(7)
- Create, analyze, report, convert, or transfer data, using specialized applications program software.
- Perform geospatial data building, modeling, or analysis, using advanced spatial analysis, data manipulation, or cartography software.
- Provide technical expertise in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology to clients or users.
- Confer with users to analyze, configure, or troubleshoot applications.
- Document, design, code, or test Geographic Information Systems (GIS) models, internet mapping solutions, or other applications.
and 2 more
Within reach(22)
- Produce data layers, maps, tables, or reports, using spatial analysis procedures or Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology, equipment, or systems.
- Review existing or incoming data for currency, accuracy, usefulness, quality, or completeness of documentation.
- Maintain or modify existing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) databases.
- Select cartographic elements needed for effective presentation of information.
- 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.
and 17 more
Also called
GIS Tech (Geographic Information Systems Technician) · GIS Tech · Geospatial Technician · GIS Developer (Geographic Information Systems Developer) · GIS Specialist (Geographic Information Systems Specialist) · GIS Developer · GIS Specialist · GIS Admin (Geographic Information Systems Administrator)
Related jobs
- Cartographers and Photogrammetrists47/100
- Surveying and Mapping Technicians50/100
- Geodetic Surveyors40/100
- Geographers37/100
- Data Scientists57/100
What these numbers mean
The score is the share of this job’s work, weighted by how important and frequent each task is, that AI could do in half the time: tasks an AI model could do alone count in full, tasks that need software built on AI count half.
“AI already used” is the share of the work in tasks where people are recorded using AI today. “As AI tools mature” counts every task AI could halve, with or without extra software.
The percentile compares the score with every job’s, weighted by how many people in the US do each one. Exposure means AI could change how the work is done, not that the job goes away. These are estimates for the typical job, not predictions.
Sources
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
- GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs (task labels), Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), OpenAI and University of Pennsylvania
- Anthropic Economic Index: labor market impacts (task penetration), Anthropic
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (national and metropolitan areas), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics