Will AI replace Surveyors?
AI reaches a large part of this job’s work.
43/100
High exposure
More exposed to AI than 71% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 1% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 75% of the work
What the job involves
Make exact measurements and determine property boundaries. Provide data relevant to the shape, contour, gravitation, location, elevation, or dimension of land or land features on or near the earth's surface for engineering, mapmaking, mining, land evaluation, construction, and other purposes.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Already happening(1)
- Develop criteria for the design and modification of survey instruments.
Within reach(17)
- Verify the accuracy of survey data, including measurements and calculations conducted at survey sites.
- Record the results of surveys, including the shape, contour, location, elevation, and dimensions of land or land features.
- Prepare, or supervise preparation of, all data, charts, plots, maps, records, and documents related to surveys.
- Prepare and maintain sketches, maps, reports, and legal descriptions of surveys to describe, certify, and assume liability for work performed.
- Write descriptions of property boundary surveys for use in deeds, leases, or other legal documents.
and 12 more
Out of reach(6)
- Direct or conduct surveys to establish legal boundaries for properties, based on legal deeds and titles.
- Plan and conduct ground surveys designed to establish baselines, elevations, and other geodetic measurements.
- Train assistants and helpers, and direct their work in such activities as performing surveys or drafting maps.
- Testify as an expert witness in court cases on land survey issues, such as property boundaries.
- Adjust surveying instruments to maintain their accuracy.
and 1 more
Also called
Land Surveyor · Mine Surveyor · Registered Land Surveyor · Surveyor · City Surveyor · County Surveyor · Geophysical Prospecting Surveyor · Licensed Land Surveyor
Related jobs
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