# Will landscapers be replaced by AI? Updated October 2026 Landscapers score 11 of 100 for AI exposure. 85% of their task time still needs a person. AI speeds up the other 15%. - **15%** AI helps - **85%** Needs a person Low exposure Lower than 95% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 26 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can't do any of them end to end yet. It speeds up 5 and leaves 21 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Advise customers on plant selection or care. AI can answer plant care questions, customer contact stays human. | 50% AI helps | | Use irrigation methods to adjust the amount of water consumption and to prevent waste. Smart controllers and weather data can schedule water use. | 45% AI helps | | Plan or cultivate lawns or gardens. AI can help plan designs and plant choices, cultivation is physical. | 40% AI helps | | Care for natural turf fields, making sure the underlying soil has the required composition to allow proper drainage and to support the grasses. AI can interpret soil test results, physical care stays manual. | 22% AI helps | | Follow planned landscaping designs to determine where to lay sod, sow grass, or plant flowers or foliage. AI can read plans and list layout points, crew does placement. | 20% AI helps | ## How landscapers compare All occupations (923) Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance (8) **Landscapers score 11**, marked by the dark line. Each dot is a score, darker where more occupations share it. The short marks show the averages, 37 for all occupations and 21 for building and grounds cleaning and maintenance. ## Pay and outlook in the US Median pay $39,150 a year, May 2025 People employed 952,640 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs +4.7% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Run irrigation controllers and read weather data for watering schedules - Hold a state commercial pesticide applicator license - Mix and calibrate fertilizer and herbicide sprayers on site - Read soil test results to set drainage and turf care - Log crew hours and material costs in Microsoft Excel - Write customer care plans in Microsoft Word ## Safer roles nearby 5 related occupations with lower scores. - [Highway maintenance workers8 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/highway-maintenance-workers/) - [Plumber helpers10 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/plumber-helpers/) - [Painter helpers9 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/painter-helpers/) - [Paving equipment operators8 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/paving-equipment-operators/) - [Cement masons8 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/cement-masons/) ## Questions about landscapers and AI Will AI replace landscapers? Partly. About 1 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly advising customers on plant care and scheduling irrigation water use. Physical work such as mowing, planting, and laying sod stays with people because it needs a crew on site. Which tasks will AI take from landscapers? Advising customers on plant selection or care has the highest exposure score at 50, because AI can answer common care questions. Irrigation scheduling follows at 45, since smart controllers and weather data can set water use. Lawn and garden planning, at 40, also moves to AI for design and plant choices. Which tasks stay with landscapers? Operating mowers, tractors, and chainsaws scores 3, the lowest on the list, because it is physical machine work. Hauling topsoil, spreading straw, and pouring concrete for garden borders also score 3 since they need a person on site. Crews keep these hours. How can landscapers stay valuable as AI spreads? Learn to set and check irrigation controllers so water use is measured and logged in Microsoft Excel. Hold a state pesticide applicator license before mixing and spraying, a task that scores 12 and needs a licensed person. Use Microsoft Word to write site care plans for customers, and keep strong skills in mowing, trimming, and planting. ## Related jobs - [Tree trimmers12 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/tree-trimmers/) - [Farmworkers22 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/farmworkers/) - [Landscaping supervisors38 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/landscaping-supervisors/) - [Heavy equipment operators15 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/heavy-equipment-operators/) ## Next steps for landscapers - ### Check your job Your job title is a rough guide. Your actual tasks decide your score. Paste your job description or CV and see which of your tasks AI can do. [Check your job](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/ai-exposure-checker/) [Check your CV](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/cv-checker/) ### Check which roles in your team AI can take on We map your team's tasks, show what AI can do today and build the automations that pay back first. [Book an AI audit](https://www.aigentcy.com/audit/) ## Related topics - [**Jobs AI can't replace**Cement masons score lowest, at 8.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-ai-cant-replace/) - [**Jobs most at risk from AI**Proofreaders score highest, at 76.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-most-exposed-to-ai/) - [**High-paying jobs with low AI exposure**Radiologists earn a median $420,860 and score 46.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/high-paying-jobs-low-ai-exposure/) - [**Entry-level jobs with low AI exposure**Cement masons need little prior training and score 8.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/entry-level-jobs-low-ai-exposure/) - [**Jobs AI speeds up the most**For natural sciences managers, AI speeds up 96% of task time.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-ai-speeds-up/) - [**AI and jobs in Malta**15 iGaming roles graded task by task.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/malta/) - [**Skills that keep work human**The skills to build in the jobs AI changes least.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/skills/) - [**Jobs A to Z**Every job we publish, by first letter.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs/) - [**AI exposure by industry**Average scores for 22 occupation groups.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/industries/) - [**Write a CV screening software can read**How applicant tracking systems read a CV, and what to change.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/cv-screening-guide/) - [**AI for businesses**The tasks to automate first in each team and industry.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/) - [**How we score AI exposure**The grading, the weights and every source.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/) Occupation data from the O\*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and modified by Aigentcy. O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Wage, employment and projection data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. EU occupation names from ESCO, European Commission. AI usage signals from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY) and Microsoft Research (CC BY 4.0). [Methodology and sources](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/). Scores © Aigentcy. Quote them with a link to the page.