Architects
Architects plan and design the construction and development of buildings and land areas with regard to functional and aesthetic requirements.
- Employees (UK)
- 32k
- Median annual pay
- £45,625
- Exposure score ?
- 0.7/10 Minimal 9.0/10 Very high strict reading, with tools is 9.0/10 with-tools reading, strict is 0.7/10
- Wage exposure
- £102m £1.31bn
Higher exposure than 39% of the 379 UK occupations we scored.
What this score means.
Most of this role's work is still hard for AI: physical presence, practised skill, judgement in context and direct care, the things that do not turn into text.
If you are in this role
Nothing here is under pressure today, but the frontier moves. Learn enough to direct AI at the paperwork around the job. People in hands-on roles who can do that become unusually useful inside their organisations.
Almost every routine task in this role is within reach of today's models. Roles like this are being rebuilt, usually not by disappearing but by one person using AI to produce what several did.
If you are in this role
Be the person doing the rebuilding. People who learn to run this kind of work with AI become very valuable, and the ones who wait tend to have the change made for them.
Where the work usually starts.
This role's strict reading is low because its top tasks are judgement, not drafting. The three highest-stakes tasks below are still usually where the work starts. Switch to With tools to see what AI plus the right context can take on.
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Develop final construction plans that include aesthetic representations of the structure or details for its construction.
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Prepare scale drawings or architectural designs, using computer-aided design or other tools.
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Prepare information regarding design, structure specifications, materials, color, equipment, estimated costs, or construction time.
These are the most important tasks AI can already handle when paired with the right tools and context. The first wins usually come from building workflows around them. That is the difference between a model that could do the job and one that actually does it inside your business.
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Develop final construction plans that include aesthetic representations of the structure or details for its construction.
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Prepare scale drawings or architectural designs, using computer-aided design or other tools.
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Prepare information regarding design, structure specifications, materials, color, equipment, estimated costs, or construction time.
Every role has three or four places like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days.
Every task in the role.
Every O*NET task for this occupation, split by what AI can do unaided and what still needs a person. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central each task is.
Tasks via O*NET "Architects, Except Landscape and Naval" (17-1011.00).
What AI can already do
2 of 24 tasks, unaided
Direct activities of technicians engaged in preparing drawings or specification documents.
Prepare operating and maintenance manuals, studies, or reports.
What still needs a person
22 of 24 tasks
Develop final construction plans that include aesthetic representations of the structure or details for its construction.
Prepare scale drawings or architectural designs, using computer-aided design or other tools.
Prepare information regarding design, structure specifications, materials, color, equipment, estimated costs, or construction time.
Consult with clients to determine functional or spatial requirements of structures.
Meet with clients to review or discuss architectural drawings.
Monitor the work of specialists, such as electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, interior designers, or sound specialists to ensure optimal form or function of designs or final structures.
Integrate engineering elements into unified architectural designs.
Plan layouts of structural architectural projects.
Conduct periodic on-site observations of construction work to monitor compliance with plans.
Prepare contract documents for building contractors.
Plan or design structures such as residences, office buildings, theatres, factories, or other structural properties in accordance with environmental, safety, or other regulations.
Administer construction contracts.
Create three-dimensional or interactive representations of designs, using computer-assisted design software.
Represent clients in obtaining bids or awarding construction contracts.
Develop marketing materials, proposals, or presentations to generate new work opportunities.
Perform predesign services, such as feasibility or environmental impact studies.
Design structures that incorporate environmentally friendly building practices or concepts, such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards.
Design or plan construction of green building projects to minimize adverse environmental impact or conserve energy.
Gather information related to projects' environmental sustainability or operational efficiency.
Inspect proposed building sites to determine suitability for construction.
Design environmentally sound structural upgrades to existing buildings, such as natural lighting systems, green roofs, or rainwater collection systems.
Calculate potential energy savings by comparing estimated energy consumption of proposed design to baseline standards.
Tasks via O*NET "Architects, Except Landscape and Naval" (17-1011.00).
What AI can already do
22 of 24 tasks, with tools
Develop final construction plans that include aesthetic representations of the structure or details for its construction.
Prepare scale drawings or architectural designs, using computer-aided design or other tools.
Prepare information regarding design, structure specifications, materials, color, equipment, estimated costs, or construction time.
Monitor the work of specialists, such as electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, interior designers, or sound specialists to ensure optimal form or function of designs or final structures.
Integrate engineering elements into unified architectural designs.
Plan layouts of structural architectural projects.
Conduct periodic on-site observations of construction work to monitor compliance with plans.
Prepare contract documents for building contractors.
Plan or design structures such as residences, office buildings, theatres, factories, or other structural properties in accordance with environmental, safety, or other regulations.
Direct activities of technicians engaged in preparing drawings or specification documents.
Administer construction contracts.
Create three-dimensional or interactive representations of designs, using computer-assisted design software.
Represent clients in obtaining bids or awarding construction contracts.
Develop marketing materials, proposals, or presentations to generate new work opportunities.
Perform predesign services, such as feasibility or environmental impact studies.
Design structures that incorporate environmentally friendly building practices or concepts, such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards.
Design or plan construction of green building projects to minimize adverse environmental impact or conserve energy.
Gather information related to projects' environmental sustainability or operational efficiency.
Inspect proposed building sites to determine suitability for construction.
Design environmentally sound structural upgrades to existing buildings, such as natural lighting systems, green roofs, or rainwater collection systems.
Calculate potential energy savings by comparing estimated energy consumption of proposed design to baseline standards.
Prepare operating and maintenance manuals, studies, or reports.
What still needs a person
2 of 24 tasks
Consult with clients to determine functional or spatial requirements of structures.
Meet with clients to review or discuss architectural drawings.
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Related occupations.
Other roles in Professional occupations, and roles close by exposure.
What it means for your sector.
This role's score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 task labels, weighted by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 through ISCO-08 (the ONS coding index) and US SOC 2010 (the BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional, which covers employees only.
Back to the mapMethodologySources (PDF)Built 29 April 2026
Pictures
- "Census pantograph and 1930s keypunches" by U.S. Census Bureau employees, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Shepard Barclay, St. Louis lawyer, in his office" by Missouri Historical Society via DPLA, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Accountant's Office LCCN2016824374" by National Photo Company Collection, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Employment service in Oulu in the spring 1931" by Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons