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AI exposure Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

Will AI replace pest control workers?

Pest Control Workers. US occupation 37-2021.

4.6%

of the time pest control workers spend on their work goes on tasks where AI is already being used to do that work.of pest control workers' working hours go on tasks AI has already started taking off their plate.

Ranked 261 of 756 US occupations. More exposed than 65% of them.Further along than 65% of them.

Average US job 7.7%

Around the middle of the pack.Keeping pace with the average job.

What AI already does for pest control workersWhat pest control workers no longer do alone

O*NET lists 14 tasks for pest control workers. AI use at work shows up in 1 of them. Each score runs from 0.5, where every observed use helps a person with the task, to 1, where every use does the task outright.

  1. Record work activities performed.Core task mostly automated 0.97

What it does not touch, yetWhat still needs a human

13 of the 14 tasks show no AI use at work in the data.

  • Clean work site after completion of job.Core task
  • Direct, or assist other workers in, treatment or extermination processes to eliminate or control rodents, insects, or weeds.Core task
  • Drive truck equipped with power spraying equipment.Core task
  • Inspect premises to identify infestation source and extent of damage to property, wall, or roof porosity and access to infested locations.Core task
  • Measure area dimensions requiring treatment, calculate fumigant requirements, and estimate cost for service.Core task
  • Recommend treatment and prevention methods for pest problems to clients.Core task
Show the other 7
  • Spray or dust chemical solutions, powders, or gases into rooms, onto clothing, furnishings, or wood, or over marshlands, ditches, or catch basins.Core task
  • Study preliminary reports or diagrams of infested area and determine treatment type required to eliminate and prevent recurrence of infestation.Core task
  • Clean and remove blockages from infested areas to facilitate spraying procedures and provide drainage, using brooms, mops, shovels, or rakes.
  • Cut or bore openings in building or surrounding concrete, access infested areas, insert nozzle, and inject pesticide to impregnate ground.
  • Position and fasten edges of tarpaulins over building, and tape vents to ensure air-tight environment and to check for leaks.
  • Post warning signs and lock building doors to secure area to be fumigated.
  • Set mechanical traps, or place poisonous paste or bait in sewers, burrows, or ditches.

How that compares

Among the 8 building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations, pest control workers rank 2. The group averages 2.5%, and its most exposed job is First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers at 10.8%. The average US occupation sits at 7.7%.

All 756 occupations, ranked

Just above in the ranking

  1. 258Fundraisers 4.7%
  2. 258Public Safety Telecommunicators 4.7%
  3. 258School Psychologists 4.7%

Just below

  1. 262Health Technologists and Technicians, All Other 4.5%
  2. 263Commercial and Industrial Designers 4.4%
  3. 263First-Line Supervisors of Entertainment and Recreation Workers, Except Gambling Services 4.4%

What this does and does not mean

Exposure is observed use, not a forecast. Anthropic maps work conversations with Claude onto the tasks O*NET lists for each job and asks, of the tasks AI could speed up, which are actually being used for at work. A use that does the task outright counts in full and a use that assists a person counts half. The task scores are averaged into the occupation figure by the share of time spent on each task.

A high figure means AI is already part of how this work gets done. It does not mean anyone has been replaced. Anthropic's own reading of the labour market finds no systematic rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting exposed jobs.No measurable rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting these jobs. Gap years for everyone. Labor market impacts, 5 March 2026.

Task list and titles from O*NET 31.0 by the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Scores from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY). Checked 1 November 2026. How the ranking works.