AI Job Atlas
AI & jobs · Regional Council in New Zealand

Otago

Regional Council NZ-OTA Largest city: Dunedin
36%
of jobs here are estimated to be exposed to generative AI, below the national 36% (−0.8 pts).
MODEL9th of 24 regions48.8K exposed workers

Key numbers

PopulationWIKIDATA
254K
as of 2025
Share of national populationWIKIDATA
4.8%
7th largest of 24
People in workMODEL
137K
national total × population share
Highest-exposure jobsMODEL
6.8%
national 7.0%
Area
32.8K km²
8 people per km²
Settlement patternMODEL
Rural
60% live in major cities
Largest city
Dunedin
118K (metro)
Mapped towns & cities
4
Natural Earth places

AI use

ANTHROPIC

Claude.ai conversations, April–May 2026.

Usage intensityANTHROPIC
0.80×
usage share ÷ population share
Share of national useANTHROPIC
3.8%
4.8% of population
Work-relatedANTHROPIC
34%
national 44%
Automation-styleANTHROPIC
43%
national 46%
Augmentation 57%Automation 43%

Sector mix

MODEL

Estimated share of jobs by sector, against the national mix.

Otago New Zealand
Retail & wholesale 13.3%
Health & care 13.1%
Construction 10.6%
Business services 10.5%
Education 10.0%
Manufacturing 8.8%
Agriculture 6.9%
Other services 5.4%
Public admin 5.1%
Hospitality 4.9%
Transport & logistics 4.5%
ICT & software 3.1%
Finance 2.3%
Utilities 1.1%
Mining 0.3%

Exposed workers by sector

MODEL
Health & care 7,905 Retail & wholesale 6,690 Education 6,595 Business services 6,588 Public admin 3,573 Manufacturing 3,053 Construction 2,755 Other services 2,443

Ranking in New Zealand

MODEL

By modelled AI exposure, out of 24 regions.

6Canterbury 36% 7Gisborne 36% 8Marlborough 36% 9Otago 36% 10Manawatū-Whanganui 36% 11Taranaki 35% 12Southland 35%
About these estimates. No source publishes AI exposure by region for every country. The model splits New Zealand's real ILO sector employment across regions using population (Wikidata) and density: denser, capital-city regions get more finance, ICT and professional jobs, and rural regions more farming. Totals match national figures. AI usage figures are measured, not modelled. Methodology

Other regions of New Zealand

All of New Zealand →