We run an internal log of every research query the agent handles. After a year, five questions dominate. They are not the most interesting questions. They are the most common, and for each of them, the delta between agent time and human time is so large that the cost-per-answer economics are not close.
One. Is the site in a flood zone?
Human time: 18 minutes on a clean case, 45 minutes when the parcel sits near a panel boundary or has a LOMA to review.
Agent time: 12 seconds.
The human path: locate the parcel on the FEMA Map Service Center, pan to the effective panel, identify the zone, note the panel number and effective date, check for LOMAs issued in that vicinity, and write the findings.
The agent path: geocode the parcel centroid, query the FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer, return the zone with panel metadata, and cross-check for LOMAs in the county database.
The agent is not smarter. It just does not have to manually pan and zoom.
Two. What is the zoning classification?
Human time: 10 minutes if the county GIS is up to date, 40 minutes if the developer has to call the planning department.
Agent time: 18 seconds.
The path is almost mechanical. Parcel geometry against the current zoning shapefile from the jurisdiction, returning the base classification plus any overlay districts that intersect.
The trap is that "current" is a moving target. A rezoning adopted last week may not yet be in the shapefile. The agent flags the staleness of the source. A developer who sees "zoning as of 2026-03-11" can decide whether to verify with a phone call.
Three. What are the dimensional standards for that district?
Human time: 45 to 90 minutes. This is the ordinance walk. Front setback, rear setback, side setbacks, height, lot coverage, impervious coverage, minimum lot area, floor area ratio, parking requirement.
Agent time: 30 to 90 seconds.
The agent pulls the district's dimensional standards table from the municipal code, quotes the relevant subsections, and returns the numbers with citations back to the ordinance. Where dimensional standards are modified by overlay districts, the agent lists the modifications explicitly.
The time delta is not because the agent reads faster. It is because the agent does not lose its place when the ordinance cross-references a definition three chapters earlier.
Four. Is there a wetland on site?
Human time: 20 minutes for a National Wetlands Inventory check, several hours or days for a preliminary jurisdictional determination.
Agent time: 10 seconds for the NWI check.
The agent's NWI query returns the wetland polygons that intersect the parcel, with classification codes. It does not produce a jurisdictional determination. That determination requires a wetland scientist and, for federally regulated waters, the Army Corps. What the agent does is give the developer enough information in ten seconds to know whether to call the wetland consultant today or next week.
Five. Is the site in a historic district or overlay?
Human time: 15 to 30 minutes to check local, state, and federal listings.
Agent time: 8 seconds.
Historic overlays are usually mapped as zoning overlays in the municipal GIS. The National Register is indexed federally. The agent queries both and returns a list of applicable designations with the regulatory body for each.
The value of the answer is binary. A site not in an overlay can be screened and moved forward. A site in an overlay will require a Certificate of Appropriateness or equivalent review, which is a different timeline and a different cost.
What still needs human judgment
Political temperature does not compress. Planner hostility does not compress. Neighborhood opposition does not compress. The feasibility of obtaining a variance does not compress. Title work, environmental Phase I interpretation, and geotechnical judgment do not compress.
The agent does not pretend otherwise. What it does is finish the five fast questions in under five minutes so the professional can spend the day on the questions that actually need a professional.