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MapAI

The MapAI platform

From place-based question to an answer you can stand behind.

MapAI is a Spatial Evidence Layer. It sits alongside your GIS, brings fragmented spatial data together, runs the analysis and keeps every source, assumption and step on the record. Domain professionals get answers they can inspect. GIS experts get analysis-ready data and methods they control.

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The Spatial Evidence Layer

The missing layer between your GIS and your decisions.

Most organisations already have the data and the GIS. What's missing is a fast, verifiable way to turn that evidence into answers. MapAI fills that gap as a vendor-neutral layer that works with the systems you already run.

  1. Layer 5

    Decisions and workflows.

    Plans, business cases, briefings, approvals.

  2. Layer 4

    Spatial Evidence Layer: MapAI.

    Where spatial evidence is discovered, assembled, validated and explained.

  3. Layer 3

    GIS systems of record.

    ArcGIS, QGIS and spatial databases.

  4. Layer 2

    Data and infrastructure.

    Open data portals, databases, data platforms.

  5. Layer 1

    Capture.

    Surveys, sensors, imagery and records.

MapAI doesn't replace layers 1 to 3. It adds the modern layer that GIS was never designed to provide.

See how MapAI compares with the tools you already use.

One engine. Built for two kinds of expertise.

MapAI Explore · For domain professionals

A spatial analyst in your pocket, backed by your GIS team's validated methods.

For planners, transport planners, infrastructure and asset teams, property and development, environment and policy professionals. Your job is to answer a place-based question well enough to make or recommend a decision. Explore helps you do that without waiting in a queue for GIS capacity.

  • Ask questions in plain English and refine them as you go
  • Bring in data with an @mention, or upload your own files
  • See results as interactive maps, summaries and tables
  • Open the evidence trail behind every answer
  • Reuse queries your GIS team has validated
  • Export maps, CSV and GeoJSON for reports and briefings

MapAI Source · For GIS experts · Coming in 2027

Find analysis-ready data faster, and keep QGIS at the centre.

For GIS analysts, spatial data managers and GIS leads. Source, coming in 2027, will help you discover relevant open and paid data, check its quality and licence, and bring it into your own GIS. Today, GIS teams use Explore to decide which methods their organisation can rely on.

  • Discover open, partner and organisational datasets in one search (2027)
  • Review source, currency, coverage and licensing before you download (2027)
  • Download in the format your GIS needs (2027)
  • Validate methods once and publish them for your organisation to reuse (in Explore now)
  • QGIS companion, coming in 2027, included at no extra cost
Register interest in Source

GIS experts validate the methods. Domain professionals reuse them. Their questions show which data is needed next. Everyone works from the same evidence.

How MapAI works

Six visible stages, from question to answer.

  1. 01

    Find

    Identify the spatial evidence relevant to the question.

    MapAI searches connected open data, partner data and your organisation's own layers, then suggests the datasets most relevant to your question. You can add or remove sources with an @mention.

  2. 02

    Understand

    See the source, quality, context and limitations of the data.

    Each dataset shows where it came from and when it was last updated, so you know what you are working with before analysis starts.

  3. 03

    Combine

    Bring relevant datasets and organisational evidence together.

    MapAI aligns boundaries, projections and formats and joins the data on a spatial engine built for the job. Upload your own .shp, .gpkg, GeoJSON or CSV files alongside public data.

  4. 04

    Analyse

    Apply the spatial methods required to answer the question.

    Buffers, intersections, spatial joins, proximity and demographic cross-tabs run on a PostGIS spatial engine. Where a validated method exists, MapAI uses it, so the same question over the same area returns the same answer.

  5. 05

    Review

    Inspect the evidence, method, assumptions and result.

    Open the evidence trail to see the datasets, assumptions and steps behind the answer. GIS experts can view the underlying query. Validated methods are marked, so you know when a specialist has reviewed the approach.

  6. 06

    Repeat

    Reuse validated queries and workflows when the work needs to be run again.

    Validated queries can be rerun for a new area or when data changes. Saved, shareable workflows are planned.

Provenance

Every answer comes with its working.

An answer you can't explain to a manager, a client or a community isn't a trusted answer. So MapAI keeps the working attached to every result.

What you can inspect

Sources.
Every dataset used, with its owner, date and coverage.
Assumptions.
How MapAI interpreted your question, such as which boundary, date range or definition it applied.
Steps.
The analytical operations run, in order.
Gaps and limitations.
Missing data, coverage limits or known quality issues that affect the result.
Method status.
Whether the answer used a validated method or a new, unvalidated one.
The query.
For GIS experts, the underlying spatial query, so you can check or reproduce it in your own tools.

Generate, then validate

The same question should get the same answer.

Two people asking "Which schools are in bushfire-prone areas?" for the same area should get the same answer. MapAI is designed to make that the norm.

  1. 01

    Route.

    When a question matches a method your organisation has validated, MapAI uses that method.

  2. 02

    Generate.

    When a question is new, MapAI builds the analysis on the fly and clearly flags it as unvalidated.

  3. 03

    Validate.

    A GIS specialist reviews the method, adjusts it if needed and approves it.

  4. 04

    Reuse.

    The validated method joins your organisation's library, ready for anyone to use.

Over time, your library becomes a record of how your organisation answers spatial questions: consistent, reviewable and owned by your experts.

Data intelligence

Bring your data. Use ours. Know what you're working with.

Open data, ready to use

MapAI connects to public spatial data, including public ArcGIS REST services and government APIs such as the NSW Planning Portal's Development Application data.

Your organisation's data

Upload your own files and use them alongside public data.

Supported file formats
FormatExtension
Shapefile.shp
File Geodatabase.gdb
GeoPackage.gpkg
GeoJSON.geojson
KML.kml
CSV with coordinates.csv

Partner data

Curated, licensed datasets from data partners, available to stream in MapAI or download into your GIS under licence.

Partner data catalogues are coming soon. Interested in becoming a data partner? Contact info@mapai.net.

Answers that fit the way you already work.

Outputs

  • Interactive map layers, styled maps and legends
  • Plain-language summaries
  • Tables and charts
  • Downloads in PNG, CSV and GeoJSON

Works with

QGIS.
Import and export the formats QGIS uses today. The QGIS companion, coming in 2027 with MapAI Source, will bring MapAI's data discovery and validated methods into QGIS, included at no extra cost, even on the free tier.
ArcGIS.
Connect public ArcGIS REST services, and export results for use in ArcGIS.

What we're building next.

We build in public and shape the roadmap with the professionals using MapAI.

  • Shared workspaces and templates for teams working on the same place or project
  • Saved, repeatable workflows you can rerun when data changes
  • Expanded data layers and partner data catalogues
  • Custom instructions so MapAI understands your organisation's context, terms and standards
  • Advanced spatial analysis for more complex modelling, in a secure environment
  • MapAI Source and the QGIS companion for GIS experts (2027) — Register interest
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Built for government and enterprise data.

  • Your data stays yours. Customer data is not used to train public models.
  • Australian data residency.
  • Enterprise controls. Single sign-on, advanced security controls and bring-your-own model account options.
  • Compliance. SOC 2 and ISO 27001 programmes are underway.

Platform FAQ

Is MapAI a GIS?

No. MapAI is a Spatial Evidence Layer that sits alongside GIS such as ArcGIS and QGIS. GIS remains your system of record for managing, editing and mapping data. MapAI makes the evidence faster to assemble and easier to verify.

What's the difference between MapAI Explore and MapAI Source?

Explore is for domain professionals who need answers to place-based questions. Source is for GIS experts who need to find and download data for their own GIS and validate the methods others reuse. Both run on the same engine. Source and the QGIS companion are coming in 2027; GIS experts use Explore today to validate methods.

How does MapAI make sure answers are reliable?

Every answer shows its sources, assumptions and steps. Questions that match a validated method use it, so results are consistent. New methods are flagged as unvalidated until a GIS specialist reviews them. Professional judgement stays with you.

Can I use my organisation's own data?

Yes. Upload Shapefile, File Geodatabase, GeoPackage, GeoJSON, KML or CSV files and use them with public data.

Do I need to know how to write spatial queries?

No. Ask in plain English. GIS experts can still open the underlying query to check or reproduce it.

Which AI model does MapAI use?

MapAI uses leading AI models within its own engine, which handles data, spatial analysis and validation. Enterprise customers can bring their own model account.

How do I get started?

Sign up and start free with MapAI Explore. Ask a place-based question in plain English, use connected public data or upload your own files, and inspect the evidence behind the result. Teams can request a structured trial around a real workflow.

See the evidence.
Trust the answer.

Sign up and start free, or talk to us about a structured trial for your team.

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