Ali Mansourian
Researcher
Bridging natural language and GIS : a multi-agent framework for LLM-driven autonomous geospatial analysis
Author
Summary, in English
Existing LLM-based approaches remain limited by simplistic task execution, restricted tool integration, and a lack of contextual reasoning when interacting with professional GIS software. This study investigates the efficacy of a multi-agent architecture designed to enhance geospatial task execution accuracy through collaboration, reasoning and tool-use. The architecture integrates Chain of Thought (CoT) reasoning and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and employs specialized agents that collaboratively translate high-level natural language queries into structured, executable workflows using QGIS processing algorithms as tools. Through a structured fine-tuning approach, we evaluated how the multi-agent setup influences spatial task comprehension, geoprocessing tool selection, and code generation. The results demonstrate that the developed framework significantly outperforms baseline single-agent and non-fine-tuned systems. For tasks involving one or two GIS tools, the system achieved up to 100% execution success and 87.5% semantic correctness. However, its effectiveness decreases with more complex, multi-step workflows. Notably, iterative self-refinement and self-debugging led to moderate gains in execution success and semantic correctness. The results indicate that multi-agent frameworks are a promising approach, even though improvements in reasoning depth and tool alignment are still needed. This study represents a foundational step toward more reliable, modular, and adaptable LLM-based systems for geospatial analysis automation.
Department/s
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (MGeo)
- LU Profile Area: Nature-based future solutions
- Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies (CMES)
- MECW: The Middle East in the Contemporary World
- BECC: Biodiversity and Ecosystem services in a Changing Climate
- Centre for Geographical Information Systems (GIS Centre)
- Dept of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science
- eSSENCE: The e-Science Collaboration
Publishing year
2026
Language
English
Publication/Series
International Journal of Digital Earth
Volume
19
Issue
1
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Topic
- Embedded Systems
Keywords
- AI Agent
- autonomous geospatial analysis
- GeoAI
- GIS
- Large Languages Models (LLMs)
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1753-8947