Autodesk Unveils AI Tools, Integrations at AU 2026

This integration provides connected workflows for design and construction, unlocking capacity for companies operating across both sectors. Andrew Anagnost stated, "By bringing auto autodesk construction cloud into forma and creating a single project ecosystem, we're unlocking capacity for companies across design and construction."

This feature enables the road tool to automatically split building masses, dynamically updating them from two to four. Robin highlighted this by demonstrating, "And boom, the masses split from two to four. That's new this year, reactive modeling."

This capability facilitates immediate design adjustments to optimize natural light. Yasper noted, "We're running interior daylight where we measure lux from every window in every room as we design." The feature also assists in achieving LEED and WELL certification points.

This allows civil engineers to collaborate more effectively within the unified project ecosystem. John emphasized, "Like Revit, Civil 3D is now a former connected client. That's right. I said it. We're all get together again and we're all connected."

Autodesk introduced a new Agentic PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) experience within Fusion. This innovation utilizes an intelligent assistant to extract and act on project information, providing early insights and accelerating decision-making. Andrew Anagnost expressed excitement, stating, "I'm excited to introduce a brand new Agentic PLM experience in Fusion that provides early insights and accelerates decisionmaking." The system targets a reduction in losses often caused by slow approval processes.

In a scenario, the assistant flagged a shortage of 2,400 motors and the absence of approved alternatives. Jeremy remarked, "there's 2400 motors that we're going to be short. So that's bad news. And to make matters worse, we don't have any approved alternatives either." This automates a process that typically requires manual searches across multiple systems.

The Autodesk Assistant now automates various administrative workflows, including change orders. It can automatically add necessary components like bolts, nuts, and washers based on user requests. Jennifer highlighted this by saying, "what I can't get over is the fact that all I did was ask assistant to update and it automatically added in these bolts, nut, nuts, and washers." All decisions and actions taken by the assistant are logged, ensuring full project traceability.

Raji Arasu confirmed these metrics, noting, "Since March, you and we have seen 2 million conversations and 99.9% success rate." The assistant is designed to function as a 'learning loop,' with improvements rolled out weekly.

Autodesk introduced Autodesk Context, a new capability aimed at making AI more actionable and accurate. Raji Arasu stated, "I'm excited to introduce Autodesk context, a capability that makes AI more actionable and accurate." This system goes beyond basic timestamps, capturing the 'why' and 'when' of decisions by recording the workflow state, constraints, and data points present at the time of a decision.

Autodesk Assistant leverages project context, using granular data models that include project records and relationships. This approach allows the assistant to bridge the gap between generic Large Language Models (LLMs) and specific workflows. Rajie Arasu explained, "When assistant understands this context, the agentic experience that we have built on top of this layer stops being generic. It becomes grounded in your workflow, your company and your project ecosystem." This ensures the system is grounded in the unique ecosystem of each company and project.

Autodesk introduced Assistant Builder, a tool designed to allow users to integrate their proprietary and third-party AI agents into Autodesk Assistant. Rajie Arasu announced, "So today I am introducing Autotodisk Assistant Builder. It is designed to let you plug your agents and your partners' agent into Autotodesk Assistant." This integration fosters team collaboration within a single interface, exemplified by Archilia's use of carbon analysis and cost data connectors.

This addresses the industry challenge of scaling AI efficiently.

Autodesk also invited user feedback to guide the development and refinement of this cross-product assistant.

The Assistant can extract data from external inputs, such as images, to feed into these workflows. A demo presenter highlighted this by saying, "I get to use this handy agentic workflow that I created with assistant builder." While deterministic steps are handled by the system, agents manage the backend processes, enabling seamless automation.

Jeremy demonstrated this by prompting the assistant, "Hey, let's give the assistant another prompt here and say, let's package up these results." The assistant generated fascia, brackets, and drawings necessary for a prototype, showcasing its ability to provide seamless integration for both engineers and architects in compiling project deliverables.

Tim confirmed, "But that's not a problem now because Tandem supports the data that we have and we can start to build the digital twin directly from that." Spatial models are used to structure this data against floor plans, and the Assistant automates tedious data mapping tasks.

Autodesk announced the integration of Flexim technology within the Tandem environment, enabling live simulation capabilities. Tim expressed excitement, stating, "I'm excited to announce that we can do live simulation using Flexim technology right here inside of Tandem." This integration allows for real-time verification of production goals, such as achieving 60 lawnmowers per hour, and uses 3D visualization to identify potential downstream bottlenecks in manufacturing processes.

Clara Shih, a TIME100 AI leader, highlighted a "Gen Z jobs crisis" resulting from major technology disruptions like AI. She noted a significant gap between current school curricula and the job requirements of the AI era. Shih explained her pivot to founding a nonprofit, saying, "I left earlier this year to found this nonprofit because every time we have a major technology disruption... it creates a disruption in the workforce. And if you look at the numbers right now in America, in a lot of Western countries, there is a Gen Z jobs crisis." She stressed the critical need for mentorship to help the workforce navigate an economy reshaped by AI.

She explained, "It's agility and recognizing that AI especially now there's there's self-improving AI. And so it's not like you learn AI and then you're done. It's like no, every few months there's a new model that comes out and you kind of have to relearn, unlearn some things." She advised distinguishing between tasks that genuinely benefit from AI and those where overreliance on AI for stable procedures can be counterproductive, stressing the need for constant skill updates.

Anagnost also underscored the importance of senior leaders becoming personal power users of AI to drive this transformation.