CAD/BIM Tips & Tricks
Will AI Kill Your CAD Career or Are Things About To Get Much Better?
Published 28 August 2023
Updated 2 February 2026
Please note that in the interest of expediency, when we refer to “CAD” in this article, we’re including BIM users too. We’re all in this together.
Adapt or die? That may sound overly dramatic or Darwinian, but the artificial intelligence (AI) boom has triggered this question for many industries.
With the rapid development of AI and its application in the CAD and BIM industry, the question of whether or not AI will ultimately kill design careers is on the minds of many CAD users, whether they be engineers, architects, drafters, hybrid technical cyborgs or any similar professionals.
However, while it’s natural to be cautious of the unknown, AI doesn’t necessarily mean that the Smiths from The Matrix are breathing down your neck like the hounds of hell, intent on ending your career.
Will AI ultimately prove to
be beneficial?
In this article, we’ll explore the implications of AI for CAD professionals and discuss whether or not AI could, in fact, kill CAD careers or whether it will ultimately prove to be the equivalent of a Neo-like hero for CAD users.
What is the Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on CAD Careers?
While the doomsdayers will bang on about how AI will ultimately destroy us all, the more optimistic among us recognize that AI is creating new opportunities — such as helping to improve the quality of CAD work. If you’re unconvinced, read on.
AI Benefits: Better, Faster, Cheaper?
AI is already helping CAD professionals be more efficient and productive, increasing the speed of design. It’s also helping to optimize designs, leading to cost savings and increased customer satisfaction. In short, AI is allowing CAD professionals to do more with less and to produce higher-quality designs at a faster rate.
personal assistant?
Observable Improvements:
- AI is helping CAD professionals automate routine and mundane tasks, freeing them up for more important and creative ones.
- AI also provides accurate and up-to-date data for CAD designs, increasing the speed and accuracy of designs.
- AI helps reduce errors and omissions in designs, helping to improve the quality of CAD work.
- AI provides insights into design problems, allowing CAD professionals to develop better solutions.
- AI also helps CAD professionals identify trends and make better decisions, improving the accuracy of the design.
Several existing CAD companies have invested in AI, so keeping an eye on developments in their products may be wise. Autodesk’s Generative Design tool in Revit®, for example, already utilizes AI. The tool produces multiple design options based on your goals, constraints, and inputs.
It then allows you to evaluate each design against the project objectives. If you don’t get it right on the first try, Revit’s Generative Design feature allows you to tweak various aspects of the inputs and goals to generate additional design options. This way, the software enables you to find the best solution possible.
Notable companies to watch are Dassault Systèmes®, Siemens®, PTC®, and Ansys® — all of whom have similarly integrated AI elements into their software — and obviously, Autodesk®.
Additionally, there are also numerous startups and smaller companies focusing solely on AI-driven CAD solutions. These companies are utilizing AI technologies like deep learning, neural networks and natural language processing to develop innovative CAD tools. Look out for products from nTopology®, Onshape®, and CogniCAD by ParaMatters™.
The integration of AI into CAD may introduce some challenges, such as the need for CAD professionals to become familiar with new systems and technologies. However, the potential benefits of AI in the field of CAD are too great to ignore.
The fact remains that AI can help CAD professionals become more efficient and productive, which results in cost savings and increased customer satisfaction. So, for now, it seems unlikely that AI will replace CAD professionals, and it may very well open up new opportunities and improve the quality of CAD deliverables.
Adapt or die? That may sound overly dramatic or Darwinian, but the artificial intelligence (AI) boom has triggered this question for
many industries.
Popular AI Tools by Platform
Revit & AutoCAD
Autodesk has moved from experimental features to a cohesive ecosystem called Autodesk AI.
- Autodesk Assistant: A conversational AI built directly into AutoCAD and Revit 2026. You can ask it to find specific tools, explain complex workflows or even execute multi-step commands like “Move all windows on the north facade two feet to the left.”
- Smart Blocks (AutoCAD): Uses machine learning to suggest block placements based on your drawing’s history and can automatically “search and convert” repetitive geometry into blocks to reduce file size and manual work.
- Forma (formerly Spacemaker): A cloud-based AI for Revit that conducts real-time environmental analysis (noise, wind, sun) during early-stage design, helping you make data-backed decisions before a single brick is laid.
MicroStation
Bentley is focusing on “Agentic BIM” — AI agents that understand infrastructure-specific data.
- OpenSite+ Copilot: Specifically designed for civil site design, this tool uses AI to automate drainage analysis and grading. It can answer specialist questions about site runoff or suggest optimal pond placements based on terrain.
- AI Python Assistant: A new feature for 2026 that allows users to generate custom automation scripts using natural language. It bridges the gap for engineers who need custom functionality but aren’t full-time programmers.
CAD and BIM professionals should continue to develop their skills in order to stay competitive, while also leveraging AI to its fullest potential.
- RealityConnect: An AI-powered plugin that converts massive point clouds from site scans into intelligent 3D meshes and reality assets, allowing you to design in the context of the real world with minimal manual cleanup.
Bricsys BricsCAD
BricsCAD continues to lead in “invisible AI” —features that simply make the software feel smarter.
- BIMify & Blockify: These tools use pattern recognition to automatically classify geometry. If you have a 3D model made of generic solids, BIMify will instantly identify which are walls, floors or columns.
- AI-Predict: A context-aware ribbon that learns your habits. It predicts which command you’ll need next based on what you just did, significantly reducing menu-diving.
- Drawing Health: An AI manager that scans for “messy” data — duplicated lines, unreferenced layers, or non-standard styles — and cleans the file automatically.
How Can CAD Professionals Prepare for the Exponential Growth of AI?
The convergence of AI and CAD is changing the landscape of the industry, and it’s important to understand the implications for your career. As AI technology advances, it can be used to automate or improve certain tasks in the design process, and this could potentially change the role of CAD professionals. It’s important to stay up to date on the latest trends in both AI and CAD, in order to understand how these two areas are merging. For now, however, the overall impact seems to be that as AI takes on the boring, repetitive work, it is tasks, not jobs, that are disappearing.
welcome relief.
Embrace Available Resources
Fortunately, there are plenty of resources available online to help you hone your skills and knowledge of both AI and its role in CAD, so you can stay ahead of the curve. Continual learning about AI and how to use its various incarnations with CAD can help you stay marketable and competitive in your field.
It’s also important to get involved in conversations, workshops and projects that relate to AI and CAD. Networking with other CAD professionals who are embracing the potential of AI can be very useful in staying up to date on the latest developments in the field.
By staying informed and involved in the field of AI-driven CAD, you can ensure that your CAD career remains secure and successful in the face of changing technology. With the right resources and skills, you can be ready to take advantage of the opportunities that AI and CAD bring to the industry.
What Skills Will CAD Professionals Need to Stay Competitive In the Future?
In the face of advancing technology, it is clear that the need for CAD professionals is not going away anytime soon. But are there additional skills that will benefit CAD and BIM users in an increasingly AI-driven future?
From Building Code to Computer Code?
A big ask is often hard, and people react in one of two ways. You either get a flat-out “no,” or you get the individual who is willing to accept the challenge in the hope of a future pay-off. In the context of the CAD and BIM industry, the latter may well be the most pro-survival choice.
One of the challenges that CAD and BIM users may want to consider is acquiring some basic computer programming and coding skills, as these will become increasingly important for CAD and BIM professionals.
Yes, it’s a big ask, we know, and kind of out of left field, but an understanding of how to code in languages such as Python® (which is helpful in MicroStation® and AutoCAD®) and C++ (which is helpful in Revit and AutoCAD) may be helpful for CAD professionals looking not only to maintain a competitive edge, but also to stay abreast of technological advancements.
As humans train and educate AI, we can help it to perform better for us, which means you have a hand in training Neo. (Did you ever
imagine that?)
Note: Before you throw your hands in the air, there’s good news. Many AI platforms can now take an instruction in plain English and convert it into code using the coding language of your choice.
So, just know that as much as AI might cause a problem in a particular area, it also often offers the solution. (Probably by the time we are doing the next update to this article, we’ll be able to just tell an AI agent what we want, in plain English, as they do on Star Trek®.)
AI is here to stay, so a basic understanding of AI and machine learning wouldn’t hurt. The more you understand what’s possible, the more you can put these modern technologies to work for you in the design process.
The Human Touch
While AI can help streamline processes, reduce errors and increase efficiency, it’s important to remember that the human touch is still an essential part of the design process. And as much as AI can help humans, it’s important to remember that humans help AI too. As humans train and educate AI, we can help it to perform better for us, which means you have a hand in training Neo. (Did you ever imagine that?)
High-quality data “is crucial to supporting successful AI, as models are only as good as the data put into them,” says Moses Guttmann, CEO and co-founder of ClearML.
“This idea of data quality is an important part of having a solution that delivers consistent results, and this also needs to be understood ahead of adoption. Not enough decision-makers understand that AI is a never-ending process and also that as the data changes, the AI needs to adopt those changes ...”
In the interests of longevity, CAD and BIM professionals should continue to develop their skills in order to stay competitive, while also leveraging AI to its fullest potential. Let’s face it, when it comes to AI, you may never be able to put that sucker in a chokehold and wrestle it to the ground, so you may as well figure out how to make it work to your advantage, right?
How to Gain an Advantage
One way to stay ahead of the pack is through the clever use of productivity-boosting tools. Being able to eliminate repetitive tasks and save a ton of time gives you a clear advantage in a competitive field.
Axiom produces time-saving tools for MicroStation, Revit, AutoCAD and BricsCAD. Alternatively, if you have questions about problems with your specific CAD platform, chat with us online or call a Service Consultant at 727-442-7774. They can also help you access free trial versions of selected tools.
While AI can help streamline processes, reduce errors, and increase efficiency, it’s important to remember that the human touch is still an essential part of the design process.
