Introducing Block Auto-Categorization and Search: An AI Tech Preview for AutoCAD on the web

[The AutoCAD Blog]

What if finding the right block in a drawing didn’t depend on remembering exactly what it was named? 

My team at Autodesk is continuing to explore how Autodesk AI can simplify core CAD workflows through Tech Previews in AutoCAD on the web. These early experiences give you an opportunity to try new capabilities while helping us learn what is most useful in real-world workflows. 

Our latest Tech Preview is Block Auto-Categorization and Search. It uses Autodesk AI to analyze the geometry of blocks in your drawing, organize them into meaningful categories, and make them easier to search and find. This can be especially helpful when a drawing contains many blocks with inconsistent, unclear, or unfamiliar names. 

Designed to help you find the right block faster 

Blocks are used throughout AutoCAD drawings, but as drawings and block collections grow, finding the right one can become difficult, especially when block names are inconsistent, unclear, or unfamiliar. 

Block Auto-Categorization and Search is designed to reduce that friction in two ways. First, AI analyzes the geometry of blocks in your drawing and organizes them into meaningful categories based on what they represent. Second, smart search lets you find blocks based on their content, not just their names. Unlike a traditional string-based search that depends on matching words in a block name, smart search understands what the block represents. For example, you can search for the type of object you are looking for even when the block itself has an unclear or unrelated name. 

Together, categorization and smart search make it easier to understand what blocks are available in a drawing and quickly find the content you want to reuse. 

As a Tech Preview, categorization and search results may not always be perfect, particularly for specialized or ambiguous block geometry. We’ll continue improving the experience based on how it performs with real drawings and, importantly, on your feedback. 

Try it and tell us what you think 

Block Auto Categorization and Search is available as a Tech Preview in AutoCAD on the web. 

If you’d like to learn how to enable the Tech Preview, categorize the blocks in your drawing, and search for blocks, check out our Block Auto-Categorization and Search Help article. 

How could smarter block organization and search improve the way you work with your drawings? We’d love to hear what you think in the Autodesk Community. 

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