Autodesk has introduced the latest version of its most popular software product—AutoCAD. The new AutoCAD 2025 product line includes AutoCAD 2025 and AutoCAD LT 2025 for Windows and particular versions of both of those for the Mac platform.
Continuing its trend from previous years, Autodesk continues to craft intelligent assistants and AI technologies into its CAD software to help users get the most efficiency possible.
AutoCAD 2025—New
“Autodesk is committed to creating the most performant CAD tool in the market. In AutoCAD 2025, you’ll be able to open up 2D files up to 2x faster than in [version] 2024,” says Marcus O’Brien, Vice President of AutoCAD.
Aside from speed improvements, version 2025 gains deeper connections into Autodesk’s larger software portfolio for architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) firms. “When AutoCAD customers use Autodesk Docs, they’ll be able to take advantage of a truly connected experience in the cloud,” says Dania El Hassan, Director of AutoCAD Product Management. “Using Markup Import, customers can share their PDF files in Docs for feedback and instantly see those markups in AutoCAD, making design iterations faster across geographically distributed teams.”
Smart Blocks
Version 2025 introduces a new AI that helps a user identify multiple instances of geometry and auto-convert them into blocks. The user selects some geometry and activates this new feature. Autodesk AI searches the entire canvas for all matching objects. In essence, this feature promotes block creation and drawing organization, reducing instances of geometry that are ideal for blocks.
Autodesk 2025 and its new Smart Blocks feature finds matching geometry and allows the user to quickly convert all instances to a block. (click here for a larger view.)
“Search and Convert allows for a more efficient workflow within AutoCAD,” says Joe VanderPluym, Design Associate. “Blocks can get lost or be challenging to work with, and this feature allows for a more efficient approach, saving time and quickly creating new blocks from elements within the drawing.”
Autodesk Assistant
New in Autodesk Assistant this year are new AI powers. First introduced in AutoCAD 2024.1, Autodesk AI delivers a conversational interface that provides “generative” responses in the same manner that tools like ChatGPT work—text-based conversations.
Users can now tap the power of real-world geographical information from Esri. (click here for a larger view.)
The new feature lets you ask the software about how things work. You can even get in touch with an Autodesk Customer Support Agent using the same interface. Reaching the Autodesk team this way will depend upon the Autodesk account type a user has.
Here are some other benefits of the new AutoCAD 2025 in bullet points:
- Enhancements for projects on Autodesk Docs — For users with the AEC Collection and using Autodesk Docs, one of Autodesk’s CDEs (common data environments in the cloud), users can use the Markup Import function in AutoCAD to bring in markups from Autodesk Docs. The syncing of markups between Docs and AutoCAD extends the power of AutoCAD via cloud-based modalities never present in desktop software isolated to a single computer or LAN.
- Activity Insights gains more detailed event properties like filter by DWG version.
- Autodesk Docs capabilities are boosted with AutoCAD specialized toolsets.
- New subfolders and weld symbols are displayed in both Autodesk Docs and Navisworks with AutoCAD Plant3D 2025.
- AutoCAD Architecture 2025 and AutoCAD MEP 2025 now boast support for the automatic synchronization of DWG files across multiple users and computers when projects are hosted on Autodesk Docs. This capability is a boost to teams that require more than two users to collaborate on files together.
- Core Performance and Drafting — you can now draw the boundary of a hatch after you initiate the command and you can now create hatches along a path with a defined width.
- ArcGIS Basemaps — users can ground their projects, in reality, using real-world geographical information from Esri.
Updates AutoCAD for Mac 2025:
- The new Start Tab replaces the older Welcome screen, providing a consistent welcome experience across AutoCAD on macOS and Windows.
- Resume work, Begin New, Learn, and Engage are major tabs for moving forward from the new Start Tab
- Trace Updates — The Trace toolbar more clearly shows whether you are editing the trace or editing the drawing.
These are the major updates. For further details and smaller additions, visit the AutoCAD page here to learn about all versions of AutoCAD 2025.
