Microsoft 365 Copilot

With the CADshift for AutoCAD agent, Microsoft 365 Copilot can work in the AutoCAD on your PC. Copilot talks to the CADshift relay at cadshift.com, and the relay passes each request to your AutoCAD. It works in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, which comes with Microsoft 365 work accounts, so you don’t need a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence.

There are two parts: your IT team adds the app once for the organisation, and each user signs in from AutoCAD.

For users

What you need

• CADshift AI for AutoCAD installed, and AutoCAD 2025, 2026 or 2027.
• A work Microsoft account (the one you use for Outlook and Teams).
• Your IT team has added CADshift for AutoCAD to Microsoft 365 (see For IT below). If you can’t find it in Copilot, ask them.

1. Sign in from AutoCAD

1. Open AutoCAD.
2. On the CADshift tab, in the Setup panel, press Sign in. (Or type CADSHIFTSIGNIN at the command line.)
3. Your browser opens cadshift.com. Choose Sign in with Microsoft and use the same work account you use for Copilot. Allow CADshift when asked.
4. Back in AutoCAD, press Status on the CADshift tab. The Copilot row should say Signed in; connected: Copilot can use this AutoCAD.

You only sign in once on each PC. After that, AutoCAD connects by itself every time it starts.

If you ticked Use with Microsoft 365 Copilot when installing, the installer’s last page offers Sign in now, which does the same sign-in before you open AutoCAD (Automatic set-up).

2. Find CADshift in Copilot

1. Open Microsoft 365 Copilot: at m365.cloud.microsoft/chat, in Teams, or in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app.
2. Under Agents, choose CADshift for AutoCAD. If it isn’t listed, your IT team hasn’t made it available to you yet (it can take up to a day after they do).
3. The first time, Microsoft may ask you to accept a one-off permission for CADshift. Accept it.

3. Ask something

With AutoCAD open and a drawing loaded, try:

• “Give me a short overview of the drawing open in AutoCAD.”
• “Check the open drawing against our drafting standard and summarise the main problems.”

Copilot asks you to confirm before anything that changes the drawing, such as fixing standards or saving.

For IT

You add the app once. Users then find CADshift for AutoCAD under Agents in Copilot. Until CADshift for AutoCAD is listed in Microsoft’s Agent Store, you upload it as a custom app. Download the app package (a .zip file) at cadshift.com/downloads/autocad-mcp/copilot; sign in to cadshift.com first. The link always gives the current version.

Licensing

Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is included with Microsoft 365 for users with a Microsoft Entra work account, at no extra charge. The CADshift agent uses only custom actions (the CADshift relay) and no SharePoint, Graph or connector knowledge, which Microsoft lists as available in Copilot Chat without usage billing. So it costs your organisation nothing in Microsoft licences or Copilot Credits. Each user still needs a CADshift trial or plan.

1. Allow custom apps

In the Teams admin center, go to Teams apps → Manage apps → Actions → Org-wide app settings, and make sure Custom apps are allowed.

2. Upload the app

1. In the Teams admin center, go to Teams apps → Manage apps.
2. Select Actions → Upload new app (on some tenants, Upload new app is a button of its own), then Upload, and pick the CADshift .zip.
3. The app is available to your organisation after a few hours.

3. Choose who can use it

1. On Manage apps, search for CADshift for AutoCAD and open it.
2. Select the Users and groups tab → Availability → Edit availability.
3. Under Available to, pick everyone, or specific users and groups (a pilot group is a good start), and select Apply.

Changes can take up to 24 hours to reach users. Tenants that still use app permission policies set this in Teams apps → Permission policies instead.

Consent

Users normally see no CADshift consent prompt: Microsoft’s sign-in for the agent is pre-approved. If your tenant blocks user consent and users do see a Microsoft prompt for CADshift, grant it once for everyone: Microsoft Entra admin center → Enterprise applications → CADshift → Permissions → Grant admin consent.

What users still do

Each user installs CADshift AI for AutoCAD and signs in once from the AutoCAD ribbon with their work account (For users). The relay matches Copilot’s requests to the user’s own PC by that work account, so both must be the same account.

Microsoft’s guides: Upload a custom app in the Teams admin center, Manage app availability, and Agent capabilities and licensing models.