DISCLAIMER: Dassault Systemes' AI companion features are currently in a beta evaluation stage.
We were all very excited when we were introduced to SOLIDWORKS' first AI companion, AURA, last year at Dassault Systemes' 3DExpericence World conference. This year, we were introduced to two additional AI companions -- LEO and MARIE. SOLIDWORKS users will have access to the three different models for three different task types. AURA, which was Dassault Systemes' original AI model introduced in 2025, is currently available in the platform and via AI Lab tab in SOLIDWORKS with Cloud taskpane.
A frequently asked question I see often regarding AI is: "Will this replace my job?" SOLIDWORKS AI is actually meant to do the opposite. These companions are aimed at handling repetitive tasks, reducing troubleshooting time, and validating designs more efficiently. Quicker design validation and less wasted time means you are able to take more time with the imporant stuff: designing and engineering!
AURA - Data Governance & Knowledge Companion: Connects various parts of your business via the 3DExperience platform, SOLIDWORKS and platform know-how, and business processes
LEO - The Engineer's Companion: Completes various tasks an engineer might do day-to-day. This includes auto-generating drawings (also available with Auto-Generate Drawing tool), running simulations for design validation, creating assemblies, etc.
MARIE - The Scientific Engineering Companion: Capable of advanced design validation rooted in deeper scientific reasoning.
If you have SOLIDWORKS Design with Cloud Services, and/or 3DExperience SOLIDWORKS Design, you have access to these AI tools now and as they are released. You can use the AI tools within SOLIDWORKS itself or via the platform in the 3DSwym web app.
In SOLIDWORKS Design, you can find the SOLIDWORKS Labs add-in icon displayed towards the bottom of the Taskpane tabs (see below).
In this tab, you will see several features to start exploring with. Clicking the top three prompts will take you into a chat window with the respective AI companion, where you can chat and prompt the AI.
We talked about SOLIDWORKS AI companion tools in our quarterly "What's New" webinar, where we were met with a lot of enthusiasm and questions about capabilities. A lot of capability is still yet to come this year, with the current verified and tentative dates for releases here:
| Feature | Domain & AI Model | FD Release | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Generate Assembly Structure | Design | LEO | 2026 FD01 — Available Now (Beta) | Released in March |
| What's Wrong Advisor | Design | LEO | 2026 FD01 — Available Now (Beta) | Released in March |
| Assembly Performance | Design | LEO | 2026 FD02 — April | Target Release |
| BREP To Parametric Model | Design | 2026 FD02 — April | Target Release |
| Auto Task Creation | Data Governance | 2026 FD02 — April | Target Release |
| Create PLM Change Action | Data Governance | 2026 FD02 — April | Target Release |
| Model Insights | Design | 2026 FD03 — July | Target Release |
| Prompt To Drawing | Design | LEO | 2026 FD03 — July | Confirmed |
| Explore Design Options | Design | AURA | 2026 FD04 — September | Target Release |
| Image To Mesh | Design | LEO | 2027 GA — November | Coming Soon |
| Impact Analysis | Simulation | LEO | 2027 GA — November | Coming Soon |
| Spec to CAD | Design | LEO | 2027 GA — November | Coming Soon |
| Drawing to Parametric Model | Design | LEO | 2027 GA — November | Coming Soon |
| DelmiaWorks Integration | Manufacturing | AURA | 2027 GA — November | Coming Soon |
| LEO & AURA Together | AI, General | 2027 GA — November | Coming Soon |
In this example, I prompted LEO to create a bicycle assembly structure for my friend Fred. Note, LEO does not design or generate any 3D Geometry within this assembly. The files seen below are essentially placeholders in the overall design. While this sounds simple, this allows you to prompt LEO to generate assemblies for products you are unfamiliar with or do not know the full scope of. This can save time in the research phase of a
This feature works best with simpler images or a definable color. Here, I selected black with the eyedropper tool under Picture to Sketch when using the Sketch Picture command. If you are having trouble, try to edit or alter your sketch picture before opening it in SOLIDWORKS to get a solid color silouhette of your object.
Say goodbye to manual drawing creation! SOLIDWORKS' auto-generated drawings feature was an early AI feature we saw last year. Now, its simply integrated with LEO to prompt and add more settings and details to your sheet.
Watch our tech tip on setting up SOLIDWORKS for auto-generated drawings here:
Tired of trial and error with fixing your sketches? LEO has your back! When you rebuild a SOLIDWORKS file like I did here, in your What's Wrong dialogue, you will see a new "Ask Virtual Companion" button next to close and help. This will give you an explanation of what happened to cause a warning. LEO has identified an issue with my Sketch12, so I will click "Ask Virtual Companion" to get a more comprehensive breakdown of the problem.
LEO's Output:
Wow! With LEO's help, I was able to fix my sketch, and in turn, my assembly. If a response is not what you need, you can always prompt the AI again to summarize, re-explain, or discuss something else.
Dassault Systèmes’ expanding suite of AI tools and companions demonstrates a strong future for engineering productivity. These companions handle repetitive and time‑consuming engineering tasks, reducing troubleshooting effort and freeing you up to focus on higher‑value design and engineering work.