Trevor English
Thanks to model context protocol, or MCP, the Autodesk Assistant can now make changes and updates to your hydraulic model through your interactions with it.
There’s a moment during big technology shifts where new things stop feeling like features and start feeling like teammates. That’s the goal – and what we’re trying to build – with Autodesk Assistant.
For a long time, modeling in InfoWater Pro has been about precision, expertise, and mastering the complex hydraulic modeling workflows that you’ve built over the years. You know the menus, the workflows, the quirks, but what if the software could meet you halfway? What if it could understand what you’re trying to do and help you get there faster?
That’s the idea behind Autodesk Assistant, and with the InfoWater Pro 2027.1 release, that idea takes a meaningful step forward.
From tool to teammate
Last month, we introduced Autodesk Assistant as part of our broader vision for AI across Autodesk. We’re taking a practical approach to AI implementation, focusing on making it useful and grounded to the workflows you’re already used to, delivering something that helps you do your job better.
Now, in InfoWater Pro 2027.1, we’re bringing that vision into the daily workflows of water professionals in a much more complete way. This release isn’t about a single feature, it’s about a more capable assistant that can help you understand your model, troubleshoot issues, and even take action on your behalf.
If you haven’t seen it in action yet, take a look at what you can do. 👇
Getting answers when you need them
We’ve all had those moments where we know what we want to do – but can’t quite remember the exact steps. Or maybe we’re trying something new but don’t want to lose your boost of enthusiasm by digging through the documentation. After all, our water software teams release a lot of updates – which is great for constant improvement – but sometimes that means you don’t quite remember what button does what, or exactly how that new workflow functions.
Now you can just ask.
You might type: “How do I add leakage into my model without impacting the currently calibrated flow balance?”
Instead of spending your time searching through help files, Autodesk Assistant gives you clear, step-by-step guidance directly inside InfoWater Pro. It’s pulling from trusted product documentation and presenting it in a way that’s easy to follow.
The goal isn’t to replace your modeling expertise, but reduce the friction we all feel engaging with new or complex technology.
Faster troubleshooting, less guesswork
Troubleshooting has always been one of the more time-consuming parts of modeling. When something doesn’t work, you’re often piecing together clues from different places. Now, Autodesk Assistant can help connect those dots.
For example, if you were to ask: “Why are my results getting stuck in the pending state?”
The assistant can surface relevant knowledge articles, explain likely causes, and guide you toward a resolution. It’s like having a second set of eyes on your model when things don’t behave the way you expect.
Taking action inside your model with MCP
With Model Context Protocol (MCP) functionality now available as a technical preview, Autodesk Assistant can begin to interact directly with your model. It’s important to note that under this structure, MCP is simply the technology that enables Autodesk Assistant to interact with your model. In essence, Autodesk MCP servers are the bridge that connects AI models into the real-compute world. Let’s take a look at what this means under the context of Autodesk Assistant.
You can say: “Apply my leakage results map theme” or “Re-run my model”.
The assistant doesn’t just explain how to do it, it actually performs the action – if you want it to. The important thing to note is that utilizing the Autodesk Assistant and allowing it to engage with your modeling software is a choice, one that you’re able to make based on how you’d like to adopt the tools. Don’t want to use it? You can also simply flip the toggle switch for the Autodesk Assistant technical preview and turn it off.
Turning hydraulic model data into insight
One of the most exciting additions in 2027.1 is the ability to query your model data and results conversationally. These conversational workflows build naturally on broader trends toward real-time hydraulic modeling and operational analytics.
Instead of exporting data and building reports manually, you can ask questions like:
- “Summarize the demand, pressure, and leakage per pressure zone.”
- “How many junctions with COMMERCIAL demand drop below 40 PSI?”
- “Summarize pipe leakage by pipe material.”
These are dynamic queries that help you explore your model in real time, providing you feedback, as if you had a modeling guide looking over your shoulder. This opens up a faster path from data to decision-making, especially when you’re trying to answer unexpected questions or communicate results to stakeholders.
Does modeling sometimes feel like a siloed task to you? Perhaps this is because modeling workflows are highly specialized or may be disconnected from broader project discussions. Having an intelligent assistant that helps surface insights and guide problem-solving can make the process more accessible, efficient, and collaborative. Utilities with mature water utility modeling workflows are already using these approaches to accelerate operational decision-making.
Smarter domain management
Working with domains is another area where small tasks can add up quickly.
Now you can manage domains using natural language by asking things like:
- “Add the top 10 pipes with the most head loss per foot to the domain.”
- “Remove any junctions from the domain if they don’t have demand.”
It’s a simple idea, but it can save a lot of time when you’re iterating on analyses or focusing on specific problem areas.
Extending your workflow with Python
For more advanced users, Autodesk Assistant also supports Python scripting. If Python scripting scares you, we’ve actually seen great success with modelers turning to AI to help with writing the actual scripts, too.
Whether you’re building custom analyses or troubleshooting scripts, you can use the assistant to generate and refine code.
You might ask it to perform tasks like:
- Automate: “I want a Python script that plots all my tanks in percent full in one graph with a lower panel that shows all my pump flow rates.”
- Analyze: “Help write a Python script that totals up the time that each demand junction spends below 30 psi.”
- Troubleshoot: “I’m getting this error below, please help!”
This lowers the barrier to automation while still giving experienced users the flexibility they expect. At the end of the day, AI in engineering software only matters if it helps you do real work… work that you can trust.
What we’re seeing with Autodesk Assistant in InfoWater Pro is a shift toward more intuitive interaction with complex hydraulic modeling workflows. You still bring the engineering judgment – grounded in your data and your workflows – but the Autodesk Assistant helps you move faster, explore more, and spend less time on repetitive tasks. For teams already exploring AI-enhanced hydraulic modeling, Autodesk Assistant extends those workflows directly into day-to-day model interaction.
What’s next
Autodesk Assistant is part of a broader evolution happening across Autodesk’s hydraulic modeling software portfolio. With each release, Autodesk Assistant will continue to evolve, becoming more capable and more integrated into the way you model, analyze, and make decisions. For now, the best way to understand it is to try it out. Ask a question. Run a command. Explore your model in a new way.
You might find it starts to feel less like a feature and more like part of your workflow.
Ready for some extra assistance?
- Learn about the Autodesk Water Infrastructure GitHub repository, where the global modeling community shares Ruby scripts, automation tools, and workflow examples for InfoWorks and InfoWater products.
- Explore our collection of articles, customer stories, and technical guides on hydraulic modeling for water distribution, stormwater, and wastewater systems.
- Explore the InfoWater Pro Technical Information Hub.