AutoCAD 2026: Smart Blocks: Search and Convert

By John Flanagan

Introduction

In AutoCAD 2026, Smart Block functionality has been further developed.

The AI-powered Smart Blocks: Search and Convert tool, enables users to select geometry—including lines, arcs, and circles—and instantly identify, group, and convert all identical instances into blocks. It supports creating new blocks, using existing ones, and now includes text variations, making it easier to manage non-uniform, repetitive content across drawings. 

AutoCAD 2025: Smart Blocks – Detect and Convert

DETECT: Identifies objects in the drawing that can be converted into blocks.

Detect and Convert analyses drawings using Autodesk AI. The Detect palette will notify you if any objects have been detected that can be converted into blocks.

AutoCAD 2026: Smart Blocks – Search and Convert

BSEARCH: Identifies matching instances of objects to convert to blocks.

Search and Convert, or BSEARCH, finds all identical instances of a geometry or MTEXT in the drawing. Then you can remove or add any of these instances before converting selected instances into a new or existing block.

Smart Blocks: When converting instances to a new block, you can now assign objects within the block to Layer 0.

Key Features and Functionality:

• Search & Convert (BSEARCH): Formerly known as BCONVERT, this tool allows you to select geometry, search for duplicates, and convert them into blocks.
• AI-Powered Detection: The feature, often labelled as a tech preview, uses AI to automatically detect repetitive objects (like furniture or components) for conversion.
• Text & Variable Support: The 2026 version can identify variations in text, allowing designers to manage these as attributes within a new block.
• Review Toolbar: Users can use a new review toolbar to refine search results, modify selections, and manage the conversion process.
• Workflow Integration: The tool is available via the ribbon on both the Home and Insert tabs, allowing for easy selection, conversion to a new/existing block, and assignment to a specific layer. 

The updated tool is particularly useful for cleaning up legacy drawings and ensuring consistency by turning raw linework into uniform, manageable blocks. 

How it Works

Let us try it out with a house floor plan.

In this example, we will select one room switch object and then click search and convert.

You will now see that all the switches in the floor plan have been identified for block conversion.

In addition to the identical objects, the new search review toolbar makes it easy to adjust filters, see the total number of matching instances, go to the next or previous instance, and convert to block.

Summary

Introduced in AutoCAD 2026, Smart Blocks: Search and Convert (BSEARCH): Unlike the broad scan of BDETECT, this tool lets you select a specific piece of geometry first. It then searches for all exact matches within the drawing to convert them into instances of a single block.

In the 2026 version, the BSEARCH command was updated to detect and convert text (Mtext/regular text) into blocks.