158 AI Assistant
Chris McKeown / June 4, 2026
AI, Assistant
Welcome to the BonusTools AI Assistant — a dockable panel inside Revit that lets you ask questions about your model in plain English, powered by Anthropic's Claude AI.
Revit 2027 only. The AI Assistant requires Revit 2027 and an Anthropic API key. It is not available in earlier versions.
Setup
1. Get an Anthropic API key
The AI Assistant uses Anthropic's Claude API. You need your own API key:
- Go to console.anthropic.com and sign in or create a free account.
- Navigate to API Keys and create a new key.
- Copy the key — you'll only see it once.
Note: API usage is billed directly by Anthropic, not through BonusTools.
2. Enter the key in Settings
- In Revit, open Ribbon Settings from the BonusTools ribbon.
- Go to the General tab.
- Find the AI Assistant section and paste your API key.
- Click OK.
The AI Assistant panel will unlock immediately. If the panel isn't visible, find it in the Bonus Tools ribbon under the AI Assistant button.
What it can do
The AI Assistant can read live data from your open Revit model and act on it. You can ask questions in plain English — it will figure out which data to fetch.
| Capability | Example prompt |
|---|---|
| Project info | "What is the project name and client?" |
| Active view | "What view am I currently in?" |
| List views | "What floor plan views are in this model?" |
| Elements by category | "How many walls are in the model?" |
| Element parameters | "What are the parameters on element 123456?" |
| Selected elements | "What have I got selected?" |
| Rooms | "List all rooms on Level 1 with their areas" |
| Navigate to a view | "Open the Level 2 floor plan" |
| Select elements | "Select all the doors" |
The assistant can chain multiple tool calls together — for example, listing all rooms and then selecting the ones over 50m².
What it cannot do
The AI Assistant is currently read-focused. It cannot:
- Create, delete, or modify elements — no geometry changes, no parameter writes
- Work in Family documents — project documents only
- Access linked models — only the host model is visible
- Print or export — use the dedicated BonusTools print/export tools
- Run transactions — nothing it does requires a Revit transaction or undo history
- Access the internet — it sends your question and model data to Anthropic's API, but cannot browse external sites
Tips
- Be specific with view names. When asking to open a view, use the exact name as it appears in the Project Browser.
- Ask follow-up questions. The assistant remembers the conversation, so you can ask "now select just the ones on Level 2" after a previous query.
- Use "Clear" to reset. The Clear button wipes the conversation history and starts fresh — useful when switching to a new task.
- Large models. Queries that return many elements (e.g. "get all elements in the model") are limited to 200 results per category to keep responses fast.
Troubleshooting
Panel shows "API Key Required"
Open Settings via the button in the panel, go to the General tab, and enter your Anthropic API key.
"Error: API key invalid"
Double-check the key in Settings — ensure there are no leading/trailing spaces. Keys start with sk-ant-.
No response / times out
Check your internet connection. The assistant requires outbound HTTPS access to api.anthropic.com.
Revit crashed when opening a view
This was a known issue in early builds, fixed in the current release. If it recurs, try navigating to the view manually rather than via the assistant.