How to access the Autodesk Virtual Agent

Update 05/26/2023: Until further notice, the Autodesk Virtual Agent is no longer available.  Currently, in order to download previous versions of Autodesk software not available in your Autodesk account or for different download methods, you will need to either contact our team to submit a request to Autodesk or you will need to submit a request directly to Autodesk.  We will update this document once additional information becomes available from Autodesk.

Issue:
Autodesk has recently changed what happens when you navigate to https://ava.autodesk.com/, making it more difficult to access things like downloads for previous versions that you are entitled to, but are no longer supported or available via your Autodesk account.

Previously, using that link would take you to a page with the Autodesk Virtual Assistant similar to what was shown below: 

After the change, instead of taking you to the page as expected, you are redirected to the Autodesk Education Community as shown in the following image. This page does have a virtual assistant component, but it is only geared for Educational responses and does not provide the same download capabilities the traditional Virtual Assistant supplied.


Causes:
We don’t really know the reasoning behind this change, but we have confirmed that it was intentional and is working as intended by Autodesk.
Solution:
The following instructions will walk you through the currently recommended method to access the Autodesk Virtual Agent.

Start by accessing the following site: https://www.autodesk.com/support/contact-support

Once you have reached this site, choose “Post Purchase Support” from the available options. The Virtual Assistant will not appear under all selections and its availability is dependent on the context of the request. The most common use is to download installation files, so the following example will cover that scenario.
 
Then choose “Downloads.”
 
From the Downloads options, choose “Download Software.”
 
Once that selection is made, you’ll see the Virtual Assistant available below your other support options (which will vary depending on your account and whether you’re signed in or not).
 
Note that, whenever possible, the support site will attempt to direct you back to your Autodesk account.
 

About the Author

Heath White

Sr. Technical Support Specialist, Manufacturing

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