What's new in Birdi: October 2026

October brings Birdi to the AI tools you already use. With the new Birdi AI connector (MCP), you can link your workspace to Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot or Gemini, then ask about your sites, take measurements and build reports in plain language, with every number still coming from Birdi.

Finding your data gets easier too. Global map search puts every map and dataset you can access on one globe, site drawings land in the right spot on your map, and GCP and prism reports now line up more closely with your survey.

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New in Birdi this month

The Birdi AI connector (MCP)

Link your Birdi workspace to Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot or Gemini and ask for the work in plain language: find maps and processing jobs, measure areas, volumes and tonnage, generate contours, or build a PDF report in your client's branding. You choose Read-only or Read & act when you connect, and what each assistant supports depends on its plan. Available on all paid Birdi plans.

Read the full story in Introducing the Birdi AI connector, or go straight to How to connect Birdi to your AI assistant.

Global map search

Every map and dataset you can access, across every workspace, on one globe. Zoom in to filter the list to that area, click a dataset to jump straight to it, or narrow the results to a single workspace. Open it from the dashboard.

Georeferenced PDFs as map layers

Site plans, design drawings and CAD exports often arrive as georeferenced PDFs. Upload a single-page georeferenced PDF and Birdi places it on your map for you, using the PDF's own coordinates. Linework comes in as sharp vectors in its original colors, you can hide individual CAD layers from the Style tab, and you can adjust the drawing's opacity to see how the design lines up with what's on the ground. Scanned drawings come in as an image of the page.

Scout updates

Scout (in beta) can now see the map to answer questions about what's on screen, organize the layers on your map when you ask, and read photo capture data, annotation notes and processing details such as flight altitude, sensor and ground resolution (GSD).

GCP and prism report updates

GCP report cards now show each point's coordinates in the GCP set's own coordinate system, with the height datum on the Z line where the system has one. Prism movement reports now show horizontal movement as one combined figure in the summary, the figure each prism's status is calculated from.

Users and permissions

Guests can now comment on maps shared with them, and Workspace Admins can request processing, the same as Organisation Admins. When you invite someone, roles are now listed from most to least access.

Bug fixes and improvements

• The 2D map now has a north arrow that turns with the map; click it to turn back to north
• Split view and the difference grid surface list now order surveys by their surveyed date, newest first
• Color presets are back when you style a vector layer by a number field, and each one fits your field's range
• The Difference grids button now shows on every plan, with an upgrade prompt on Free and Plus
• Map snapshots now show the orthomosaic on top by default

See the full release notes

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From the blog

• Introducing the Birdi AI connector: your sites in Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot and Gemini: what it does, how to set it up, and what it can't do.
• How to Connect Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot or Gemini to Your Drone Data: the setup for each assistant, step by step.
• How to Build Branded Client Progress Reports From Drone Data: one template per client, then one sentence a month.
• How to Automate a Month-End Stockpile Volume Report: the recurring mining report, set up once.
• From Drone Capture to Processed Map Without Opening a Browser: uploading and processing a capture from Claude Code.
• What Is an MCP Server for GIS and Drone Data?: the plain-language explainer.

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Interesting things from across geospatial

• Planet put 20 Earth-imaging satellites into orbit on one rocket on 1 October, including Tanager-2, a hyperspectral satellite that reads 426 bands of light to help detect methane leaks, check water quality and identify rare-earth elements.
• NISAR, the new NASA and ISRO radar satellite that can see through cloud and smoke, followed Indonesia's Anak Krakatau through its September eruptions as lava flows added about 33 hectares (81 acres) to the island.
• Researchers at KAIST in Korea trained an AI model on 10 million satellite images, and in early tests, not yet peer reviewed, it beat purpose-built models at restoring the ground hidden under clouds.
• In Australia, Charles Sturt University and the Australasian Space Innovation Institute are linking farm data, satellite observations and AI so that digital twins can be reused rather than rebuilt for every question, starting with cattle paddocks at Wagga Wagga and weed spread in the Northern Territory.
• The US General Services Administration's own inspector general found that 26% of its property records with coordinates lacked a distinct latitude and longitude, a reminder that a map is only as reliable as the data behind it.
• Since 29 September, Australia's aviation regulator has more ways to certify drones over 150 kg for commercial work, including letting some fly without a certificate of airworthiness, subject to restrictions and CASA approval.