A method of providing a natural language interface for a CAD system includes receiving a user selection through a GUI of a particular location of a CAD model, receiving a user voice input including a plurality of words and referring to the particular location, parsing the user voice input, determining a meaning for the parsed user voice input that includes a reference to the particular location, one or more words associated with one or more program actions, and one or more words associated with one or more command topics, each related to a specific feature of the CAD model, identifying one or more attributes of the specific feature based on the meaning, identifying from several candidate components at least a component compatible with the specific feature using the one or more attributes and the attribute information of the candidate components, and displaying an indication of the at least a component.
