Most of AI's boost to productivity and efficiency has been focused on tools for individuals. Figma is making it more about teams.
On Wednesday at the Figma Config event in San Francisco, the company released a slew of new tools aimed at creating a full-stack design platform that lets knowledge workers better collaborate with each other, while integrating agents into the process where it makes sense.
"Right now, design is such a differentiator and so important," said Dylan Field, Figma CEO, in a briefing with the media. "Everyone needs a point of view, and I anticipate that what we're going to see, in the months [and] years ahead, are bolder points of view and more risk-taking visually… We have a bunch of stuff that we've been working on… and I think it really adds a new dimension."
In the same briefing with the media, Loredana Crisan, Figma's chief design officer, said, "Instead of asking whether AI can replace designers, we ask what becomes possible when designers gain new materials and tools to bring their vision to life."
The highlights of what Figma announced include:
Code becomes a design material: Code Layers allows teams to work with repositories, generate new directions with AI, and sync changes between design and production code without leaving Figma.Design moves closer to production-ready: New Motion and Shader tools let teams create animations, 3D effects, and advanced visual treatments inside Figma. The goal is to move beyond static mockups toward experiences that are closer to the final shipped product.AI workflows come to the canvas: Figma Weave workflows bring more than 20 AI tools into Figma, turning complex AI processes into reusable building blocks. The idea is to make AI a core layer of the design and development workflow.Agents take the annoying tasks: Figma is adding agent skills, deeper context, and generative plugins to allow teams to automate repetitive stuff, build custom tools, and share AI capabilities across a team.
Figma was especially clear about its point of view on how AI works with humans.
"We do not expect that the creative breakthroughs that will differentiate your company and make you win will come from AI any time soon," said Field.
Our Deeper View #
Figma has one of the clearest perspectives in tech right now and how it's integrating AI into its design tools that 95% of Fortune 500 companies utilize. While lots of companies are playing defense with agents and others are racing forward with automation, it's a lot more likely that we'll start to see more companies like Figma that deeply understand the nuances of integrating AI into the products and take a much more thoughtful, rigorous approach to figuring out where the tools have strengths that can augment human capabilities. That's a welcome step forward in both the conversation and the utilization of AI.