Figma opens its design platform to external AI models

Figma is enhancing its web app for app and website design with tools that use artificial intelligence to assist with creation. Users can now create and modify designs using AI agents in a beta version. The AI directly accesses existing components, variables, and design tokens.

Thanks to a new tool for the Figma-MCP server (Model Context Protocol), language models like Claude Code and OpenAI Codex can access Figma data and create designs from it. The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an interface that allows AI models to access external data sources and applications in a structured way to perform context-aware tasks. Figma remains the central source for all design information. This ensures that AI models adhere to design standards and deliver consistent results.

Skills: Formulate your own instructions for AI agents

The so-called "Skills" play an important role. These are reusable instructions that define how AI agents behave within the Figma workspace. Unlike plugins, they do not require programming knowledge or approval processes. Users can create their own skills in the form of simple markdown files, specifying how an agent communicates or which actions it performs.

To start, Figma provides a selection of basic skills, supplemented by contributions from partners and the community. They cover typical design tasks, such as creating component libraries or generating accessibility specifications. They are intended to automate recurring tasks and accelerate design processes.

Design better with artificial intelligence

From Figma's perspective, the integration of AI agents aims to bring design and programming closer together – a goal the manufacturer has pursued from the outset.

The MCP tool "use Figma" is initially launching in a beta phase with selected agents. The new skills can be installed via a community page. In the long term, Figma intends to expand its platform as an interface for AI-supported design.

(akr)