At the 2024 Config conference, Figma unveiled a groundbreaking suite of AI tools called Figma AI, aimed at accelerating the design process and inspiring limitless creativity. "We are committed to providing designers with tools that truly help them perform at their best and solve real problems, rather than just creating hype," said Kris Rasmussen, Chief Technology Officer at Figma. The goal of Figma AI is to eliminate common obstacles and allow designers' creativity to flow continuously. It achieves this by automating tedious tasks and providing intelligent assistance, enabling designers to focus on the key details of their designs. Here is an overview of these key new features: 1. Enhanced Search Functionality: Figma introduces two AI-driven search tools that completely transform the way you find and use design resources. The first tool is "Search Similar Items," which allows you to search for content in three ways: - Enter keywords: Use the "Operations" menu to input the content you are looking for, and the system will display matching components and designs. - Select content on the canvas: Choose any layer, click "Operations," and select "Search Similar Items." Figma will show you related designs and components. - Upload an image: Insert an image, and Figma will find similar designs in your team's files. This is extremely useful for gaining design inspiration, finding old work, or grabbing the latest versions of components. The second tool is a more intelligent asset tab that understands your true intent, not just the content you input. For example, when you search for "arrow," you will see actual arrows as well as related content like cursor or directional icons. It is smarter than before. 2. Automation of Daily Tedious Tasks: Figma AI also introduces tools to automate common design tasks. These features include AI-driven text tools for translation and rewriting, automatic layer renaming, and background removal for images. Most notably, the platform can now generate realistic copy and images to fill design sketches. You no longer have to rely on "lorem ipsum" text placeholders and placeholder images. 3. AI-Assisted Design Generation: One of the most exciting features is the "Design Generator," which can generate UI layouts and component options based on text prompts. Soon, both designers and non-designers will be able to quickly simulate interfaces using their company's design system. Although this feature is still in its early stages, it foreshadows a future where AI makes design more accessible. It helps teams rapidly prototype ideas and shortens the gap between concept and visual presentation. For designers, it is a powerful tool to overcome the "blank canvas" problem, inspiring creativity and accelerating the design process. 4. One-Click Interactive Prototyping: Another notable feature is the ability to convert static models into interactive prototypes with a single click. This "Generate Prototype" feature is expected to greatly expedite the process of turning ideas into practical solutions and gaining stakeholder approval. As with any AI-based enterprise tool released today, people are primarily concerned about data privacy and security. Fortunately, Figma is actively addressing these concerns and has a clear stance. They emphasize that all current features are powered by third-party models and do not involve training on Figma customers' data. However, the company does plan to develop new models to better understand design-specific concepts and tools. To address this, they will add a team-level setting that allows administrators to control whether their content is used for AI training. This feature will take effect on August 15, 2024, and provide different default options for different types of plans. While the full impact of these tools remains to be seen, one thing is clear: Figma is pushing the boundaries of digital design. During the testing period (until 2024), Figma AI features will be available to all users for free (with some usage limitations).