am not a Figma hater. Actually, I love Figma. This tool changed everything about how design teams collaborate, prototype, and ship products. Design trends keep evolving, and Figma has been at the center of that evolution for years.
However, something significant is happening right now that we need to talk about. AI is not just enhancing design workflows anymore. Instead, it is fundamentally changing how we create interfaces and validate ideas.
So let me ask the uncomfortable question: Is Figma cooked?
The Numbers Tell an Interesting Story
Before you think I am being dramatic, let me share some context. Currently, Figma holds about 40% market share in design tools. That is a dominant position by any measure. Furthermore, the company went public in July 2025 at $33 per share, and they are tracking toward $1 billion in annual revenue.
Meanwhile, 90% of designers now use Figma as their primary tool. Major companies like Microsoft, Netflix, Spotify, and Airbnb rely on it daily. By traditional metrics, Figma is absolutely crushing it.
Nevertheless, there is a disconnect forming beneath these numbers. According to Figma’s own 2025 AI report, only 54% of designers say AI improves the quality of their work. In contrast, 68% of developers feel AI makes their work better.
That gap matters significantly. Designers are simply not feeling the same productivity gains that developers are experiencing with AI tools.
What AI Design Tools Are Actually Doing Now
Here is where things get interesting. Tools like Vercel’s v0 and Claude’s artifacts are not just generating mockups. Remarkably, they are creating working, functional interfaces from text prompts.
Think about that for a second. You describe what you want, and then the AI builds it. Not a static image of a button, but an actual button with hover states, click handlers, loading states, and accessibility attributes baked in.
Moreover, this is not theoretical future stuff either. Designers are using Claude artifacts right now to build interactive React components, data visualizations, and complete application prototypes. Impressively, users have created over half a billion artifacts since launch.
While the shift is subtle, it remains significant. AI transforms design workflows by collapsing the distance between idea and implementation.
The Research Angle Changes Everything
Here is something that often gets overlooked. AI tools do not just create interfaces faster. Additionally, they can validate design decisions against actual data in ways that static mockups never could.
Consider a traditional workflow for a moment. First, you research user needs. Then you ideate solutions. Next, you design in Figma. After that, you prototype. Subsequently, you get stakeholder feedback. Following approval, you hand off to engineering. Eventually, you wait for implementation. Finally, you find edge cases nobody considered and iterate again.
Each handoff loses context along the way. Similarly, each translation introduces errors. By the time you see your design actually working, weeks have passed.
With AI tools, however, the workflow compresses dramatically. Research leads directly to building. Testing happens on the real thing. Consequently, iteration becomes immediate because you are modifying working code, not static screens.
But Wait, Here Is the Counterargument
Let me play the other side for a moment. Admittedly, AI generated interfaces often lack brand consistency. They frequently struggle with complex design systems. Additionally, the output can feel generic unless you invest serious time in prompting.
Figma understands this reality too. At Config 2025, they announced Figma Make, Figma Sites, Figma Draw, and Figma Buzz. These products integrate AI directly into the platform, aiming to help teams go from idea to shipped product faster.
Their First Draft feature now transforms ideas into editable designs in minutes. Likewise, new AI image editing tools let you remove objects, isolate elements, and expand images without leaving the platform.
Furthermore, Figma is positioning itself as an AI-powered platform, not just a design tool. They acquired Diagram specifically for their AI capabilities. Clearly, their 2025 product launches show a company that sees where things are heading.
We Have Been Here Before
Interestingly, this situation feels oddly familiar if you have been in the industry long enough. Remember Flash? That tool dominated web design for over a decade. Designers created entire websites, games, and interactive experiences that HTML and CSS simply could not match at the time.
Then Apple dropped Flash support from the iPhone in 2007. Gradually, the technology started its slow decline. By 2020, Adobe officially ended support entirely. Consequently, the skills designers had spent years mastering became obsolete.
Similarly, the transition from Sketch to Figma followed a comparable pattern. In 2017, only 7% of designers used Figma. By 2023, however, that number jumped to 90% while Sketch dropped to single digit market share. Major companies like Trivago, Dropbox, and Wells Fargo all migrated their entire design systems.
These transitions happen gradually, then suddenly. Ultimately, the tools that dominate today are not guaranteed to dominate tomorrow.
What This Actually Means for Designers
Here is my honest take on the situation. Figma is not going to disappear overnight. The company has too much momentum, too many users, and too much infrastructure in place. Additionally, they are actively adapting to the AI landscape.
Nevertheless, the tool may be heading toward “nice to have” territory rather than “essential” territory. Design systems still need to live somewhere. Complex component libraries require proper management. Likewise, brand consistency demands centralized control.
The difference, though, is that the creation phase is increasingly happening elsewhere. Specifically, AI tools let anyone with an idea build working software without intermediate mockups.
For design teams, this does not mean unemployment. Rather, it means evolution. The value shifts from pixel pushing to strategic thinking. Similarly, it moves from creating interfaces to defining systems. Essentially, the focus changes from making mockups to validating outcomes.
The Skills That Will Matter
If AI can generate interfaces from descriptions, what becomes valuable? Understanding user needs deeply remains essential. Knowing which problems to solve matters enormously. Recognizing when AI output needs refinement proves critical. Ultimately, integrating business goals with user experience becomes the differentiator.
According to Nielsen Norman Group’s research, AI design tools have improved marginally but still cannot balance design, business, and user needs like human designers can. That judgment layer, therefore, remains distinctly human.
The teams that thrive will be those who understand that best practices endure while adapting to emerging technologies. Being human matters more than ever in an AI powered world.
So Is Figma Actually Cooked?
Cooked might be too strong a word. Let me revise that assessment. Essentially, Figma is facing an existential challenge that requires significant adaptation.
The company clearly knows this reality. Their aggressive product expansion into sites, marketing assets, and AI features shows a team racing to stay relevant. Furthermore, their MCP server integration brings Figma design context directly into tools like VS Code and Claude.
Still, there is a fundamental tension at play here. Figma creates static representations of interfaces. In contrast, AI creates working interfaces directly. As that gap narrows, the intermediate step becomes harder to justify.
The market will ultimately decide the outcome. What I know for certain is this: the transition from one dominant tool to another always catches people off guard. Flash developers did not see HTML5 coming. Similarly, Sketch users did not expect Figma’s rapid rise.
Whatever comes next, the designers who stay curious and adaptable will be fine. The tools change constantly. The work evolves continuously. The future of interfaces belongs to those who embrace it.
Final Thoughts
I started this piece asking if Figma is cooked. Truthfully, the honest answer is that nobody knows yet. The company has resources, talent, and market position to adapt successfully. Clearly, they are making the right moves directionally.
What I do know, however, is that the ground is shifting beneath all of us in design. AI is not merely a feature to add to existing tools. Instead, it represents a fundamental change in how software gets made.
Figma might navigate this transition beautifully. They could potentially become an AI-native platform that continues to dominate. Alternatively, they might become the next Sketch, remembered fondly but used by a shrinking minority.
The only certainty is that change is coming. It always does. The best response is not panic or denial. Instead, it is adaptation, curiosity, and a willingness to learn new tools while the old ones still work.
That is the designer’s mindset at its core. It has served us through every transition so far. Undoubtedly, it will serve us through this one too.
