The Figma AI Toolkit: A Quick Tour

Figma is where a huge share of the world's screens get designed, and over the last couple of years it has quietly filled up with AI. You no longer need to be a trained designer to get a real layout on the canvas. You describe what you want, and Figma drafts it. You rename a hundred messy layers with one click. You generate an image, remove a background, or translate your copy without leaving the file.

This micro course is about that toolkit. It is hands-on and tool-specific: you will learn what each Figma AI feature actually does and when to reach for it. It is not a course about UX strategy or research, and you do not need years of design experience to follow along. If you can open a Figma file, you can do everything here.

What You'll Learn

• The three layers of AI inside Figma: native features, community plugins, and Figma Make
• Where the AI tools live in the interface so you can find them fast
• What each major feature is for, at a glance
• The plan and account settings that decide which AI tools you actually see

The three layers of Figma AI

It helps to picture Figma's AI as three separate layers rather than one big button. Each layer is a different level of "how much is Figma doing for you."

Native AI features are built directly into Figma Design. Nothing to install. These include First Draft (prompt to layout), rename layers, replace and rewrite text, make and edit images, remove background, and AI-powered search. You will spend most of this course here.

Community plugins are add-ons other people build and share. They plug extra AI into Figma that is not native, such as Magician for quick icons and copy, or Automator for no-code batch automation. You install them from the Figma Community in a couple of clicks.

Figma Make is the most hands-off layer. You describe an app or interaction and Figma generates a working, code-backed prototype you can click through. It is a separate surface from the design canvas, and we cover it in the final lesson.

Where the AI tools live

Once you know where to look, the tools are easy to reach. Here are the main entry points:

• Right-click menu. Select a frame, layer, image, or text, then right-click. Context-aware AI actions appear here, such as rename layers, rewrite, or remove background. This is the fastest way in for most edits.
• Quick actions search. Press the shortcut for quick actions and type what you want, such as "rename" or "remove background." Figma surfaces the matching AI action. This is handy when you forget where a tool lives.
• The Actions or AI panel. Figma groups generative tools like First Draft and image generation into a dedicated starting point. In 2026 Figma began routing these through its AI agent as the entry point, so the exact button label may look a little different depending on when you signed up, but the capability is the same.
• Plugins menu. Anything you install from the Community runs from the resources or plugins menu inside a file.

You do not have to memorize these. The habit to build is simple: select the thing you want to change first, then right-click and see what AI offers.

A field guide to the native features

Here is the whole native toolkit in plain language, so the rest of the course has context. You will practice the important ones in later lessons.

• First Draft turns a written prompt into an editable wireframe or design.
• Rename layers gives every messy layer a clean, meaningful name in one pass.
• Replace content swaps placeholder or repeated text for realistic-looking content.
• Rewrite, shorten, translate adjust the tone, length, or language of selected text.
• Make and edit images generate a new image from a prompt or change one you already have.
• Remove background isolates the subject of a photo.
• Boost resolution, expand image, vectorize clean up, extend, or convert images.
• Select area lets you isolate or erase part of an image.
• Visual search finds designs, components, or assets using a keyword, a description, or even a screenshot.
• Add interactions turns a static design into a clickable prototype.

The catch: plans and settings

One honest note before you dive in. Which AI features you see can depend on your Figma plan and on settings your account or organization controls. Some AI capabilities are gated behind paid seats, and admins can turn AI features on or off, including settings about whether your content may be used to train models. This changes over time and varies by account.

So if a feature in this course does not appear in your file, it is almost never that you did something wrong. Check your plan and your workspace AI settings, or try it in a personal file. Everything here works the same way once the feature is switched on.

Try it now

Open any Figma file, select a frame with a few layers in it, and right-click. Read the menu and notice which items are AI-powered. Then press your quick actions shortcut and type "rename." You have just found your two main doors into Figma AI. In the next lesson you will use the biggest one: First Draft.

Key Takeaways

• Figma AI comes in three layers: native features, community plugins, and Figma Make.
• Native features need no install and cover drafting, editing, images, and search.
• Reach the tools through the right-click menu, quick actions search, the AI or Actions panel, and the plugins menu.
• Select what you want to change first, then right-click to see AI options.
• The features you can see depend on your plan and account settings, not on your skill.