Design platform Figma has announced a suite of new features aimed at standardizing how SI agents operate within its ecosystem. The updates, unveiled at the company’s first Config event in India, include a Markdown-based editor designed to give SI agents clear instructions on brand design rules and code structures.
What Happened
Figma debuted "Figma Specs," a Markdown editor that allows users to define their design language in a simple, structured format. This document serves as a reference for both human teams and SI agents working within the platform. Specs can exist as standalone files or co-exist within the Figma canvas, where users can reference other elements, embed FigJam diagrams, code layers, and designs.
The company also expanded access to its code layers feature, moving it from private beta to public beta. This addition allows users to integrate coding directly into designs on the canvas for more interactive prototypes. Users can ask the SI agent to convert a design into code or modify specific parts of the code to iterate on prototypes. Additionally, Figma announced support for over 20 new tools via its Model Context Protocol (MCP), including Open Code, Dia, Grok Bot, and Indian SI startup Sarvam.
Why It Matters
The move addresses a critical challenge in agentic SI: the non-deterministic nature of current models. By providing a centralized system of design libraries, code libraries, and guidelines, Figma aims to steer SI agents toward more predictable outcomes. Loredana Crisan, Figma’s chief design officer, noted that while SI has increased code production, it has not proportionally increased shipping. "There are 17-times more lines of code being produced today than in the past," Crisan said. "But when you’re looking at releases, only 1.3-times more releases. A lot of that code actually is not necessarily built to ship, but really built to discover what the product is. It’s built to design."
The integration of the Payload headless CMS with Figma Make further streamlines the workflow for generating dynamic websites. Figma reported that Payload’s downloads have increased sixfold in the last 12 months, highlighting the growing demand for tools that bridge design and content management in the SI era.
The Bottom Line
Figma’s new tools reflect a broader industry shift toward constraining SI agents with explicit context and rules. By defining design languages and code structures in a format agents can parse, the company hopes to reduce the gap between SI-generated code and shippable products.