A Figma study revealed that AI made product teams 20% faster

A Figma study revealed that AI made product teams 20% faster. Here are the details on exactly where the increased productivity was found.

Figma recently ran a controlled study involving 50 product designers and 50 product managers. Each participant completed the same set of design tasks, either with or without access to Figma Make.

Overall, participants using Make completed the work 20% faster, rated the tasks 16% easier and reported a 15% improvement in Figma’s usability. But those benefits weren’t evenly distributed.

Product managers saw the greatest improvements on the simpler tasks, such as creating a dark mode and adding an option to a settings menu. Designers only recorded a statistically significant time improvement on the most complex task: building a new interactive commenting experience.

The study shows us where AI-assisted design may be most useful. For product managers, it can lower the barrier between having an idea and making it visible enough to discuss. For experienced designers, its value may be in exploring more complex interactions without spending as much time on the mechanical parts of prototyping.

Both could help product teams collaborate and test ideas more quickly. But faster design work doesn’t automatically mean better product design. The study measured completion time, perceived ease and usability. It didn’t yet measure whether participants arrived at better solutions, made stronger product decisions or created experiences that worked better for users.

Figma says design quality is one of the areas it wants to investigate next, and that may ultimately be the more important measure.

AI can help teams reach a finished prototype faster. The value still depends on whether they were heading in the right direction, and that’s usually something you need to rely on an experienced professional for.