Figma Disables AI Design Feature Over Concerns of Copying Apple’s Weather App

Figma CEO Dylan Field has announced the temporary suspension of the “Make Design” AI feature, which had been accused of closely mimicking the designs of Apple’s Weather app. This issue was initially highlighted by Andy Allen, the founder of NotBoring Software, known for its suite of apps, including a customizable Weather app. Upon testing, Allen discovered that Figma’s tool consistently generated designs remarkably similar to Apple’s Weather app.

Allen took to X (formerly Twitter) to suggest that Figma's tool was “heavily” trained using existing app designs—an allegation Field has since refuted. In a demonstration, Allen shared an image comparing the output of Figma’s new feature to Apple’s Weather app, illustrating the striking similarities.

The Make Design feature is integrated into Figma’s software, allowing users to create user interface (UI) layouts and components based on text prompts. “Simply describe your needs, and the feature provides a preliminary draft,” Figma explained during its feature launch. This tool was designed to assist developers in rapidly translating their ideas into visual designs and exploring various directions for their projects.

Introduced during Figma’s recent Config conference, the company emphasized that Make Design was not trained on any proprietary Figma content, community files, or app design examples, a point Field reinforced in his response on X. “In essence, the claims regarding data training in this tweet are unfounded,” he stated.

However, in its eagerness to roll out new AI features to stay competitive, Figma appears to have overlooked essential quality assurance processes. Similar to concerns in other sectors, some designers expressed worry that tools like Make Design might jeopardize jobs by democratizing digital design. Others argued that AI could alleviate repetitive tasks in design, fostering the generation of more innovative ideas.

As Dustin Karp commented, "This could eliminate repetitive design work and elevate creativity, as has been the case with new tools in the past."

Allen's findings about Figma's apparent replication of existing apps ignited further anxiety within the design community. He cautioned fellow designers using Make Design to meticulously assess their outputs against existing applications, warning that failure to do so could lead to legal challenges.

Field clarified that Make Design draws from established large language models, supplemented with “systems we commissioned to be used by these models.” He admitted that the variability in design output was insufficient.

Field announced on X, “I’ve requested our team to temporarily disable the Make Design feature until we can assure its reliability. The feature will be turned off when our US-based team begins their day, and will only be reactivated after a thorough quality assurance review.”

In response to Allen's tweet, Field stated, “Within hours of recognizing the issue, which stemmed from the underlying design systems employed, we took action. Ultimately, I take responsibility for not advocating for a more robust QA process and pushing the team to meet deadlines for Config.”

Apple has not yet responded to the situation. Figma is relying on Field's tweets as its official statement, clarifying that the Make Design feature will be paused until they can guarantee confidence in its output, with reactivation only occurring after a complete review of the feature's foundation.