Figma’s latest research announced at Figma Config India 2026 found that AI is accelerating product development in India, but teams are spending more time correcting AI-generated work and making designs distinctive.
The study surveyed 1,800 respondents across eight roles, including more than 500 in India. It examined how AI is changing product-building workflows and the skills teams need to deliver quality products.
In India, 83% of respondents expect to increase their use of design tools over the next 12 months. Another 86% expect to increase their use of development tools.
The findings also show that 87% of Indian builders view these changes positively, while around 61% say fixing poor-quality AI output consumes significant time. Figma Staff Researcher Matt Walker presented the findings during a media session.
Walker said the results reflect a shift in how product teams work. Traditionally, product managers defined problems, designers developed solutions, and developers built them. AI is now blurring these boundaries, with 69% of respondents saying colleagues regularly take on tasks outside their core responsibilities.
Builders now engage in an average of 10 out of 19 product-building responsibilities. The biggest increases are in design and strategy, suggesting more people are contributing to product decisions.
AI expands design participation but raises quality concerns
The study found that 77% of non-designers regularly perform at least one design-related task. More than half of respondents also reported engaging in digital product design, including user experience and information architecture.
AI is driving this shift, followed by workers’ desire to learn and develop new skills. Additionally, 55% of respondents said their companies and senior leaders support these changes.
However, easier creation has introduced new challenges. Six in 10 respondents said much of the output they receive from others is low-quality, AI-generated work. The research also found that 60% believe creating distinctive designs is becoming harder.
As more people use similar AI tools, products risk looking increasingly alike and generating more AI slop. Eight in 10 respondents said specialisation and expertise are becoming more important. They also highlighted the growing importance of design judgement, taste and craft.
Walker said AI can help teams reach an initial result quickly, but refining that result remains difficult. Responding to a question from AIM about whether AI creates a cycle of faster ideation followed by time-consuming corrections, Walker said both outcomes can coexist.
AI can improve efficiency and speed, while still requiring significant human effort to refine its output.
He added that conventional AI tools often produce a single result, leaving users to make incremental changes through repeated prompts. This can limit experimentation, especially when users haven’t fully defined what they want to create.
Walker contrasted this with traditional product development, where teams explore multiple ideas before narrowing their options. He said newer approaches that allow teams to compare several prototypes on a shared canvas could help restore this process.