ByFigma AI image editing now lets you erase objects, isolate subjects, and expand backgrounds directly on the design canvas, without exporting to Photoshop first. Figma introduced these three tools, called Erase Object, Isolate Object, and Expand Image, and by 2026 they are a standard part of Figma Design for paid subscribers. This guide covers exactly what each tool does, what it costs, and how it compares to the AI editing tools inside Photoshop and Canva, so you can decide whether to build these fixes into your own workflow or keep relying on a separate photo editor.
What Are Figma’s New AI Image Editing Tools?
Figma AI image editing is built around three specific tools rather than one general-purpose AI prompt box: Erase Object, Isolate Object, and Expand Image. According to Figma’s official announcement, the tools are powered by AI but do not require typed prompts, so designers get fine-tuned control without needing to describe what they want in words.
All three tools live in a new image toolbar that appears when you select an image on the canvas, and they work directly inside Figma Design and Figma Draw. That matters because you never have to export an asset, edit it in another app, and re-import it just to remove a background object or resize a hero image.
What Does the Erase Object Tool Do?
Erase Object removes a selected element from an image and automatically fills in the background behind it. You brush over or select the object you want gone, such as a stray person in a product photo or an unwanted logo, and Figma’s AI reconstructs the area behind it based on the surrounding pixels.
This replaces a task that used to require switching to Photoshop’s clone stamp or content-aware fill for a single quick fix. For a designer laying out a webpage or app screen, Erase Object means a background distraction can be removed without leaving the file you are already working in.
What Does the Isolate Object Tool Do?
Isolate Object selects a subject in an image and separates it from its background so you can move it, restyle it, or apply an effect to just that subject. Once isolated, you can apply blur, adjust lighting, or desaturate the background while keeping the subject untouched, according to Figma’s own tool documentation.
This is the closest of the three tools to a traditional “cut out the subject” workflow, but it happens without manual path drawing or a separate masking step. A common use case is making a product photo’s background lighter or darker to match a page’s color scheme while keeping the product itself unchanged.
What Does the Expand Image Tool Do?
Expand Image extends an image’s background to fit a new aspect ratio or format, generating new background content that matches the original photo’s style. Figma’s own example is turning a square product shot into a wide landscape banner for a website hero section, without cropping out the subject or leaving empty space.
This solves a recurring problem for designers who receive a single image asset but need it in multiple formats: a square version for social media, a wide version for a banner, and a tall version for a mobile screen. Expand Image handles the reformatting inside Figma instead of requiring a separate generative-fill pass in another tool.
What Do the Three Figma AI Image Editing Tools Do, at a Glance?
Each tool solves a different, specific editing problem rather than overlapping with the others.
| Tool | What It Does | Typical Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Erase Object | Removes an element and fills the background | Cleaning up a distracting object in a photo |
| Isolate Object | Separates a subject to move or style it | Changing a product photo’s background mood |
| Expand Image | Extends the background to a new aspect ratio | Turning a square photo into a website banner |
When Were Figma’s AI Image Editing Tools Released?
Figma introduced Erase Object, Isolate Object, and Expand Image in December 2025, according to coverage from TechCrunch and ITdaily at the time of launch. The rollout gave paid subscribers canvas-native AI image editing for the first time, rather than requiring a round trip through a separate generative AI app.
By mid-2026, the tools have moved from a new feature announcement to a standard part of the Figma Design toolset, with ongoing coverage from sites like Contentgrip noting continued refinement of Figma’s AI image capabilities through the year. Figma has also said publicly that it intends to extend similar AI-assisted editing to more parts of its platform over time, so the current three-tool set is likely a starting point rather than the final feature set.
For anyone evaluating Figma AI image editing today, that timeline matters: the tools are mature enough to rely on for everyday work, but young enough that Figma is still actively expanding what they can do.
Why Did Figma Build Selection-Based Tools Instead of a Prompt Box?
Many AI image editors, including Photoshop’s Generative Fill and standalone tools like Midjourney, center on typing a text prompt describing what you want. Figma AI image editing took a different approach on purpose: Erase Object, Isolate Object, and Expand Image all work through direct selection on the canvas, with no prompt field required.
Figma’s own materials frame this as a control decision rather than a limitation. A text prompt can produce unpredictable results because the model has to interpret ambiguous language, while clicking or brushing over a specific object gives the AI a precise, unambiguous target. For production design work where a client is reviewing exact pixels, that predictability matters more than the flexibility a prompt box offers.
This also lowers the learning curve. A designer who has never written an AI prompt in their life can use Erase Object the same way they would use a normal selection tool, which is part of why Figma positioned these as tools rather than a chat-style assistant.
Do You Need a Paid Plan to Use Figma AI Image Editing?
Yes. Figma’s AI image editing tools require a Full Seat on a paid plan; a free Figma account cannot access Erase Object, Isolate Object, or Expand Image. As of 2026, Figma’s Professional plan starts at $16 per editor per month when billed annually, and a Full Seat on that plan includes a monthly AI credit allowance that covers these image editing tools alongside Figma’s other AI features.
Higher tiers, including Organization and Enterprise, include larger credit allowances and additional governance controls, with Enterprise pricing running significantly higher per seat. If you are only testing the tools occasionally, the Professional plan’s credit allowance is enough for regular use without hitting limits on a typical project.
How Do You Use Figma’s AI Image Editing Tools Step by Step?
You can access all three tools directly from the canvas once you select an image. Follow these steps:
- Select an image layer on your Figma canvas.
- Open the image toolbar that appears above or beside the selected image.
- Choose Erase Object, Isolate Object, or Expand Image depending on what you need to change.
- For Erase Object, brush over or click the element you want removed and let the AI fill the background.
- For Isolate Object, confirm the detected subject, then apply any effect to the separated background layer.
- For Expand Image, drag the canvas boundary to your target aspect ratio and let the tool generate the new background area.
- Review the result at full size before publishing, since AI-generated fills can occasionally introduce small artifacts near complex edges.
None of these steps require leaving the file you are already working in, which is the core time-saving benefit over a Photoshop round trip. A fix that used to mean exporting, editing in another app, and re-importing an asset now happens without ever switching windows.
How Does Figma AI Image Editing Compare to Photoshop Generative Fill?
Photoshop’s Generative Fill has offered similar object removal and background extension since 2023, but it lives in a separate desktop application from where most product and web designers build their layouts.
| Factor | Figma AI Image Editing | Photoshop Generative Fill |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Directly on the design canvas | Separate desktop application |
| Prompt required | No, tool-based selection | Optional text prompt supported |
| Best for | Quick fixes inside a layout in progress | Deep, prompt-driven photo compositing |
| Access model | Included in Professional+ seat credits | Included with a Creative Cloud subscription |
If your work is deep photo compositing, our guide to Photoshop Generative Fill covers the prompt-driven side of AI image editing in more depth. For layout-stage fixes where you do not want to leave Figma, the built-in tools are usually faster.
How Does Figma AI Image Editing Compare to Canva’s AI Tools?
Canva’s Magic Studio offers comparable object removal and image expansion features, and it targets a different user than Figma does. Canva is built for marketers, small business owners, and social media creators who need fast, template-driven graphics, while Figma is built around structured design files, components, and collaborative product design work.
| Factor | Figma AI Image Editing | Canva Magic Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Primary user | Product and UI designers | Marketers and content creators |
| File structure | Structured design files and components | Template-based designs |
| Editing style | Selection-based, no prompt required | Mix of templates and prompt-based generation |
| Best for | In-context fixes inside a product design file | Fast standalone social and marketing graphics |
If your daily work already lives in Figma files with components, auto-layout, and design tokens, using its native AI tools avoids breaking that structure to fix a single image. If you are producing standalone marketing graphics with no existing Figma file, Canva’s more template-driven approach may get you to a finished asset faster.
Where Do These Tools Fit in a Design Workflow?
Figma AI image editing is best suited to the layout and iteration stage of a project, not final photo production. If a client photo has a distracting background element or needs to be reformatted for three different screen sizes, Erase Object and Expand Image solve that without a round trip to another application.
For heavier retouching work, such as detailed product photography correction or complex composite scenes, a dedicated photo editor is still the better tool, and pairing Figma’s built-in AI tools with the broader options in our AI tools for graphic designers roundup gives you a fuller toolkit for different stages of a project.
How Good Are the Results in Practice?
Erase Object and Isolate Object generally handle simple backgrounds well, such as a plain wall, sky, or blurred office setting, because the AI has a clean, low-detail area to reconstruct or separate. Results get noticeably less reliable on busy backgrounds with repeating patterns, fine textures like fabric or foliage, or reflections, where the generated fill can look slightly soft or mismatched compared to the original photo.
Expand Image tends to perform best when you are extending a background that is already relatively uniform, such as a solid-color studio backdrop or a simple gradient. Extending a complex scene, like a photo with architecture or crowds near the edge, is more likely to produce a visible seam that needs a manual touch-up.
Figma’s own help documentation for these tools, available in its help center, recommends reviewing results at full resolution before publishing, which matches what most early users report: the tools save real time on straightforward fixes, but they are not a guaranteed one-click solution for every image.
What Are the Limitations of Figma’s AI Image Editing Tools?
These tools require a paid Full Seat, so freelancers or students on Figma’s free tier cannot use them without upgrading. AI-generated fills can also struggle with complex textures, repeating patterns, or busy backgrounds, occasionally producing a visible seam or blur where the generated area meets the original photo.
The tools also consume monthly AI credits, so heavy use across a large team can run into plan limits faster than expected. Figma has said it plans to extend AI capabilities to more parts of the platform over time, so expect the credit system and tool set to keep evolving through 2026.
There is also a workflow limitation worth planning around: these tools edit a flattened image, not a layered source file. If you need to keep the original, unedited photo alongside the AI-edited version for future changes, duplicate the image layer before running Erase Object, Isolate Object, or Expand Image, since the edit is not easily reversible once you move on to other work in the file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Figma AI image editing free to use?
No. Figma AI image editing requires a Full Seat on a paid plan, starting with Professional at $16 per editor per month when billed annually. A free Figma account cannot access Erase Object, Isolate Object, or Expand Image.
Can Figma AI image editing replace Photoshop entirely?
Not for deep retouching work. Figma AI image editing is designed for quick, layout-stage fixes like removing a background object or reformatting an image, while Photoshop Generative Fill remains stronger for detailed, prompt-driven photo compositing.
Does Figma AI image editing work on Figma’s free plan?
No. All three tools, Erase Object, Isolate Object, and Expand Image, require a paid Full Seat subscription and draw from a monthly AI credit allowance tied to your plan.
What is the difference between Erase Object and Isolate Object?
Erase Object permanently removes an element and fills the space behind it. Isolate Object keeps the subject but separates it from the background so you can style or move the background independently.
Do Figma’s AI image editing tools require writing a text prompt?
No. Unlike many generative AI tools, Erase Object, Isolate Object, and Expand Image work through direct selection on the canvas rather than a typed description, which Figma designed for more predictable, fine-tuned control.
Will Figma AI image editing tools use up my monthly credits quickly?
It depends on your plan and usage. Figma’s Professional Full Seat includes a monthly AI credit allowance shared across all AI features, so a team running these tools heavily on many images per day can exhaust that allowance before the month ends.
Figma AI image editing brings object removal, subject isolation, and background expansion into the same canvas where most product and web design work already happens. It will not replace a dedicated photo editor for heavy retouching, but for the quick fixes designers make dozens of times a week, it removes an entire export-and-reimport step that used to break focus mid-project.
If you are deciding whether to upgrade a Figma seat specifically for these tools, weigh how often your team currently exports images to another app just for a small fix. For teams doing that several times a week, the time saved usually outweighs the cost of a Professional seat within the first month. Pair it with a broader design toolkit, including ideas in our UI design analyzer and Adobe Firefly for logo design guides, to cover the rest of a typical design workflow.
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