Figma, Your New Left-Hand Menu/Panel Is a Disaster – 7th Jan 2026

Just got the update today.
Nothing to say that hasn’t alreasy been said: it’s a waste of space, plain and simple.

Please remove it, or at the very least, give us an option to toggle between this and the previous layout..

You can actually fit about 5 icons at the top section, or possibly add this as a tabbar at the bottom?

I also massively dislike this new sidebar. I will never click on these items. I don’t understand the logic for this. The only motivation I can think of is to push the ‘Token Burning Money Maker’ that is ‘Agents’. I don’t want this here and would like to remove this permanently, not hide for a while or hide per figma file. On my account I would like to toggle this off and never see it again.

A Website Designer on laptop screen

The current AI Agent panel occupies the left sidebar, which is the same space used for page and layer navigation. This makes it impossible to browse pages, select layers, or inspect the layer tree while simultaneously working with the agent — you have to choose one or the other.

Suggested improvement: Move the AI Agent to a floating button in the bottom-right corner (near or replacing the Help button), similar to a chat widget pattern. Clicking it would open a compact overlay or side panel that doesn't replace the main navigation sidebar.

Benefits:

• Users can navigate pages and layers freely while the agent conversation stays open
• The canvas and layer panel remain fully accessible during agent interactions
• Familiar UX pattern — low learning curve
• Enables real-time feedback loop: select a layer → ask agent → see result → navigate → repeat, all without switching modes

Current workaround: None — you have to close the agent panel to navigate, then reopen it, losing context of what's on screen.

This would significantly improve the workflow for tasks that involve browsing across multiple pages or frames while iterating with the agent.

 

P.S.

I'm a Product & UX/UI Designer myself, so this feedback comes from daily hands-on use rather than theoretical observation. If perspectives like this are useful to your team — whether for research, beta testing, or design collaboration — I'd love to be involved. Always open to a conversation.

Obviously this must have been pushed by management to promote their AI agenda.
It’s terrible. There is no excuse from the UX side and I’m pretty sure _every_ designer at Figma feels the same. So, the obvious question: Is there a secret option or keyboard command to change it or hide it?

Alternatively, are the 50×1000px for rent? Are we going to see ads there to get an even better subscriptions?

I really dislike the new sidebar navigation for AI Agents.

As many other users have already pointed out, the new navigation permanently takes up around 40px of screen space. This feels unnecessary, especially considering that it only adds a single new feature.

Previously, the Files and Assets sections were organized efficiently as tabs within the same sidebar. Now, introducing an entirely separate sidebar just for AI Agents seems like an excessive use of valuable workspace.

For designers working on laptops or smaller screens, every pixel matters. Dedicating a permanent navigation column to a single feature significantly reduces the available canvas area without providing proportional value.

My suggestion would be to integrate AI Agents as another tab within the existing main sidebar, alongside Files and Assets, rather than introducing a completely separate sidebar. This would keep the interface cleaner, more space-efficient, and consistent with Figma’s previous navigation patterns.

The current implementation feels like a solution that prioritizes feature visibility over usability.

I agree with you on every point here.

Currently I’m working on a 16’ MacBook and even on the largest screen size available this feature seems like a pointless waste of my screen space. Let’s also point that in some files such as design libraries, where I (and other members of design team) don’t have edit access, the bar disappears completely, creating confusion and inconsistency throughout the software. Although I’m not a big user (and enjoyer) of the AI Agents themselves, so my opinion could be biased.

Anyway I would like to have my 40px back, I really hope that Figma Team would rollback this decision! 

Exactly, just please stop changing the UI all the time

We're already constantly learning things, so having to find everything every time we open the Figma interface is a huge waste of time, an unnecessary drain on our workflow, and you could make it optional 😬

With the new Beta version, you're taking up more and more canvas space. It would be helpful to be able to collapse some panels instead of the entire interface (for example, leaving only layers and tools, instead of all the agents, resources, files, and libraries).

Or just remove me from the group of users who are always shown the beta versions pleaaaseeeeee; it's exhausting. Can we ask for that? hah

No thank you :) People on 1080p monitors are going to livid for taking their precious screen real-estate 

How about something like this?