AI wireframe generators are changing how designers and product teams approach the initial stages of product design. By automating the initial wireframing process, these tools save time, reduce costs, and make wireframing accessible to non-designers—but they’re not a one-size-fits-all solution.
While AI can generate a solid starting point, the best results come from refining and iterating on its output. From drag-and-drop customization to real-time collaboration, AI wireframing tools offer powerful features to streamline your design workflow.
In this guide, we’ll explore how to use AI wireframe generators effectively, key things to consider when choosing a tool, and best practices to ensure your wireframes are a solid start to a successful design project.
What Is an AI Wireframe Generator?
AI wireframe generators help to automate wireframe creation. While you can certainly use the wireframes that are generated as-is, they’re often better viewed as a starting point for creating a set of wireframes, rather than something that produces a viable end-product with the first prompt.
While most AI wireframe generators offer a similar set of features, their user interfaces and user-friendliness can vary widely. Key features of AI wireframe generators include:
- Drag-and-drop interfaces. They allow you to add elements, rearrange elements, or otherwise modify the wireframes without needing to do any coding or creation from scratch.
- Auto-layout suggestions. A good AI wireframe generator will create wireframes based on established UI and UX design patterns and principles.
- Real-time collaboration features. Whichever AI wireframe generator you choose to use should allow you to collaborate with others on your team in real-time, from anywhere.
- Prototyping capabilities. Being able to take your wireframes from lo-fidelity sketches to functional prototypes can save a lot of time and frustration as your project moves beyond the wireframing stage.
As AI tools become more mainstream, more and more AI wireframing tools become available on a regular basis. It makes sense to try a few out to see which one you feel most comfortable with and which one best suits your needs.
Why Use AI for Wireframing?
In years past, wireframing could be a time-consuming process, taking anywhere from a few hours to days (or even weeks), depending on the complexity of the project. It was expensive, often inconsistent, and exclusively the domain of professional designers. AI wireframe generators have changed all of that.
With an AI generator, you can create wireframes in a matter of minutes rather than hours or days. Once you’ve created a prompt and generated the first set of wireframes, you’ll want to spend time refining them. But it’s still a faster process than creating everything from scratch—often starting with hand-drawn sketches and later refining them digitally.
AI wireframe generators can also make the wireframe creation process more cost-effective than traditional methods. By saving time, you save money. When you can create wireframes for a project in an afternoon instead of a week or more, you can move your project along more quickly. And that can result in getting in on opportunities more quickly than your competition.
Consistency among your wireframes is also made easier when using an AI wireframe generator. A good generator will ensure that things like navigation elements, image sizes, layouts, and other design elements are kept consistent between wireframes and help avoid human error in those areas.
Finally, AI wireframe generators make wireframing more accessible to non-designers. You won’t need to have years of experience or take formal classes to create professional-quality wireframes. While you may want to involve a designer for their overall knowledge of product design, being able to hire one as more of a consultant rather than a hands-on participant at every stage of the project can save time and money.
Step-by-Step Guide to Using an AI Wireframe Generator
Now that you understand why you might want to use an AI wireframe generator when creating your next digital product, let’s look at how to actually get the most out of using one. While simply entering a prompt will produce a wireframe, there are steps you can take to make sure that you end up with usable wireframes that will help your project move along more smoothly.
Step 1: Choose the Right AI Wireframing Tool
Step one is all about choosing the right wireframing tool for your needs. Which tool is best can vary from company to company, team to team, or even project to project. You’ll want to compare a few tools and select one based on your needs.
Here are some factors to consider:
Pricing: What’s your budget for a wireframing tool? The most expensive tool isn’t necessarily the best tool, and may have a steeper learning curve or a bunch of features you don’t need. There are free and low-cost options available that may suit your needs just fine.
Integrations: If you know that after your wireframes are created, you’ll want to do the actual design process in an app like Figma, choosing a tool that integrates with Figma and allows you to import your wireframes directly makes sense. For some teams or projects, integrations may not be necessary. But it’s better to think through the possibilities before you get started and account for any integrations that could make the project more efficient as you move forward.
Learning curve: Some AI wireframe generators are aimed at professional designers, while others are aimed at non-designers. The learning curve will vary greatly depending on which one you choose. That said, a professional designer may find more powerful tools that are aimed at designers easier to use than ones aimed at non-designers. They’re less likely to have limitations that could frustrate professionals. More beginner-friendly tools are a better choice for non-designers, as they won’t seem as overwhelming. Look, too, for a tool that has robust documentation to make it easier to learn the specifics of that particular option.
Step 2: Set Up Your Project
Once you’ve chosen the AI wireframe generator you’ll be using for your project, it’s time to get started. You’ll likely want to create an account (even if a tool doesn’t require one, you generally can’t save your work without one and may not be able to access all features).
Next, decide whether you want to start from scratch or work from one of their existing templates (if available). If you’re completely new to wireframing, working from a template may speed up the process and make it less overwhelming. That said, if your product is unique, trying to make an existing template fit may prove to be a hindrance to the design process.
Some AI wireframe generators may also have prompts that you can customize, rather than working from a pre-existing wireframe template. This can be a great way to get started if you’re new to wireframes or to working with advanced AI tools.
Step 3: Generate Your Wireframe
To generate your wireframe, you’ll need to input the requirements for your product. This could include text prompts, though some AI wireframe generators may also allow you to upload sketches or pre-built components. If you have a user flow diagram or journey map, you’ll definitely want to include that so that the AI will include all the necessary components. You might also want to include information about competing products or things to avoid in your prompt.
Step 4: Customize the Wireframe
Once a first draft of your wireframe has been generated, you’ll likely want to make some modifications. Depending on the AI wireframe generator you’re working with, you may be able to do this through additional prompts or through drag-and-drop editing features.
While it can be tempting to modify things like the color palette or more stylistic elements, wireframes should generally focus on the overall structure of the product, not the way it looks. You’ll want to concentrate on things like making sure that all of the necessary screens are included, that all of the features you need are there, and that other important elements are represented.
Step 5: Collaborate & Gather Feedback
Once you have a set of wireframes that you’re happy with, you’ll want to start gathering feedback. Share your wireframes with your project’s stakeholders and get their input. Share them with designers or even with potential end-users.
You can also use AI-powered feedback tools for improvements to your wireframes. These tools can mimic what an end-user might suggest, though it’s important to also test your wireframes with actual users.
As you collect feedback, iterate on your wireframes until you’ve created something that suits the needs of your project, your stakeholders, and your users.
Step 6: Export & Integrate into Your Workflow
Once you have a set of wireframes that you’re happy with, you’ll want to export them and integrate them into your workflow for the rest of your project. This could include importing them into a design tool like Figma or Adobe XD, or using additional AI tools to for your next steps.
In general, the next step after wireframing, particularly for an app or more complex product (rather than a simple website) is to create a high-fidelity prototype. The AI wireframe generator you use may include those tools, simplifying the process of moving forward.
Best Practices for AI-Generated Wireframes
Here are a few best practices for getting the most out of AI wireframe generators:
Always refine AI output for usability. While AI can often make a great approximation of what a user would want, it’s important to remember that AI is not human. We need to look at the output it creates through the lens of human users to make sure that important behavioral or other factors haven’t been overlooked.
Test your wireframes with real users. As mentioned above, testing with real users is important for creating a viable product with good UX.
Balance automation with human creativity. While AI can combine knowledge and experience from vast collections of information, it cannot (yet) replace human creativity. Sometimes humans can make connections between seemingly unrelated things that AI simply isn’t able to do reliably. Make sure that at least a few real people contribute to the process and use the AI-generated wireframes as a jumping-off point for coming up with something truly innovative.
Limitations & Challenges
As advanced as AI is becoming, there are some limitations and challenges that may present themselves, especially with less advanced AI wireframe generators.
AI may lack deep UX insights. User experience design is as much art as it is science. It’s important to consider the user experience throughout the design process, starting with your wireframes.
Over-reliance on AI can lead to generic designs. As mentioned in the best practices above, AI can’t currently beat human creativity. If you rely solely on AI for all of your design decisions, you may end up with a rather generic design. At the very least, to get something more creative, you’ll have to do more creative prompting and give the AI more information to work from.
Not all AI wireframe generators support advanced interactions. Some AI tools only allow for very basic, almost generic inputs and outputs. This is where experimenting with some different tools is key to finding one that can create the kinds of designs you’re looking for.
Moving Forward with AI Wireframe Generators
AI wireframe generators have made wireframing faster, more cost-effective, and accessible to both designers and non-designers. By automating initial layouts and potentially offering smart suggestions designers might not initially consider, these tools eliminate a lot of the manual work of wireframing. But they’re best used as a starting point—human refinement, collaboration, and real user testing remain an important part of the overall design process.
While AI can accelerate early-stage design, it’s not a replacement for human creativity. The most successful wireframes strike a balance between AI and human input. As AI tools continue to evolve, integrating them into your workflow—while staying mindful of their limitations—will help you create better products, faster.