Overview
Ardot is an AI design agent collaboration platform launched by Tencent, officially launched in open beta on May 18, 2026. During the beta, registered users receive 1,000 free credits, and the platform supports macOS, Windows and web clients.
Its biggest difference from traditional design tools is that natural language generates editable vector design drafts rather than images, covering the entire chain from inspiration to code export: text-to-UI, image-to-design, professional vector editing, dynamic layouts and real-time team collaboration, all built on multiple domestic large models and iterating rapidly through the first three months of beta.
The iteration has settled into two clear product lines. One is the design-to-development delivery chain: through the MCP protocol, design context flows directly into AI coding tools such as CodeBuddy, Cursor and Claude Code, and with developer mode it produces CSS, iOS and Android code in one step. It also supports drag-and-drop Figma file import, same-style page generation for extending full sets of screens, and intelligent selection-based local refinement. The other line is the AI-powered reuse of team assets: AI can generate content from team component libraries so output matches internal design standards, and a Skill community is live for teams to codify their own workflows.
Key Features
- AI Assistant: Supports intelligent renaming, image generation, link-to-UI, AI search, and AI collaboration in every design step.
- Text-to-UI: Input natural language descriptions, AI automatically generates layouts and components, quickly building draft structures.
- Image to Design Draft: Upload images, intelligently layer them, and convert into editable design drafts.
- AI Local Redraw: Select a local area of the design draft and use AI to regenerate layout and content.
- Multi-Model Ecosystem: Fully integrates multiple domestic large models, with the AI assistant supporting model selection and switching.
- Professional Vector Editing: From W3C-standard skewing and 3D rotation to enhanced shape tools, meeting advanced design needs in one place.
- Dynamic Layout System: Grid layout, percentage positioning, and real proportion locking ensure perfect presentation on any screen size.
- Flexible Design System: Global synchronization of components, colors, and text styles, freely combinable and reusable with one click.
- Enterprise-Grade Security and Collaboration: Intelligent permission center, comprehensive behavior tracking, seamless personnel and asset management, covering the full security process of permissions, records, and handovers.
- Design-to-Development Delivery: Efficiently view annotation information, access all component options and corresponding code, quickly copy CSS/iOS/Android code.
Use Cases
- Primary tool for UI/UX designers in daily design work
- Product managers quickly generate editable prototypes using natural language
- Independent developers integrate rapid design and code export
- Design teams collaborate in real-time with unified asset management
- Domestic teams replacing Figma (no proxy needed, fast speed, data compliant)
Pros
- Free to use, no payment required to experience all features
- Generated results are editable (vector, not images), a key differentiator
- Extremely fast iteration, multiple releases within the first three months of beta
- Integrates multiple domestic large models, AI capabilities constantly enhanced
- Backed by Tencent, stable domestic access, data compliant
- Available on macOS, Windows and web, usable offline
- MCP bridges design-to-code delivery, connecting major AI coding tools
Pricing
Free during the open beta, with 1,000 free credits for registered users, available on macOS, Windows and web.
Summary
Ardot is the most important variable in the domestic design tool market in 2026, and it has not stopped at the beta hype: multiple releases in three months, a Windows client, an MCP bridge from design drafts to code, and team component libraries with a Skill community that let organizations encode their own standards. For domestic teams that value data compliance or struggle with Figma access, Ardot is now a serious candidate to evaluate as a primary tool rather than a toy to try out.
Version History
- v2.7 update (2026-08-05): Released v2.7: rulers and guide lines aligned with professional design tool habits; AI generation based on team component libraries so output matches internal design standards; hardened AI icon library import security, plus fixes for Windows desktop crashes and cross-page component navigation view refresh issues.
- v2.6 update: Skill community navigation (2026-07-31): Released v2.6: a community navigation entry in the AI assistant skill panel, marking the start of a design skill ecosystem; refined same-style page generation and improved error states for skill cards, detail pages and covers.
- v2.5 update: Figma drag-and-drop import (2026-07-28): Released v2.5: drag-and-drop import of Figma files preserving layout, styles and component structure; same-style page generation to extend a full set of screens from the current page; and a resource upload relay tool that gives AI more asset context during design.
- v2.4 update: MCP in developer mode (2026-07-24): Released v2.4: MCP integration support added to the AI assistant developer mode, paving the way for design drafts to connect directly with AI coding tools; together with cloud MCP, agents can read and write design files.
- v2.3 update: Windows client download (2026-07-23): Released v2.3: the Windows client officially opened for download, completing macOS, Windows and web coverage; unified MCP resource storage and screenshot export pipeline, improved AI assistant Skill update sync, and editor SDK packaging for Mac.
- Ardot open beta (2026-05-18): Ardot entered open beta as an AI design agent collaboration platform, with 1,000 free credits for registered users on web and macOS. It supports natural-language editable UI generation, image-to-design, professional vector editing, dynamic layouts and real-time collaboration, powered by multiple domestic large models.