Cursor has unveiled a new AI agent-driven tool called Visual Editor that lets users design web applications by prompting, bringing a vibe coding-like workflow to visual UI creation. The tool gives users access to the same design features and fine-grained controls that would be available on a professional design software. It lets users request edits from Cursor’s AI agent using natural language. But they are also allowed to make design changes manually, the AI coding startup said in a blog post on December 11. Visual Editor can also be used to drag elements around, inspect components and props directly, and describe changes while pointing and clicking. It looks to close the gap between design and code by letting users access their web app, codebase, and visual editing tools in the same window, as per Cursor. The tool can be accessed directly from Cursor’s agentic AI web browser called Cursor Browser. While Cursor is best known for its AI coding tools, with Visual Editor, the company seems to be expanding its offerings to cover other parts of the software creation process. It is also bringing all these functions together and making them easily accessible on a single platform. Though Cursor has emerged as an early leader in the market for AI coding tools, it is also under pressure from tech incumbents such as Google and Adobe as well as counterparts like OpenAI and Anthropic. “The core that we care about, professional developers, never changes. But in reality, developers are not by themselves. They work with a lot of people, and anyone making software should be able to find something useful out of Cursor,” Ryo Lu, Cursor’s head of design, was quoted as saying by Wired . “Before, designers used to live in their own world of pixels and frames, and they don’t really translate to code. So teams had to build processes to hand off tasks back and forth between developers and designers, but there was a lot of friction,” Lu said. “We kind of melded the design world and the coding world together into one interface with one AI agent,” he added. Story continues below this ad As per a demo of how the tool could be used to modify the aesthetics of a webpage, Visual Editor comprises a traditional design panel on the right hand side that lets users adjust fonts, add buttons, create menus, and change backgrounds. It also has a chat interface on the left side where users can submit natural-language requests, such as “make this button’s background color red”, to Cursor’s AI agent in order to make design changes directly in the codebase. Founded in 2023, Cursor has said it has surpassed $1 billion in annual recurring revenue – making it one of the fastest growing AI startups. Its customers include global giants such as Salesforce, Nvidia, and PwC. In November, the startup closed a $2.3 billion funding round that brought its valuation to nearly $30 billion. While most of Cursor’s AI coding tools are powered by licensed models from other companies, the startup is also looking to develop its own AI models from scratch. Its web browser, launched earlier this year, works directly within its coding environment.
IndiaIndia
Cursor launches Visual Editor, an AI agent tool that extends vibe-coding to web app design
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