Canva is Introducing AI Image Generation and Other Capabilities

Many career paths are still struggling with adopting AI technology, and many artists have fought back against the proliferation of AI design tools and the content used to train generative models. However, the companies making software for creative work are nevertheless building AI into their toolkits. It’s a sign of just how quickly AI has gained importance — regardless of what their customers say, graphic design software makers seem to think they cannot survive without implementing some form of AI.

Coming to Conva 

Canva is the latest platform to join the AI storm, with the company announcing recently that it is adding a suite of new AI features to its platform, including an AI assistant, the ability to create apps with prompts, support for spreadsheets, and AI-powered editing tools.

Called Canva AI, the company’s AI assistant can perform a host of tasks, from creating images according to your instructions to coming up with design ideas — say, collateral for social media or mock-ups for printing. It can even write, copy, and create documents. When users tap into a new tool dubbed Canva Code, the assistant can also be prompted to create mini-apps, like interactive maps or custom calculators, that can then be integrated into designs. Canva has partnered with Anthropic for these features. 

Following Good Examples 

Canva is not the first platform to do this. Several startups like Cursor, Bolt.new, Lovable, and Replit have attracted lots of customers and attention for enabling users to prompt their way to creating applications. Still, Canva has an incentive to bake such a feature into its software, as it complements its broader selling point as a service used to design everything from marketing collateral to websites.

Canva is also adding new AI features to its photo editor: One tool allows users to point and click to modify artifacts in photos, while another is a background generator that accounts for lighting and layout. This feature set seems aimed at helping the company compete with tools like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, and Pixelmator (acquired by Apple last year).

Last year, Canva launched an enterprise-focused product to better serve larger teams with features like single sign-on and access management tools. Now, it’s adding spreadsheets to the mix with Canva Sheets.

In-depth Features 

Canva takes things beyond the usual spreadsheet features with a tool called Magic Insights, which, as it says on the tin, surfaces insights gleaned from data on the sheet. There’s also a feature called Magic Charts, which converts raw numbers into charts automatically, complete with brand-specific graphics and logos.

The company said Canva Sheets supports integrations with HubSpot, Statista, Google Analytics, and more to let users import data easily.

While these upgrades seem welcoming, there's still some tension, especially on the side of the artists. They're reportedly worried about their work being used to train AI models without permission, but there’s also a real threat to creative design jobs.