Creative software company Canva unveiled a suite of new AI-powered features on Thursday to streamline content creation and editing.
The additions signal the growing importance of AI in design workflows — and suggest that for software makers, integrating AI is no longer optional, even if some customers remain skeptical.
At the heart of the update is Canva AI, a new assistant capable of generating images, writing copy, brainstorming design ideas, and even creating interactive documents. Users can input simple prompts to generate everything from social media content to print-ready collateral.
A standout feature is Canva Code, which allows users to prompt the AI to build mini-apps, such as interactive maps or custom calculators, that can be embedded into designs. Canva says it has partnered with AI firm Anthropic to power the assistant’s capabilities.
“Over the years, we’ve encouraged our teams to create interactive prototypes because static mockups don’t fully capture the user experience,” said Cameron Adams, Canva’s co-founder and chief product officer. “We saw AI being used internally for prototyping and decided to externalize it, making it easier for anyone to code and build interactive experiences.”
While Canva is not the first to explore AI-powered app creation — startups like Cursor, Replit, and Bolt.new have already gained traction — the integration fits naturally into Canva’s broader mission to offer an all-in-one design platform for everything from marketing materials to full websites.
Canva’s photo editor is also getting an AI upgrade. New tools allow users to click on elements in a photo to edit or remove them, as well as generate realistic backgrounds that match a photo’s lighting and layout. These features put Canva in more direct competition with industry heavyweights like Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, and Pixelmator.
As part of its growing enterprise offering, Canva is introducing Canva Sheets, a spreadsheet tool built for teams. In addition to standard spreadsheet functions, it includes Magic Insights — a feature that automatically extracts and highlights data-driven insights — and Magic Charts, which converts raw data into branded visualizations with logos and custom styling.
Canva Sheets supports integrations with services such as Google Analytics, HubSpot, and Statista, allowing users to import and visualize external data seamlessly.
