Canva debuts foundational ‘design’ model, extends AI tools across its app

Canva has built its own foundational AI model that generates layered designs users can edit more easily. It’s one of several generative AI-related features Canva announced Thursday, alongside expanded access to its AI assistant and content generation capabilities across its app. 

To date, Canva has partnered with a variety of AI model providers for content generation — Black Forest Labs, Google, and OpenAI among them — and it acquired Leonardo AI last year. 

While these models are adept at image, text or video generation, they lack the ability to produce layered design files that users can then edit themselves, said Jen Thompson, head of product marketing at Canva. “Design is a space that actually hasn’t had a fit-for-purpose model yet,” Thompson said in an interview with Computerworld ahead of Canva’s World Tour event this week. 

Instead, they generate flat, JPEG-style outputs in which text, backgrounds, and other elements cannot be separated. With Canva’s design model, it’s possible to generate “layered design files that look amazing, but then then allow for AI and human editing to happen in parallel,” said Thompson. 

Once a design is generated, it can be tweaked as with any template in the Canva editor.

The model enables an “array of functionality, both today and especially in the future,”  said Gabe Knuth, principal analyst at Omdia, part of Informa TechTarget. “Using their own model will allow [Canva] to have more control over the functionality and output than they’d have leaning on different foundational models for different tasks.” 

The resulting outputs “should be better, more consistent, and more integrated into the Canva experience than what a mixture of general-purpose models can provide,” Knuth said.

Canva didn’t respond to Computerworld’s questions about the use of customer data to train the new design foundational model, including whether the company requires customers to actively consent for their data to be so used.

Canva is also making its various AI tools available more widely across its application. Now, users can now generate content within the editor page, putting AI tools into the flow of work, said Thompson.The assistant can produce templates, photos or shapes, and even 3D objects, for instance, and “style-match” existing content. 

“People are often already in the editor when they realize that they need something specific, whether it’s a design file or a specific element. So, now we’ve brought this ability to generate with AI designs right into the actual design tab in the editor,” she said.

It’s also possible to interact with Canva’s AI assistant in comments by tagging @Canva. 

The AI assistant, announced earlier this year, was previously accessible only via a search bar on the Canva home screen. That meant a lot of switching back and forth to use the assistant. 

The Ask @Canva feature provides another way to get feedback, suggestions, and edits.

“It means that you lead the way, but AI is there to support — not just at the beginning, but all the way through, to make sure you’ve got an amazing design at the end of the day,” said Thompson.

Canva’s announcements come as rival Adobe also outlined its plans this week to add AI assistant tools to apps such as Express and Photoshop. 

Canva’s AI strategy stands it in good stead as it seeks to attract users, said Wayne Kurtzman, research vice president for Social, Communities and Collaboration at IDC.

“These announcements are designed to grow and expand paid seats for professional, organizational and individual creators alike, while retaining the ease of use across devices,” he said. “Having refined the UI without creating user shock reinforces that they are definitely on the right track.”

He said  Canva has “leaned into the multimodal, multimedia content that organizations need to communicate internally and externally. User-facing AI features from a single interface is a huge part of that strategy.” Canva debuts foundational ‘design’ model, extends AI tools across its app – ComputerworldRead More