Canva Expands into Coding and Spreadsheet Market

Canva is shaking things up with its latest rollout of generative AI-powered workspace tools, aiming to pack everything Microsoft, Google, and Adobe offer into one convenient platform. The revamped Visual Suite is merging Canva's design and productivity tools into a streamlined interface, while introducing fresh features like coding, photo editing, spreadsheets, and an AI chatbot.

These new additions join the ranks of Canva's office suite tools, such as Canva Docs and Canva Whiteboards, which debuted in 2022. Originally renowned for its marketing and design capabilities, Canva is now broadening its appeal to office teams and businesses, hoping to attract more of its 230 million users with a visually engaging twist on traditional workspace apps.

With the Visual Suite 2.0 update, users can seamlessly build and edit documents, presentations, animations, and websites within one design. This unified approach, Canva claims, "eliminates the need for separate tools, fragmented workflows, and disconnected files." Now, entire campaigns can be managed from start to finish in one collaborative space, from planning and briefing to design and delivery.

Canva Sheets offers a creative spin on traditional spreadsheets, enabling users to blend text with visual elements. Data can be imported from sources like HubSpot, Statista, and Google Analytics, and Canva's AI-powered "Magic Insights" feature automatically detects patterns and insights in the data. With "Magic Charts," users can easily transform numbers into interactive graphs, infographics, reports, and animated visualizations.

Canva Code, a new generative AI coding assistant, mirrors tools like Gemini Code Assist and GitHub Copilot. It allows users to generate widgets, websites, and interactive content using simple text prompts, requiring no coding or additional tools.

Canva's new AI chatbot, described as a "conversational creative partner," consolidates all of Canva's generative AI tools into a single window for easy access. Users can employ voice or text prompts to edit photos, resize designs, and generate text, slides, and images.

On the creative front, Canva's updated Photo Editor now boasts features akin to Adobe's professional Photoshop software. Users can automatically modify or remove background objects with a click, and generate AI backgrounds that adapt to lighting and layout conditions, according to Canva.