Canva has transformed its platform with the launch of what it calls the Creative Operating System, an upgrade that fuses human creativity with cutting-edge technology.
The update brings the world’s first AI model built to understand design, alongside a suite of new products and tools to simplify how individuals and businesses create, collaborate, and grow.
The platform’s new foundation, the Canva Design Model, is the result of years of research and training on real design elements. Unlike typical image generators, this model comprehends structure, layers, and layout logic, allowing users to generate editable, on-brand designs across multiple formats, from presentations to videos, within seconds.
“As knowledge becomes more and more accessible, we believe we’re moving from the Information Era to the Imagination Era, a time when creativity has never been more critical. We’ve been thinking about how we can empower our community to succeed in this era, which is why we’re incredibly excited to unveil our biggest launch yet with the all-in-one Creative Operating System,” said Melanie Perkins, Canva co-founder and CEO.
Smarter Visual Suite and New Creation Tools
At the core of Canva’s Creative Operating System is a reimagined Visual Suite that pushes what users can achieve without needing deep design expertise.
The update features Video 2.0, a rebuilt editor designed to remove complexity while introducing automation through tools like Magic Video, allowing users to turn ideas into polished content instantly.
Canva has also rolled out Email Design, a long-requested feature that lets marketing teams build fully branded emails directly within the platform and export them in HTML.
Forms can now be embedded in any design, enabling creators to collect responses seamlessly, while Canva Code and Canva Sheets now work together to turn raw data into interactive visual widgets that update in real time.
AI That Understands Design
Beyond functionality, Canva’s new AI system, now deeply embedded across every workflow, allows users to generate or modify text, graphics, videos, and even 3D objects without leaving the canvas.
Its intelligent Ask @Canva feature acts as a design assistant, ready to offer instant suggestions or edits directly within projects.
Robert Kawalsky, Canva’s global head of Product, described the innovation as a response to real user needs:
“What we’ve found is that people want the ability to start with a prompt and get far, but also be able to iterate directly themselves.”
Expanding Into Marketing and Business Growth
With Canva Grow, the company now provides an integrated marketing platform that enables users to create, publish, and track campaigns across social media platforms like Meta.
The tool analyses engagement in real time, using AI to improve campaigns automatically based on performance data.
Supporting this is Canva’s Brand System, which brings assets, templates, fonts, and colours directly into the editor, maintaining brand consistency across teams. A new plan, Canva Business, bridges the gap between the Pro and Enterprise tiers, offering advanced analytics, extended AI capacity, and collaborative tools for growing teams.
Affinity Now Free Forever
In one of its most interesting moves, Canva announced that Affinity, the professional design suite it acquired last year, will now be free forever.
The upgraded Affinity merges vector, pixel, and layout tools under one interface, providing a seamless experience for professional designers. The integration allows users to move assets directly from Affinity into Canva for team collaboration, publishing, and scaling.
The Future of Creative Work
With more than 260 million monthly active users and serving 95% of the Fortune 500, Canva is becoming a central hub for creativity and business growth. Its $3.5 billion in annualised revenue and $42 billion valuation shows the global interest for simplified, accessible design solutions.
