Three-Quarters of Marketing and Creative Leaders View Generative AI as an Essential Part of Their Creative Toolkit

A new survey from Canva reveals how they’re embracing AI to elevate creativity and increase output in the workplace

• Approximately 70% agree that generative AI is enhancing their team’s creativity
• 69% say generative AI is saving their teams at least 2-3 hours per week
• 65% feel overwhelmed by the learning curve of adopting a new generative AI tool
• 55% have introduced firm guardrails around the use of generative AI in the workplace

SYDNEY & SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Canva, the world’s only all-in-one visual communication platform, today released new insights from more than 4,000 marketing and creative leaders on their attitudes towards generative AI. The company commissioned Morning Consult to survey marketers and creatives from the US, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, India, and Australia to understand how AI is transforming their organizations and their roles.

The top findings include:

• Generative AI is fast becoming a fixture in the modern workplace. Ninety-seven percent of marketing and creative leaders are comfortable with the rise of generative AI, with three-fourths (75%) already considering it an essential part of their creative toolkit.
• AI is unlocking productivity and elevating creativity. The majority (80%) agree that AI-powered tools reduce the minutia of repetitive tasks, freeing them up to focus on the more creative and meaningful parts of their role. Sixty-nine percent say generative AI tools are enhancing their team’s creativity and saving them at least 2-3 hours per week. More than a third (36%) of teams are saving between 4-5 hours per week on creative projects. Of the minority (17%) who feel generative AI tools are limiting their team’s creativity, the most common objection (48%) was preventing the development of original ideas.
• The AI ecosystem is fragmented and complex. More than two-thirds (69%) believe there are already too many generative AI tools, with 65% overwhelmed by the learning curve. While most are excited about the opportunities to elevate creativity, 54% feel pressured to use it to keep pace with change and 47% say they don’t know how to get the most value out of the technology.
• Generative AI is transforming the content creation process. With marketers and creatives tasked with creating huge volumes of content, many are turning to AI for assistance. The majority (83%) have used generative AI to create written content, generate unique images (82%) or edit images and videos (82%). Looking 5 years ahead, approximately half (49%) believe generative AI tools will be better than humans at creating visual images.
• Concerns about data privacy persist. The ability of generative AI tools to process data and generate sensitive information has raised some concerns. The majority ranked customer data (76%), company data (75%), and personal data (74%) risks as their top concerns, over job loss, plagiarism, and bias. Organizations are addressing these risks, with more than half (55%) saying their company has established strict guidelines for the use of generative AI.

“Tighter budgets, increased content demands, and non-stop deadlines have led marketers to embrace generative AI tools to scale their output,” said Natalie Schwartz, Global Head of Brand Marketing, Canva. “Our findings reinforce the fact that AI-powered tools are breathing new life into creativity and productivity for marketers, a profound impact we see firsthand as a visual communication platform.”

For a more extensive look at the survey findings, you can read more here.

Methodology

Canva commissioned Morning Consult to survey 4,050 business leaders in marketing and creative roles. These individuals are decision-makers for purchasing software in their department or company. Specifically, Canva surveyed 505 business leaders in the United States, 500 in the United Kingdom, 513 in Spain, 503 in Germany, 497 in France, 524 in Brazil, 315 in Mexico, 377 in India, and 316 in Australia.

About Canva

Launched in 2013, Canva is a free online visual communications and collaboration platform with a mission to empower everyone in the world to design. Featuring a simple drag-and-drop user interface and a vast range of templates ranging from presentations, documents, websites, social media graphics, posters, apparel to videos, plus a huge library of fonts, stock photography, illustrations, video footage, and audio clips, anyone can take an idea and create something beautiful.

Contacts

Chris Hew for Canva

chew@canva.com

Mission North on behalf of Canva

canva@missionnorth.com