For over a decade, Canva has been one of the most popular graphic design platforms. Now, Anthropic has an opportunity to capture a piece of that market with AI.
Anthropic announced its latest Opus 4.7 AI model on April 16th, and the next day announced the release of Claude Design, a tool that allows users to “create sophisticated visual works such as designs, prototypes, slides, one-pagers, and more.”
Designs created by Claude Design can be exported directly to Canva, Anthropic said in a release.
The new Claude feature will help the industryCome on SpocalypseAI threatens the business models of software companies like Canva, website building company Wix, and management platform Workday. and asana.
To better understand SaaSpocalyse’s concerns, we tested how Claude Design and Canva worked together when they were tasked with designing the same slide deck.
For this test, we asked Claude Design and Canva’s AI tools to create an improved version of the Photography 101 slide deck that we created manually in January.
One of the slides from my original presentation deck. It could definitely be of some help. Aditi Varade
I used this deck while conducting a photography workshop for reporters at Business Insider’s Singapore bureau. Let’s just say my photography skills are better than my design skills.
First, I tested Canva AI.
Canva AI’s landing page was similar to most other vibe coding platforms. Screenshot/Aditi Varade
Canva, like other software companies, is embracing AI to fend off competition. We’re rolling out AI 2.0 capabilities to all users, turning Canva into an agent platform that can generate editable designs.
I tested AI 1.0 and then also took an initial trial to see how 2.0 compares to Claude.
First impressions of Canva AI: The landing page is similar to other vibe coding platforms like Lovable, Replit, and Base44, with the slogan “What will you design today?”
I submitted a prompt, requesting a six-section presentation with quizzes to test understanding, and a dark minimalist design with blue accents.
I like that Canva allows you to see how your presentation will flow before generating it. Screenshot/Aditi Varade
Canva then asked you to select your audience type (casual, professional, educational) and the style and length of your deck. And before I designed my slides, Canva gave me a rough outline of what each slide would contain so I could edit it.
I thought that was lovely.
Slides were decent but needed editing
AI 1.0 had two designs to choose from. One was an immediate “no”: elements were noisily clashing, making the text difficult to read. The graphics used were also quite simple.
I didn’t like how the elements overlapped with the text. Screenshot/Aditi Varade
The second design was better, but sometimes the text boxes overlapped and the text was misaligned and small. There weren’t as many photos as I expected. I entered another prompt into Canva asking me to arrange and standardize the text boxes and add more photos to make it more appealing.
The final product I got from Canva AI was much better than anything I could have created on my own. Screenshot/Aditi Varade
The final product was much better than the awful deck I made in January and was definitely something I could use for an update workshop.
A few days later, I repeated the same test using AI 2.0. The process remains largely unchanged, except that elements can be changed manually during a chat with the AI tool. This is a useful change from 1.0.
Canva AI 2.0 allowed us to use a chatbot and make manual edits at the same time. Screenshot/Aditi Varade
The AI 2.0 design was a bit boring, so I asked them to regenerate the slide deck with more images and a cleaner aesthetic.
Although I was warned that each slide would have to be regenerated, resulting in significant AI usage, I ended up with a slightly more polished presentation.
Canva AI 2.0 redesigned the slides when I asked for them, but I much preferred the second set. Screenshot/Aditi Varade
I laughed when the AI got tired of the redesign and told me the redesign was complete even though 4 slides hadn’t changed. When I asked him to look again, he responded with the good old words, “You’re right, I’m sorry!”
It took me a few prompts to get the results I wanted, but I was impressed with Canva’s AI generation.
We definitely got off to a good start.
So I tried Claude Design.
Next I turned to Claude Design. I previously tried generating my own initial logo in Opus 4.7, but the design left a lot of room for improvement.
I wasn’t very impressed with Claude’s design skills at first. Screenshot/Aditi Varade
So when I asked them to create a photo presentation, I didn’t have high expectations.
To my surprise, Claude asked me detailed follow-up questions before we started designing. They were asked what kind of camera they would use, the skill level of the participants (beginner, experienced phone photographer, hobbyist), and even the exact shade of blue they wanted as an accent color.
And the deck it produced exceeded my expectations.
I thought the graphics produced by Claude Design were clear and helped explain the concept. Screenshot/Aditi Varade
For example, one slide featured an “exposure triangle” graphic showing how ISO, aperture, and shutter speed affect the brightness of a photo.
Claude fixed the error without prompting
Claude Design began editing his own work without my input. Screenshot/Aditi Varade
But what impressed me most about Claude Design was that they anticipated my needs.
In the first version, some text boxes overlapped. Without prompting, Claude began identifying and fixing these issues, acting as his own editor without any input from me.
The only problem I encountered with Claude Design was when I tried to change the image on one of the quiz slides. The question was about a photo taken of a politician at the podium, but the photo was of a young man sitting in front of a circular window.
I asked Claude to give me the relevant photos. Screenshot/Aditi Varade
I asked Claude to change it to a photo of a politician.
Instead, it created the image of a peasant. I tried again and the Senate photo appeared. The third time was a handshake. At that point I gave up and asked them to change it back to the picture of the man in front of the window.
Claude didn’t really understand what I meant by “a politician standing on a podium.” Screenshot/Aditi Varade
I was able to gain some insight into Claude’s criticism of Opus 4.7. Users say that tokens are consumed too quickly and sometimes give ridiculous answers.
However, they responded better to other prompts. For example, they originally combined five editing tips into one slide, but upon my request they seamlessly expanded each tip to its own slide.
Canva’s final product was good, but in my opinion Claude Design was better and required far less prompting on my part.
final thoughts
When I finished making the slide deck, I remember thinking, “I’ll never make slides from scratch again.”
It was a close battle, but Claude Design won. That’s because Canva identifies its own errors and fixes them without prompting, whereas Canva requires you to tell it what to fix.
There is one thing to consider. There are differences in subscription costs for both platforms. A personal Claude Pro subscription costs $17 per month, and a Pro Max subscription costs $100 per month, allowing for higher token usage.
Canva AI, on the other hand, is free to use for up to “200 uses of standard AI,” according to its pricing list. Canva Pro, which offers “10x more AI than Canva Free,” costs $18 per month.
Of course, if you can’t choose one or the other, you can also use both together.
“Now, when someone creates an idea or draft in Claude, they can instantly bring it into Canva and turn it into something fully editable, collaborative, on-brand, and real,” said a Canva spokesperson. “From there, it’s easy to adjust, adapt to different formats, and publish and share anywhere.”
Anthropic did not respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.