What low-code and no-code did for programming, Canva did for designing. Budding designers no longer had to spend hours learning complex Adobe software. This led to Canva making it big in the design space with over 100 million users flocking their platform for their design needs. 

This took a big chunk of market share from Adobe, prompting them to respond with Adobe Express, a direct competitor to Canva. This web-based application was launched in 2015 as an iOS application, later being launched on desktop as Adobe Spark. However, with its latest update, Express has gone beyond being just a Canva competitor. 

Adobe is bringing Firefly, its generative AI service, to Adobe Express. Powered by NVIDIA’s Picasso suite of generative AI models, this update blows Canva’s OpenAI-powered Magic Design out of the water. After this move, Canva is yet again left on the back foot to catch up to Adobe. 

Design giants square up

To understand the impact of each of these giants’ generative AI moves, we must first delve deeper into the features offered by the respective applications. Canva boasts a handful of AI features, which are stated to be powered by OpenAI’s algorithms. This includes DALL-E for image generation and GPT-like models for text generation. 

Using these algorithms, Canva has integrated text to image capabilities, a text copy generator, and a GenAI powered design tool called Magic Design. In addition to these features, the platform has also added on a host of AI-powered quality-of-life features. 

Adobe, on the other hand, is going for a more comprehensive content strategy with a focus on animation and video. Pointed especially at creating content for TikTok and Instagram Reels, Express features an all-in-one editor with AI hidden behind every corner. It can not only create images, but also videos, animations, and even documents. 

Adobe Express’ generative AI features include text-to-image through Firefly, along with the ability to generate what Adobe calls text-effects. Also included are AI-powered features to find the perfect addition to the given content, to automatically resize creatives, and to get personalised AI recommendations. 

Adobe’s generated images have the unique advantage of being completely free from any copyright issues, as they have been trained on Adobe Stock’s corpus of licensed images. Express also has the advantage of being plugged into Adobe’s ecosystem, boasting integration with Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat and Premiere Pro, along with free access to over 22,000 fonts through Adobe TypeKit. 

While both seem evenly matched on the surface level, there are a few shortcomings that Canva might not be able to surpass to beat out Adobe. Firefly was one of the biggest launches for Adobe, with the beta alone generating 100 million assets in just a few days. With the eventual integration of Firefly into Adobe’s Creative Cloud, it seems the clock has begun ticking for Canva. 

Canva begins to fall behind

When comparing the outputs from Adobe Firefly and Canva’s text-to-image feature, the quality difference is obvious. When given a prompt to create a Japanese flower garden with elegant bridges and a waterfall, these were the options provided by Firefly and Canva. 

As we can see, there is a very apparent gap in the capabilities of both these algorithms. While both of them still fall behind when compared to standalone algorithms like Stable Diffusion and Midjourney, Adobe definitely wins out over Canva. 

One of the biggest unseen issues with Canva’s image generator is the lack of clarity on the copyright status of the images. In the FAQ section of its image generator, Canva states, “The treatment of AI-generated images and other works under copyright law is an open question and the answer may vary depending on what country you live in. However, please note that this does not mean you are the copyright owner of the images”

This is most likely due to the fact that the model behind Canva’s text-to-image is Stable Diffusion; an AI model mired in copyright issues. Adobe, on the other hand, has not only absolved itself of any copyright issues, but is also actively working towards the responsible implementation of AI art through its content authenticity initiative. In a blog delving into Firefly, Adobe stated, “Firefly’s first model is trained on a unique dataset that includes Adobe Stock images, openly licensed content and other public domain content without copyright restrictions.”

While Canva enjoyed a period of relative success over the past decade, it seems that Adobe is more than eager to take back the throne from the upstart. By continuing to flesh out Adobe Express and integrate it with the Creative Cloud, Adobe has slowly begun a strategy to take over from Canva. Building on their existing user base of 30 million Creative Cloud users, Express’ generative AI powered editing might become the spearhead of Adobe’s freemium model. Canva seems to be doing all they can to hold on to their sizeable user base, but thanks to Firefly, that might not be enough to keep it afloat.