A free guide by Mariah Brunner ↗ INSTAGRAM ↗ TIKTOK
AI Tools

Canva Is Not
the Same Tool
You Remember

Canva is quietly packed with AI features most people haven't touched. Here are the ones worth knowing about and exactly how to use them.

The Big 3 AI Features That Change How You Use Canva
1 Magic Design

Type one sentence describing what you need. Canva generates a full, finished design — not a blank template. An actual layout with real copy, styling, colors, and structure that's ready to customize.

How to Use It

Open Canva → click "Create a Design" → look for "Magic Design" at the top. Type what you need ("Instagram carousel about morning routines" or "pitch deck for a SaaS product") and let it generate options. Pick one, customize, done.

  • Be specific in your prompt. "Social media post" gives you generic results. "Instagram carousel for a fitness coach announcing a new 6-week program" gives you something you can actually use.
  • Upload a photo first. If you add an image before using Magic Design, it builds the design around your photo instead of stock images. Way more personalized.
  • Use it for formats you don't know. Not sure how to lay out a resume? A media kit? A one-pager? Let Magic Design handle the structure and you handle the content.
2 Magic Switch

Take any design and reformat it for every platform with one click. Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube thumbnail — all of them. It doesn't just crop. It actually rearranges the layout so everything looks right on each size.

How to Use It

Open any design → click "Resize & Magic Switch" in the top toolbar → select all the formats you want → click "Copy & resize." You'll get a separate design for each platform, already reformatted.

  • Design once, publish everywhere. Create your best version in one format (I usually start with Instagram square), then Magic Switch it to everything else. One design becomes 5+ in under a minute.
  • It translates too. Magic Switch can translate your entire design into 100+ languages without you touching anything. Click "Translate" instead of "Resize" and pick your language. Every text element gets translated in place.
  • Check the reformatted versions. It does 90% of the work, but always do a quick scan. Sometimes text gets a little tight on smaller formats — a 10-second fix.
3 Magic Grab

Click on a person or object in any photo and physically drag them to a different spot in the image. Canva's AI fills in the background behind them automatically. It's like Photoshop's content-aware move, but it takes 2 seconds and no skill.

How to Use It

Click on any photo in your design → click "Edit Image" → select "Magic Grab." Click the person or object you want to move. Drag it. The background fills in automatically.

  • Recompose photos for different formats. Need the person on the left instead of center? Grab and move them. No re-shooting required.
  • Works great for product photos. Move a product from the edge to the center, or rearrange items in a flat lay without re-shooting anything.
  • Combine with Magic Eraser. Grab the subject, move them, then use Magic Eraser to clean up anything else in the frame you don't want. Two tools, 30 seconds, professional result.
Bonus 5 More AI Features Worth Knowing

The big 3 get the headlines, but these are quietly just as useful:

Magic Eraser

Click any object or person in a photo and they disappear. Background fills in automatically. Remove photobombers, signs, distractions — anything.

Magic Expand

Photo doesn't fit the frame? Expand the edges and Canva generates more of the scene using AI. Turn a portrait photo into a landscape without cropping anything out.

Magic Write

AI copywriting built right into the editor. Highlight any text box, click Magic Write, and get headline options, body copy, or captions generated on the spot.

Magic Animate

One click to animate any design. Elements fade in, slide, bounce, or scale — turns a static post into a video-ready animation for Reels or Stories.

Background Remover

Click any photo, hit "Remove Background." Clean cutout in one second. Works on people, products, pets — anything with a clear subject.

Text to Image

Type a description and Canva generates an AI image right inside your design. No need to leave the editor or use a separate AI image tool.

Free vs. Pro

Most Magic features require Canva Pro ($13/month or $120/year). Background Remover, Magic Eraser, Magic Grab, Magic Switch, and Magic Expand are all Pro. Magic Design and Magic Write have limited free uses. If you create content regularly, Pro pays for itself in one week.

My Workflow How I Actually Use These
01

Write the content in Claude first. I use Claude to draft my carousel copy, captions, or talking points before I ever open Canva. The content is done before the design starts.

02

Use Magic Design with my own photos. I upload a photo, describe the design I need, and let Canva build the layout. I pick the best option and swap in my Claude-written copy.

03

Magic Switch to every platform. One design becomes Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Story-sized versions in under a minute.

04

Quick cleanup with Magic Eraser + Magic Grab. Move subjects, remove distractions, adjust composition. 30 seconds of polish that makes everything look professional.

The whole process takes about 10 minutes. What used to take me an hour with templates and manual resizing now happens almost automatically.

This Week Only

Canva Handles Design.
Claude Handles Everything Else.

Canva's AI makes design faster. But design is one piece. What about your emails, your workflows, your daily planning, your research, your entire job? That's where Claude comes in.

The Weekend Claude Bootcamp teaches you how to build a complete AI system for your work — connected to your real tools, customized for your role, done in one weekend.

25

Job-specific chapters

4

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1

Weekend to complete

On Sale This Week Only

This is the lowest price the bootcamp will ever be. After this week, it goes up and stays up.

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© 2026 Mariah Brunner. All rights reserved.