Canva Report: Nearly Every Marketer Uses AI, But Consumers Still Want the Human Touch
TNW, Thursday, May 14th, 2026
Canva's 2026 report finds 97% of marketers use AI daily, but 78% of consumers prefer human-made ads and demand disclosure.
"Canva's State of Marketing and AI Report 2026 reveals a significant trust gap between marketing leaders and consumers: while 97% of marketing leaders use AI daily and 99% plan to increase spending, 78% of consumers prefer human-made advertisements and 87% believe the best advertising requires human involvement.
The report highlights growing consumer demands for transparency, with 52% wanting disclosure of AI use, 53% citing data protection concerns, and 37% seeking the ability to opt out of AI-generated content entirely. Mentions of 'AI slop/ low-effort, visibly machine-generated content have increased ninefold, with 41% of marketing leaders acknowledging it as a considerable challenge.
The report was released alongside Canva's expanded partnership with Anthropic, integrating design capabilities into Claude for Small Business to democratize AI-assisted marketing for small business owners."