How to Use AI in Canva: Magic Write, Image Generator & Canva AI

Magic Studio is the central hub for all of Canva’s AI tools.

1. Go to https://www.canva.com and sign in (or create a free account).
2. On the home page, click “Create a design” and open any project type (for example, an Instagram post).
3. Inside the editor, look at the left bar: you’ll see a wand icon or the text “Magic Studio” (also accessible from the Apps menu).
4. Click Magic Studio to see all available tools: Magic Write, Dream Lab, Magic Eraser, Magic Expand, and more.

Some tools require the Pro plan. Those available on the free plan appear without a lock icon.

Magic Write is Canva’s AI writing assistant. Use it to generate captions, headlines, product descriptions, or any text for your design.

1. Add a text box to your design (top bar → Text).
2. With the text box selected, click the Magic Write icon (magic wand) that appears in the text toolbar.
3. Describe what you need, for example: “Caption for a summer sale post, friendly tone, max 2 lines”.
4. Click Generate. Magic Write offers several options; pick the one you like or request a new version.

You can also select existing text and ask it to summarize, expand or change the tone.

Magic Write uses your AI credits. The free plan includes 50 credits/month; Pro goes up to 500.

Dream Lab turns a text description into an image ready to use in your design.

1. In the editor, open Magic Studio in the left bar.
2. Select Dream Lab.
3. Type a description, for example: “Modern coffee shop with soft afternoon light, editorial photography style, warm colors”.
4. Choose a visual style (realistic photo, watercolor, 3D illustration, etc.).
5. Click Generate. Canva creates 4 variants for you to choose from.
6. Click the image you like and drag it into your design, or use Use in design.

Each generation uses 1 to 4 AI credits depending on the resolution and style chosen. Confirm details on the official page.

Magic Resize adapts your design to any format (Story, Banner, Pinterest, etc.) in one click, without rebuilding from scratch.

1. With your design open, go to the top menu File → Resize and copy (or use shortcut R).
2. Search and select the formats you need: for example, “Instagram Post”, “Instagram Story” and “Pinterest Pin”.
3. Click Copy and resize.
4. Canva creates separate copies of the design, each fitted to the chosen size. Review each one and adjust if any text got cut off.

Magic Resize is only available on Pro, Teams and Enterprise plans.

Background Remover is one of Canva’s most popular AI tools and is available on the Pro plan.

1. Upload a photo or place an image in your design.
2. Select the image and go to the top bar → Edit image → Background Remover.
3. Canva detects and removes the background in seconds.
4. To replace it, simply drag another background or color beneath the cropped image.

You can also use Magic Eraser to remove specific objects inside a photo: select the tool, paint over the object you want to remove, and Canva deletes it while intelligently filling the space.

Magic Expand adds content to the edges of a photo so it fills a larger format without looking cropped or stretched.

1. Select the image in your design.
2. Go to Edit image → Magic Expand.
3. Choose how to expand (top, sides, all around).
4. Click Generate and Canva fills the new area with coherent content.

This is ideal when you have a vertical photo and need to adapt it to a horizontal banner.

Here’s how to combine all the tools to create a complete post from scratch:

1. Choose a template (or start blank).
2. Magic Write: generate the headline or caption.
3. Dream Lab: create the main image if you don’t have your own photo.
4. Background Remover: remove the background from a product photo to place it over the design.
5. Magic Resize: copy the design in Story and Banner formats.
6. Download as JPG, PNG or PDF.

With the free plan you can do all of this using your 50 monthly credits. If you publish content frequently, the Pro plan at $18/month easily pays for itself.

Problem	Fix
Magic Write doesn’t appear in the menu	Make sure a text box is selected, or access it from Magic Studio in the sidebar
My AI credits ran out	Credits reset each month; or upgrade to Pro for 500 credits/month
The generated image isn’t what I expected	Add more detail to the prompt: colors, style, mood, camera angle
Magic Resize is not available	This tool requires Pro plan or higher
The background wasn’t removed cleanly	Use the manual editing tool that appears after removing the background to touch up the edges