New research from Canva, the world's leading visual communication platform, reveals an emerging paradox at the heart of one of work's age-old skills: even as AI makes presentations easier to create than ever, nearly three in four professionals (74%) still feel anxious about presenting. When AI can build the slides, what sets the presenter apart comes down to how you command the room.
Few things are as entrenched as presentations, and decade after decade, they've defined how we communicate to clients, teammates, leadership, and beyond. Now, AI is changing them by making them faster and easier to create than ever. Nine in 10 (91%) workers use AI monthly to build slides, mainly for design (57%), brainstorming (56%) and drafting content (49%). 48% say it saves them more than an hour per presentation. As AI use grows, more than 100 million people create presentations on Canva every month.
As AI reimagines entire presentation process, people are still figuring where it can help, and where they still want to take lead. Half (51%) now start every presentation with AI draft, but when it comes to delivering, things get more nuanced. Three in four (76%) use AI to prepare, but live delivery remains deeply human: 86% say great presentations still come down to human connection and presence, 75% say building trust with audience is still human's job, 71% trust AI to build slides, but not to present or tell story.
"It may be easier to whip up a presentation these days, but part that matters most isn't slides. It still takes a person's ability to persuade, teach, inspire, or move someone else to act. More than ever, slides are there to support presenter, not other way around," said Alli McKee, Head of Visual Suite, Canva.
As AI levels playing field on slide generation, it is also raising bar for presenters. More than two-thirds (68%) say AI-built deck can hurt presentation if delivery does not match.
Person-to-person connection wins room, but it doesn't always come naturally. Nerves kick in, and many workers say they become different version of themselves. Nearly all (95%) consciously change how they communicate when presenting, with 85% switching into different "Presenter Persona." Younger workers do it most: 94% of Gen Z and 90% of Millennials, compared to 70% of Boomers.
Years of remote and asynchronous work have left many professionals used to communicating behind screen, with fewer chances to learn how to read room, hold attention, and practice presenting in person. 51% feel more confident behind screen than in room, rising to 62% of Gen Z versus 32% of Boomers. That confidence gap may be holding some workers back at exactly moment presentation skills are helping others climb career ladder. Four in five (80%) say in-person presentation skills are competitive edge in AI era, and 54% say they signal leadership potential. Confident presenters are already reaping benefits: 68% link it to recent promotion or pay rise, 77% say it opened door to more visible or high-stakes work.
With more people working remotely, AI is becoming new rehearsal room. More than half (53%) now use AI as presentation coach: 45% get feedback on draft, 41% anticipate audience questions, 34% generate speaker notes, 28% role-play boss or colleague to practice. Some are also ready to let AI further into room: 55% would let AI avatar present for them, 61% think AI will eventually coach them live, 71% would let AI watch crowd and suggest changes in real time.
About Canva
Launched in 2013, Canva is the world's leading all-in-one platform for visual communication and collaboration. Built to empower everyone to design, Canva serves the creative and design needs of enterprises, small businesses, consumers, and students in more than 190 countries worldwide.
