According to the survey, the majority of Gen Z workers and supervisors admitted to using prohibited AI tools to do creative tasks.
Gen Z professionals in India want more freedom to experiment with AI technologies, despite the fact that enterprise use of AI is still in its early stages globally.
Over 78 per cent of Gen Z workers said that experimenting with AI tools could help improve their visual workflows, according to a new report by Canva on Tuesday, September 9.
The findings of the survey dubbed ‘State of Visual Communication survey’ demonstrate that there is a big disparity between how Gen Z employees in India desire to work and how most firms continue to operate, according to the creative design software company.
Canva polled 2,475 corporate leaders and Gen Z professionals from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, India, France, Germany, and Spain as part of a research report co-authored with The Harris Poll and Neuro-Insight.
90% of study respondents stated that impediments such as unsuitable AI tools hampered their creativity at work. However, the bulk of Gen Z workers (91%) and their bosses (84%), admitted to using prohibited AI tools to perform their creative work. According to Canva, teams now juggle between 11 and 12 platforms every week solely to accomplish visual tasks, while only 22% of organizations globally characterize themselves as “design-led”.
The survey report’s conclusions come at a time when companies around the world, including India, are dealing with increasing inefficiencies caused by confrontations between visual and traditional ways. These concerns have been amplified by the rise of generative AI. There is also an ongoing discussion about who is and should be responsible for an organisation’s use of AI tools. Although many firms have followed a bottom-up approach, recent data and indicators imply that top-down AI implementation within an organization is gaining traction.
“In workplaces across India, where multiple generations collaborate side by side, embracing visual communication and experimentation with AI can bridge gaps in workflows and turn creativity into a strategic advantage,” said Chandrika Deb, Canva’s India national manager. “Our study demonstrates that when firms adopt a visual-first approach, they not only increase productivity but also unleash creativity and attract the next generation of talent. Leaders that embrace this transformation will not only keep up but also set the standard for innovation, she noted.
The Effect of Visual Communication on Brain Activity
Aside from AI adoption, the survey claims that 76% of respondents lose interest while communicating by text. Over 91% felt that expressing concepts visually is more effective. These findings are based on a neuroscience study that used techniques such as Steady State Topography (SST) to track real-time brain activity in 63 professionals while viewing various forms of business information.
Canva recommends firms invest in “visual communication infrastructure and empowering teams to experiment with AI…” not only for design teams. “As AI raises the bar for speed and personalization, and visuals become the connective tissue of distributed, multigenerational teams, the companies that embrace this shift will be best positioned to lead the next era of work,” according to Canva.
