Gen Z urges workplaces to adopt visual & AI-first tools

New research highlights a widening gap between Gen Z's preference for visual-first, AI-powered collaboration tools and the current technology infrastructure present in many organisations.

Canva's annual State of Visual Communication Report, which draws on a global survey and neuroscience analysis, indicates that 90% of Gen Z professionals feel they do their best work through visual means. In the United Kingdom, the figure is 89%, signaling a marked shift in how younger employees wish to communicate and collaborate in the workplace.

Visual work preferences

According to the report's findings, a significant proportion of Gen Z professionals and their managers resort to using unapproved apps when undertaking creative work. Globally, 83% of Gen Z and 85% of their managers admitted to this practice, highlighting ongoing challenges with shadow IT in the workplace. This is consistent with the finding that, on average, teams are managing between eight and nine platforms each week to execute visual projects.

Emma Robinson, Head of B2B Marketing at Canva, commented, "We're seeing a clear mismatch between how the human brain is wired to absorb information and how most workplaces still communicate. The science shows that the traditional, text-heavy approach no longer meets the needs of today's teams, especially in fast-paced, collaborative environments."

Neuroscience played a role in this year's study, with Steady State Topography (SST) used to track real-time brain activity as participants viewed different types of business content. The results revealed that high-quality visual content led to 74% faster memory encoding than dull designs. Documents designed with visual appeal elicited 26% greater emotional intensity, while visual presentations saw a 21% increase in emotional engagement.

Changing workforce expectations

With four generations in the workplace, companies are balancing a diverse set of communication preferences. The report suggests that organisations willing to adapt stand to benefit via improved efficiency, stronger creative output, and more success in attracting and retaining talent.

The survey found that 87% of Gen Z professionals believe visual communication skills are critical for future-proofing their careers, while 63% expressed that encouraging AI experimentation would boost visual fluency in their organisations. In the UK, 58% of Gen Z respondents agreed with this sentiment, and 54% think a visual-first approach would foster better visual fluency within their organisations.

"As work becomes more visual, more distributed, and more AI-enabled, leaders have a real opportunity to reimagine how their teams connect and create. Intuitive visual tools that align with how people naturally want to work can go a long way when it comes to empowering a global, diverse workforce," said Emma Robinson, Head of B2B Marketing, Canva.

Despite these attitudes, 93% of Gen Z participants said that barriers, particularly unhelpful tools, restricted their creativity at work. A further 91% of professionals overall felt that visuals communicated ideas more effectively than text. Meanwhile, 76% said they lost interest in content that was overly text-heavy.

Business implications

The research found that 84% of business leaders believe poor visual communication leads to delays or confusion within their organisations. Among organisations that have updated their communication infrastructure to better align with visual preferences, 66% have reported clearer and more efficient communication of complex ideas, and 61% have seen stronger brand cohesion and differentiation.

The report reveals that visual communication is increasingly seen as an essential skill not just for design teams, but across all areas of modern organisations. In this environment, companies investing in platforms that enable visual collaboration and experimentation with AI technologies are experiencing measurable advantages in creativity, operational speed, and team alignment.

The State of Visual Communication Report was conducted using a global survey of 2,475 business leaders and Gen Z professionals in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, India, France, Germany, and Spain, alongside a neuroscience study involving 63 professionals.