SYDNEY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 8, 2026--
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.
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68% link presentation skills to a promotion
71% trust AI to build slide but not present
Canva's Global 'The Presentation Paradox' Study
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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, and it is one of the top use cases for the company’s ChatGPT and Claude integrations, giving Canva a unique view into what comes next. But while the tech is changing fast, one thing remains the same: presenting with confidence is still distinctly human.
“It may be easier to whip up a presentation these days, but the part that matters most isn’t the slides. It still takes a person’s ability to persuade, teach, inspire, or move someone else to act. More than ever, the slides are there to support the presenter, not the other way around.”
– Alli McKee, Head of Visual Suite, Canva.
Canva’s new global study, The Presentation Paradox, explores how AI presentation tools are changing the way we work, finding that as slide creation gets easier with AI, presenting with confidence is becoming more important for climbing the career ladder. More than three in four professionals (77%) say presentation confidence has contributed to career growth in the past year, with 68% linking it to a promotion or pay rise.
AI Helps Build Presentations, But Humans Win the Room
As AI reimagines the entire presentation process, people are still figuring out where it can help, and where they still want to take the lead. Half (51%) now start every presentation with an AI draft, but when it comes to delivering it, things get more nuanced.
Three in four (76%) use AI to prepare, but live delivery remains deeply human:
As AI levels the playing field on slide generation, it is also raising the bar for presenters. More than two-thirds (68%) say an AI-built deck can hurt a presentation if the delivery does not match.
When Presentation Nerves Create an Alter Ego
Person-to-person connection wins the room, but it doesn't always come naturally. Nerves kick in, and many workers say they become a different version of themselves to hide how unconfident they feel. Nearly all (95%) consciously change how they communicate when presenting, with 85% switching into a different “Presenter Persona.” Younger workers do it most: 94% of Gen Z and 90% of Millennials, compared to 70% of Boomers.
For some, that alter ego is a performance boost: 67% say they become more extroverted and confident. For others, it has the opposite effect, with 53% reporting lower energy or becoming more introverted.
Years of remote and asynchronous work have left many professionals used to communicating behind a screen, with fewer chances to learn how to read a room, hold attention, and practice presenting in person:
That confidence gap may be holding some workers back at exactly the moment presentation skills are helping others climb the career ladder. Four in five (80%) say in-person presentation skills are a competitive edge in the AI era, and 54% say they signal leadership potential. Confident presenters are already reaping the benefits:
AI’s Next Act: From Slide Builder to Presentation Coach
With more people working remotely, AI is becoming the new rehearsal room. People want to stay in control of the delivery, but that doesn’t mean preparing alone. More than half (53%) now use AI as a presentation coach:
“In a perfect world, I wish AI could deliver the presentation for me; otherwise, I would like real-time feedback while practicing my presentation.”
– Canva Research Participant, U.S.
Some are also ready to let AI further into the room:
As AI reshapes how we present, Canva supports the entire end-to-end AI creation and presenting process, from the spark of an idea to final delivery. Built into Canva’s Visual Suite, Canva AI turns rough concepts into polished, on-brand slides through a simple conversation, while staying fully editable and collaborative. When it’s time to present, AI-powered speaker notes help guide what to say, timing insights help you stay on track, and remote control lets you move freely while presenting, all designed to help people communicate their ideas with confidence. For more information on how to access Canva’s Visual Suite, visit www.canva.com/canva-business/
Methodology
Canva conducted this research using an online survey prepared by Method Research and distributed by PureSpectrum among n=4,000 adults (age 18+) who are employees and have delivered a workplace presentation at least once in the last month. The survey included a sample of n=1,000 in each region: United States, LATAM (Mexico, Brazil), EU (Germany, France, Spain), APAC (South Korea, Indonesia). The sample was equally split between gender, with a spread of age groups, race groups, and geographies represented. Data was collected from June 18 to July 1, 2026.
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. Whether you’re a novice taking your first steps in design, or a creative professional seeking powerful tools, Canva ensures users have what they need to transform an idea into something beautiful. Underpinned by the world's most comprehensive library of designer-made content, Canva is powered by a suite of products and proprietary AI tools that elevate how individuals and teams create, collaborate, and communicate with ease.
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68% link presentation skills to a promotion
The Presenter Alter Ego
71% trust AI to build slide but not present
Canva's Global 'The Presentation Paradox' Study
NEW YORK & SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 8, 2026--
Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and Google Cloud today launched the Accenture Gemini Enterprise Business Group, a global group designed to help clients scale Gemini Enterprise outcomes in the agentic AI era.
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Part of the Accenture Google Business Group, the new group represents a significant joint investment and brings together Accenture’s Gemini Enterprise-certified professionals, FDEs, specialized Google Cloud engineering talent and Accenture's industry and functional experience to help clients realize measurable business value from their agentic AI and data investments.
“The companies seeing the greatest outcomes from AI are unlocking new growth, increasing productivity and resilience, and creating better experiences for their customers and employees,” said Julie Sweet, chair and CEO, Accenture. “The Accenture Gemini Enterprise Business Group will help clients achieve these outcomes faster, bringing together the talent, advanced AI and data capabilities, and industry expertise needed to reinvent with confidence and create value at scale.”
“Deploying agentic AI is a top priority for enterprises today, and the Accenture Gemini Enterprise Business Group significantly expands the expertise and resources available to help our customers deliver real business value,” said Thomas Kurian, CEO, Google Cloud. “Building on the success we’ve seen with world’s leading brands, we’re combining Google Cloud’s full-stack AI capabilities with Accenture's deep industry expertise to deliver transformation at scale.”
Introducing the Accenture Gemini Enterprise Business Group
As organizations shift from traditional software development lifecycles to agentic AI, the Accenture Gemini Enterprise Business Group is designed to meet clients wherever they are in their AI and data journeys—from smaller, unit-level implementations to full enterprise reinvention.
Building on Accenture’s nearly 50,000 Google Cloud-skilled professionals, the group will further expand Gemini Enterprise training and certification and establish a 1,000-person FDE workforce. Operating across the full Gemini Enterprise portfolio, the business group will prioritize four key areas:
Real-World Customer Transformation
The Accenture Gemini Enterprise Business Group extends the agentic AI success for clients with solutions across the Gemini Enterprise portfolio. For example, YouTube partnered with Accenture and Google Cloud to deploy a Gemini Enterprise agent during NFL Sunday Ticket surge demand, boosting customer sentiment by 11% and slashing average handle time by 37%.
Drawing on the success of the companies’ joint Generative and Agentic AI Center of Excellence and the Gemini Enterprise Acceleration Program, the Accenture Gemini Enterprise Business Group is designed to further strengthen Accenture and Google Cloud’s shared commitment to helping clients lead in the agentic AI era. This year Accenture was named Google Cloud’s 2026 Global Services Partner of the Year for the fourth consecutive year and was also recognized as Global Partner of the Year for Artificial Intelligence: Sales & Services and Global Public Sector.
Yugal Joshi, partner, Everest Group, said, “The formation of the Accenture Gemini Enterprise Business Group reflects an evolution in how leading service providers are structuring their commitment to Google Cloud AI delivery. Everest Group has recognized Accenture as a Leader in Google Cloud services, distinguished by its vision and capabilities to industrialize agentic AI at enterprise scale. This new business group aims to respond directly to growing buyer demand for partners that can support AI-led growth and translate AI investments into production-grade outcomes. It also reflects a broader shift toward deeper, co-investment-driven partnerships as enterprises seek to scale AI transformation.”
About Accenture
Accenture helps the world’s leading enterprises reinvent by building their digital core and unleashing the power of AI to create value at speed for organizations across industries. Our strategy is to be the reinvention partner of choice for our clients and lead in the safe, widespread adoption of AI, and to be the most client-focused, AI-enabled, great place to work in the world. We bring together the talent of our approximately 799,000 people with proprietary assets and platforms, deep process and industry expertise, and leading ecosystem relationships to deliver end-to-end solutions and measurable outcomes at scale. Through our Reinvention Services, we offer broad expertise across Cybersecurity, Digital Core, Finance, Industry and Enterprise, Song, Supply Chain and Engineering, and Talent, with advanced capabilities in AI and Data, Industry and Process, and Technology. We serve approximately 9,000 clients and generated approximately $70 billion in FY25 revenue. Visit us at accenture.com.
About Google Cloud
Google Cloud offers a powerful, optimized AI stack—including AI infrastructure, leading models like Gemini, data management capabilities, multicloud security solutions, developer tools and platform, as well as agents and applications—that enables organizations to transform their business for the Agentic Era. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted technology partner.
Forward Looking Statements
Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “likely,” “anticipates,” “aspires,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “believes,” “estimates,” “positioned,” “outlook,” “goal,” “target” and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance nor promises that goals or targets will be met, and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that are difficult to predict and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These risks include, without limitation, that the partnership might not achieve its anticipated benefits and risks and uncertainties related to the development and use of AI, including advanced AI, could harm our business, damage our reputation or give rise to legal or regulatory action, as well as the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed under the “Risk Factors” heading in Accenture plc’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this news release speak only as of the date they were made, and Accenture undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made in this news release or to conform such statements to actual results or changes in Accenture’s expectations.
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Accenture and Google Cloud today launched the Accenture Gemini Enterprise Business Group, a global group designed to help clients scale Gemini Enterprise outcomes in the agentic AI era.
