Canva updates the Elements Panel in October 2025

If you’ve opened Canva recently, you might notice something looks a little different in the Elements panel. The design’s been refreshed, and there’s now a microphone button that lets you speak your search instead of typing.

This update surprised me today when it showed up in one of my Canva accounts. The other account hasn't updated yet - which is fortunate because this is how I could record the 'before and after' part of this quick video.

I like the before and after run through - it helps us get our bearings when something has changed.

If the new-look Elements Panel hasn’t reached your Canva account yet, hang tight — sometimes rolling out new features to a gazillion Canva accounts takes a bit of time - I guess we'll see it soon!

Enjoy creating!

Sarah

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Okay.

Up until a few minutes ago, we would have our document open.

Go to the elements tab. Click on that one.

We have all of the different element groups.

If you scroll down.

But I always recommend that you click in the search bar at the top.

The Old Layout

So it is a single bar search bar.

Click in there and that would open up the shortcut buttons

to the different groups.

And I found that much more effective way to get to something.

The New Update

However, I have just opened Canva

and now when you click on elements

the search bar up the top is deeper.

It has a button here, which obviously means

that we can get in there and start dictating what we want.

And instead of having everything scrollable down here,

we now have these buttons and I'm all on board for that because they look nicer.

I wasn't expecting a change, so it sort of took me by surprise,

but I think it's great.

Trying the Dictation Feature

Let's try dictating something.

So you need to give it

authorization to use your microphone.

I'm going to allow this time.

Entrepreneurs

sitting at desk working on a laptop.

And then I'll end the recording.

And click on the purple button to search.

The Results

And it has brought up

graphics photos, videos, mock.

So this is working.

How you'd expect it to.

And we also have along the top here buttons.

So graphics photos videos.

And if I click in here, if I wanted to go straight to a mockup I'll click there.

And it just brings up the search results within that group.

Wrap-Up

So that's our new layout for the elements panel

with the additional functionality of dictation.

Enjoy.