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IgniteAI Features and Details Regarding Whether IgniteAI Feature is Free or Requires Add-On Cost

ChrisBuford

I recently watched the April 2026 "New & Next" podcast where Instructure discussed some of the IgniteAI features and how Instructure would indicate whether the IgniteAI feature would be free or require a separate purchase or something like an upgraded Canvas LMS tier package. Instructure mentioned three Canvas categories: 1) Canvas Core, 2) Canvas Plus, and 3) Canvas Next. My understanding was that any IgniteAI features offered in the "Canvas Core" tier or category would be free to Canvas customers. The other two higher categories or tiers would require some additional cost maybe at the contract level. So for the "Canvas Core" category, the IgniteAI features are referred to as "IgniteAI essentials and accessibility tools."

What I cannot locate however is a document or Instructure documentation somewhere that explains which "tools" or "features" are included as part of the "IgniteAI essentials and accessibility tools." For example, in my Canvas LMS instance, I see the following IgniteAI features listed in the Settings + Feature Options tab:

1.1“Account” Heading:
1.1.1IgniteAI Accessibility Remediation for Courses: allow users to remediate certain accessibility issues with AI through the Course Accessibility Checker.
1.1.2IgniteAI Agent – Admins: enables the IgniteAI Agent feature for the root account for admins only. The IgniteAI Agent is an AI companion for admins and teachers to help them with their day-to-day tasks in Canvas LMS. The feature is currently in development, not yet available for general use.
1.1.3IgniteAI Translations for Inbox: enable translation software when composing messages. Translate inbound messages into user’s preferred language.

1.2“Course” Heading:
1.2.1IgniteAI Generator for Rubics: give rubric creators the option to generate rubric criteria automatically based on an assignment description via a large language model (LLM).
1.2.2IgniteAI Grading Assistance for SpeedGrader: enables the new IgniteAI-assisted grading tool inside of the Modernized Speedgrader for assignments in this course.
1.2.3ItniteAI Insights for Discussions: allow access to discussion insights.
1.2.4IgniteAI Question Authoring for Quizzes: enable IgniteAI Question Authoring for Quizzes feature.
1.2.5IgniteAI Search for Courses: IgniteAI Search for Courses allows users to find course content quickly through context-aware, multilingual search results.
1.2.6IgniteAI Summaries for Discussions: summarize discussions using AI.
1.2.7IgniteAI Translations for Discussions & Announcements: AI translation controls for courses, currently limited to discussions and announcements.

What our executive leadership is asking at my institution is which of the above IgniteAI features are free and which ones will cost more money if we decide to use them.

If anyone has located any type of documentation or information that provides this level of detail, could you please share this information? I'm sure we're not the only institution scratching our head wondering whether we should turn something on for faculty to use and then have it disappear when we find out later on that it's an option that Instructure will be charging more money for after June 2026 for it's U.S.-based Canvas customers.

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Accepted answers

dbrace

Along with what @brendaa linked to, I recommend https://www.instructure.com/products/canvas-tiers and New & Next: April 2026 Product Updates.

-Doug

All comments

brendaa

Chris,
It is confusing, but this blog post has a table with what is included in each tier.

https://community.instructure.com/en/discussion/665843/what-we-shared-at-the-q2-2026-new-next-showcase

dbrace

Along with what @brendaa linked to, I recommend https://www.instructure.com/products/canvas-tiers and New & Next: April 2026 Product Updates.

-Doug

ajrodenborn

Hi Chris,

Does the New and Next April 2026 blog post answer your question? I believe it lists each of the features and which tier it falls under. Then, as you mentioned, the understanding is that "Core" is free (or already included in your current contract), and the other two tiers will be an extra cost.

The "core" features they list:
IgniteAI Summaries for Discussions

IgniteAI Search for Courses

IgniteAI Translations for Discussions, Inbox, and Announcements

IgniteAI Question Authoring Assistance for Quizzes

IgniteAI Course Accessibility Remediation

Hope this helps!

ChrisBuford

Maybe it's the naming convention that's part of the confusion. So on the list on the "What we Shared" discussion, we see "IgniteAI Course Accessibility Remediation," but in our LMS we see an option called "IgniteAI Accessibility Remediation for Courses." I'm guessing these two things are the same and both are part of the "Canvas Core" option, so they are free?

ChrisBuford

Chris_Hofer

Hello @ChrisBuford …

I'm not sure if this will help or not, but one of the Community Managers shared this link with me:

Canvas Tier Feature Comparison - Instructure Community

ChrisBuford

I guess our expectation is to see the option as it appears in the Canvas LMS instance + Settings + Feature Options tab in the marketing documentation from Instructure with the same name so we know exactly what it is we're selecting and that it's one of the free options and not one we'll later have to purchase. For example, in the Instructure Canvas Marketing material, I see things like "IgniteAI essentials and accessibility tools" and "Course Accessibility Remediation." However, in the Canvas LMS instance I see a feature called "IgniteAI Accessibility Remediation for Courses," which doesn't match the marketing material description. Instead of me knowing for sure this is one of the options from the "Canvas Core" tier that's available to Canvas U.S. customers for free, I have to "guess" that these two differently-named things are one in the same. I'd like it to be more exact and precise so there's no guesswork involved on my part and I can match things back up more precisely instead of guessing.

ajrodenborn

Yes, I would think the same, but I understand your frustration. Consistent naming would definitely help.

netzela

I'm wondering if the alt text generator is also included in the free "Course Accessibility Remediation" tools. We're unsure because it's not being mentioned as a standalone IgniteAI tool but in Canvas Release Notes (2026-03-21), the summary for it states:

"AI-powered remediations in the Accessibility Checker support fixing missing image alt text when the IgniteAI Accessibility Remediation for Courses feature option is enabled at the root account level."

This leads us to believe it's included, but we'd definitely appreciate clarification regardless.

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