Course++ vs Canvas IgniteAI
IgniteAI is Instructure’s own AI, built into Canvas and bought by schools. Course++ is a browser extension a teacher can add on their own. Here is what each one does, who it is for, and where each fits.
Written by Course++, so read it knowing that. Facts about IgniteAI are as of October 2026, each linked to its source. Last checked 29 October 2026.
01
The short answer
If your school already has IgniteAI turned on for teachers, start there. It is part of Canvas, your school has approved it, and it costs you nothing personally.
If it doesn’t — your school hasn’t bought the tier that includes the IgniteAI Agent, or hasn’t switched it on for teachers — there is nothing you can do about that on your own. Course++ is one option you can try yourself, today, in the Canvas course you already teach (check your school’s rules on extensions and AI tools first).
They are also built differently on purpose. IgniteAI can work with students, grades and extensions, under your school’s agreement with Instructure. Course++ only builds course content and is built to refuse grades, student work and rosters.
02
What IgniteAI is
IgniteAI is the name Instructure, the company that makes Canvas, gives to the AI features built into its products. It was introduced at InstructureCon in July 2025 (Instructure, InstructureCon 2025 announcements). It is not one tool but a family of features, sold in Canvas tiers.
Three Canvas tiers, announced April 2026
In April 2026 Instructure split Canvas into Canvas Core, Canvas Plus and Canvas Next (press release, 21 April 2026; Instructure blog, 21 April 2026). Instructure’s tier page lists these IgniteAI features (Canvas tiers):
- Canvas Core (every existing Canvas school): summaries for discussions, search, translations, help writing quiz questions, and course accessibility fixes.
- Canvas Plus: a rubric generator, grading assistance in SpeedGrader, and discussion insights.
- Canvas Next: the IgniteAI Agent, “Ask Your Data” for administrators, and Study Tools for students. (Instructure’s press release says Canvas Plus also keeps the Agent after the free period; see below.)
The IgniteAI Agent and grading assistance were free through 30 June 2026 in the US and 30 September 2026 worldwide. After that, Instructure says continued access requires Canvas Plus or Canvas Next (press release, 21 April 2026). Both free periods have now ended.
The IgniteAI Agent
The Agent is the part most like Course++: you type a request and it carries out several steps in Canvas. Instructure launched it in March 2026, first in the US and Latin America (press release, March 2026). Instructure’s own guide now lists it for administrators and instructors in the US, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Australia and New Zealand, and says it is “fully tested in English” (Instructure Community guide).
Instructure describes it as helping “manage students, communications, discussions, assignments, quizzes, extensions, and grades” (same guide). Its published guides include building and reorganizing modules, adjusting due dates across a course, granting extensions to specific students, posting an announcement to several courses, messaging students, and tagging and grouping students (schedules and extensions; messages; April 2026 showcase).
On control, Instructure says the Agent “shows you its planned steps and waits for your approval, so nothing in your course changes until you say go” (Instructure blog, August 2026).
Who turns it on, and who pays
Your school does. An administrator has to enable the “IgniteAI Agent – Admins” and “IgniteAI Agent – Teachers” feature options before an instructor can use the Agent, and can limit it to specific instructors by role (enabling the Agent; assigning it to instructors). A teacher cannot buy it or switch it on alone.
Pricing is not published. Instructure sells the tiers to institutions and its tier page says to “connect with us to get a personalized quote” (Canvas tiers). We could not find an official price for Canvas Plus or Canvas Next. Third-party estimates exist, but none cite Instructure, so we don’t repeat them.
What Instructure says about data
Instructure describes a “closed-loop” design in which AI interactions stay within the school’s environment and “customer data is not used to train external models”; the Agent runs on Amazon’s AI service, Bedrock; and administrators control where AI is enabled, down to the course (press release, 21 April 2026; press release, March 2026). Each feature has an “AI Nutrition Facts” label describing its model and data use. We could not read the Agent’s label ourselves, so we don’t state its retention period here; your school’s Canvas administrator can.
Announced, but not confirmed as shipped
Study Tools for students was announced for May 2026 (April 2026 showcase); we could not confirm it is generally available. AI suggestions in the new Block Content Editor (Plus and Next) had an early adopter program opening in September 2026 (July 2026 product updates). If either matters to you, ask your school what it has.
03
What Course++ is
Course++ is a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox (and Edge, from the Chrome Web Store). You add it yourself, open a Canvas course you teach, and type what you need in plain words. It works inside the Canvas tab you already have open, as you: Canvas checks your own permissions on every change, so it can never do more than you could, and its changes show up in Canvas as yours. There is nothing for IT to install, and no key or token to set up. Your school may still have rules about extensions and AI tools, so check them; there is a note you can forward.
- It builds and fixes: pages, assignments, quizzes, discussions, modules, rubrics, announcements and due dates, slideshows, and pages with pictures. It checks that links work, and checks that what it built actually saved.
- It asks first before it deletes anything, publishes or concludes a course, changes a course setting, or sends an Inbox message. Nothing happens until you OK it.
- It won’t grade, and it is built to refuse grades, student work, rosters and discussion replies before a request is made. See exactly what it can and can’t see.
- Pricing: 250 free credits to try it, no credit card, lasting 14 days. After that, $20 a month, or $10 a month when you pay yearly. See pricing.
What you type, and the course content it reads, is sent through Course++ to an AI model to be processed. Email addresses and phone numbers are stripped from what it reads from Canvas first. The privacy policy names the AI providers and their terms.
250 FREE credits to try it. No credit card.
You are on a phone or tablet. Browser extensions install on a desktop browser, so this one is worth coming back to at the computer you build your courses on.
04
Side by side
IgniteAI column: the IgniteAI Agent and the Canvas tiers, from the sources above, as of October 2026.
| Question | IgniteAI (Instructure) | Course++ |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | AI features built into Canvas; the Agent is a chat assistant inside Canvas | A browser extension that works in your open Canvas tab |
| Who buys it | The school or district, as part of a Canvas tier | An individual teacher |
| Price | Not published; quote from Instructure | 250 free credits (14 days, no card), then $20 a month or $10 a month paid yearly |
| Who turns it on | A Canvas administrator, for chosen roles or instructors | You, by adding the extension |
| Approved by your school | Yes, if your school has enabled it | Not by default; check your school’s rules |
| Builds course content | Modules, pages, due dates, announcements; rubric generator and quiz question help in some tiers | Pages, assignments, quizzes, discussions, modules, rubrics, announcements, due dates, slideshows, pages with pictures |
| Students and grades | Yes: extensions for specific students, messages, grouping, grading assistance (Plus) | No: built to refuse grades, student work and rosters |
| Asks before acting | Shows its planned steps and waits for approval, per Instructure | Asks before deleting, publishing a course, changing settings or sending a message |
| Data, in the maker’s words | Stays in the school’s environment; not used to train external models | Content and requests go to an AI model; contact details stripped from what it reads |
| Where it runs | Inside Canvas, in supported regions | Chrome and Firefox on a computer (Edge installs it from the Chrome Web Store), in Canvas courses you teach |
05
When IgniteAI is the better fit
- Your school already licenses Canvas Plus or Canvas Next and has turned the Agent on for teachers. You already have it, at no cost to you.
- Your school wants AI managed centrally: one tool, approved once, switched on or off by administrators, for chosen roles or courses.
- You want help with students, not just content: extensions for individual students, grading assistance, messages to particular students. Course++ deliberately does none of that.
- You need it built into Canvas itself, with nothing to add to a browser, or you work on a device where extensions are blocked.
06
When Course++ fits
- Your school doesn’t have the IgniteAI Agent, or hasn’t enabled it for teachers, and you want help building your course now.
- You want to decide for yourself: try it free, pay monthly if it helps, stop if it doesn’t.
- You want a tool that can’t reach student records, because it only builds content.
- You build a lot of content: whole modules with pages, assignments, quizzes and discussions, rubrics, slideshows and pages with pictures, with links checked.
Your school’s rules on browser extensions and AI tools still apply. If you’re unsure, here is a note you can send your IT office.
07
Sources
All checked on 29 October 2026. Products change; if something here is out of date, tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
- Instructure, “Product announcements from InstructureCon 2025”. community.canvaslms.com
- Instructure, “Instructure Introduces Simplified Canvas Tiers and Ecosystem Updates at New & Next Showcase”, 21 April 2026. prnewswire.com
- Instructure, “What We Shared at the April 2026 New & Next Showcase”, 21 April 2026. instructure.com
- Instructure, “Instructure Delivers on Its Agentic AI Promise with the Launch of IgniteAI Agent”, March 2026. instructure.com
- Instructure, Canvas tiers (Core, Plus, Next). instructure.com
- Instructure, “New Tools to Elevate Teaching, Learning, and Student Success: July 2026 Product Updates”, 7 August 2026. instructure.com
- Instructure, “Using AI to Streamline Course Management in Higher Education”, August 2026. instructure.com
- Instructure Community, “How do I get started using the IgniteAI Agent?” community.instructure.com
- Instructure Community, “How do I enable and disable the IgniteAI Agent as an Admin?” community.instructure.com
- Instructure Community, “How do I assign the IgniteAI Agent to specific instructors?” community.instructure.com
- Instructure Community, “How do I adjust schedules and extensions with IgniteAI Agent?” community.instructure.com
- Instructure Community, “How do I send my students a message with IgniteAI Agent?” community.instructure.com
- Course++, What Course++ can and can’t see and Privacy Policy.
Course++ is not affiliated with Instructure. Canvas and IgniteAI are trademarks of Instructure, Inc. They are named here only to describe and compare the products.