# Design Generation + Analytics Reporting Tools Research
**Research Date:** February 5, 2026
**Purpose:** Identify best tools for AI agents to create graphics, generate reports, pull analytics, and visualize data

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## 1. DESIGN GENERATION & SOCIAL MEDIA GRAPHICS

### **Canva API/CLI**
- **Source:** https://www.canva.dev/docs/connect/
- **What it generates:** Presentations, documents, social media posts, branded assets
- **Capabilities:**
  - Connect APIs for programmatic design creation
  - Autofill APIs for template personalization (requires Enterprise)
  - OpenAPI spec available for SDK generation
  - Can create designs from templates
  - Export to PDF/PPTX via API
- **Quality:** Professional-grade, Canva design quality
- **Limitations:**
  - **Autofill/programmatic design creation requires Canva Enterprise plan** (30+ users, custom pricing, not accessible for small teams)
  - Standard API mainly for app integration, not direct design generation
  - No CLI tool available
- **Costs:** Enterprise only for programmatic generation (custom pricing, unavailable to small teams/individuals)
- **Best for:** Large enterprises with existing Canva accounts needing branded template automation
- **Agent usability:** ⚠️ **Limited** - Requires Enterprise plan for core programmatic features

### **Templated.io (Canva Alternative)**
- **Source:** https://templated.io/canva-api/
- **What it generates:** Social media graphics, PDFs, images from templates
- **Capabilities:**
  - Canva-like editor with full API access (no Enterprise requirement)
  - REST API for template customization
  - Batch processing support
  - Dynamic personalization on all plans
  - Outputs: JPG, PNG, PDF, WEBP
  - Zapier/Make.com integration
- **Quality:** Professional, comparable to Canva
- **Costs:** Flexible pricing tiers with free option, dramatically cheaper than Canva Enterprise
- **API limits:** Standard rate limits, scalable plans
- **Best for:** **Automated report generation, social media content automation** ⭐
- **Agent usability:** ✅ **Excellent** - Full programmatic access without Enterprise requirement

### **fal.ai**
- **Source:** https://fal.ai/ + https://docs.fal.ai/model-apis/quickstart
- **What it generates:** AI-generated images from text, image-to-image editing, 3D models, video, audio
- **Capabilities:**
  - FLUX.1, Stable Diffusion, Recraft v3, MiniMax, and 100+ models
  - Python/JavaScript SDKs + REST API
  - File upload/storage API
  - Supports ultra-high resolution (2K+)
  - Background generation (transparent/opaque)
  - Reference image fidelity control
- **Quality:** State-of-the-art AI generation (FLUX.1 [pro] ultra, SD 3.5)
- **Costs:** Pay-per-generation pricing, 4x faster inference than competitors
- **API limits:** Rate limits based on plan
- **Best for:** **Custom AI-generated assets, hero images, unique branded visuals**
- **Agent usability:** ✅ **Excellent** - Full API/SDK, MCP server available
- **MCP Server:** ✅ Available (sshtunnelvision/fal-ai-image-generation)

### **Replicate + Stability AI**
- **Source:** https://replicate.com/stability-ai + https://github.com/replicate/cli
- **What it generates:** Text-to-image (SDXL, SD3.5), image editing, upscaling, video, audio
- **Capabilities:**
  - CLI tool (`replicate` command)
  - Run/stream predictions
  - Fine-tune models with own images
  - Chain multiple models (e.g., SDXL → ESRGAN upscaling)
  - Python/Node/Ruby/PHP SDKs
  - 6,000+ models available
- **Quality:** Production-grade, officially maintained models
- **Costs:** Pay-per-run, official models prioritized for reliability
- **Best for:** Reliable image generation workflows, chaining models
- **Agent usability:** ✅ **Excellent** - Full CLI + SDK support

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## 2. PRESENTATION & REPORT GENERATION

### **Gamma.app API** ⭐
- **Source:** https://developers.gamma.app/docs/getting-started
- **What it generates:** Presentations, documents, social posts, websites
- **Capabilities:**
  - Generate API (Pro users, beta)
  - Create from prompts, notes, or polished content
  - 60+ language support
  - Customizable themes, tone, audience, detail level
  - Asynchronous API generation
  - Export to PDF/PPTX via API
  - Further refine in Gamma app after API generation
  - Zapier/Make/n8n integration
- **Quality:** Professional AI-designed presentations
- **Costs:** Requires Gamma Pro plan for API access
- **API limits:** Rate limits apply
- **Best for:** **Automated presentation/report generation from data or prompts** ⭐⭐⭐
- **Agent usability:** ✅ **Excellent** - Full API, async workflow
- **MCP Server:** ✅ Available (Composio/Rube marketplace)

### **Plus AI (MCP Server)** 
- **Source:** MCP Registry
- **What it generates:** PowerPoint and Google Slides presentations
- **Capabilities:** API-based presentation generation through MCP
- **Quality:** Professional presentations
- **Best for:** Teams already using Plus AI, Microsoft/Google ecosystem
- **Agent usability:** ✅ Good (via MCP)

### **Beautiful.ai**
- **Source:** Rate-limited during search
- **Status:** ⚠️ Limited info - appears to have API but documentation not fully accessible
- **Note:** Primarily UI-focused, API capabilities unclear

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## 3. ANALYTICS EXTRACTION

### **Google Analytics 4 (GA4) API**
- **Source:** https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/reporting/data/v1/quickstart-client-libraries
- **What it extracts:** Pageviews, traffic sources, user behavior, conversions, custom dimensions/metrics
- **Capabilities:**
  - Python SDK: `google-analytics-data` (BetaAnalyticsDataClient)
  - `runReport` and `batchRunReport` methods
  - Date ranges, dimensions, metrics filtering
  - Real-time and historical data
  - Property-level access
- **Quality:** Enterprise-grade, Google-maintained
- **Python libraries:**
  - `google-analytics-data` (official)
  - `googleanalytics` (pypi - v3/v4 support, CLI)
  - `gaapi4py` (community)
- **API limits:** Daily quotas (configurable in Google Cloud Console)
- **Best for:** **Automated marketing reports, traffic analysis** ⭐
- **Agent usability:** ✅ **Excellent** - Official SDK, well-documented
- **MCP Server:** ⚠️ Not found in official registry (but buildable with Python SDK)

### **Google Ads API**
- **Source:** https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/client-libs/python
- **What it extracts:** Campaign performance, ad metrics, keywords, conversions, spend data
- **Capabilities:**
  - Python client library: `google-ads`
  - Query with GAQL (Google Ads Query Language)
  - Campaign/ad group management
  - Reporting API for custom reports
  - Authentication via OAuth2 or service accounts
- **Quality:** Enterprise-grade, Google-maintained
- **Python library:** `google-ads` (official, PyPI)
- **API limits:** Rate limits + daily operations quotas
- **Best for:** **Automated PPC reporting, campaign performance analysis**
- **Agent usability:** ✅ **Excellent** - Official SDK
- **MCP Server:** ⚠️ Not in registry (buildable)

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## 4. DATA VISUALIZATION & CHARTS

### **QuickChart.io** ⭐⭐⭐
- **Source:** https://quickchart.io/documentation/ + https://github.com/typpo/quickchart
- **What it generates:** Chart images (bar, line, pie, scatter, radar, etc.), QR codes
- **Capabilities:**
  - Chart.js-based rendering (v2/v4)
  - GET/POST endpoints
  - Outputs: PNG, WEBP, SVG, PDF
  - URL-based generation (embed anywhere)
  - Python SDK: `quickchart-io`
  - Self-hostable (open-source, Docker)
  - Plugins: data labels, annotations, outlabels, gauges, box plots
  - Text-to-chart experimental feature
  - Chart Maker (no-code template endpoint)
- **Quality:** Production-ready, highly customizable
- **Costs:** Free API, self-host option, or paid plans for higher limits
- **API limits:** Free tier with generous limits
- **Best for:** **Embedding charts in emails, SMS, PDFs, automated reports** ⭐⭐⭐
- **Agent usability:** ✅ **Perfect** - URL-based, no auth required, instant embed
- **Note:** This is the gold standard for agent-generated charts

### **Plotly / Matplotlib (Python)**
- **What it generates:** Static/interactive charts, dashboards
- **Capabilities:**
  - Full programmatic control
  - Export to PNG, SVG, PDF, HTML
  - Python libraries: `plotly`, `matplotlib`, `seaborn`
- **Quality:** Publication-quality
- **Best for:** Complex custom visualizations, data science workflows
- **Agent usability:** ✅ Good (requires Python environment, file outputs)
- **Limitation:** Not as simple as QuickChart for instant embedding

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## 5. MCP SERVERS (Model Context Protocol)

### **Design/Presentation MCP Servers:**
1. **Gamma MCP** (Composio/Rube) - Generate presentations/docs/posts programmatically
2. **Plus AI MCP** - PowerPoint/Google Slides generation
3. **Canva MCP** - AI-powered dev assistance for Canva apps (not full design generation)
4. **2slides MCP** - Convert content to slides/presentations
5. **fal.ai MCP** - Image generation via MCP

### **Analytics/Data MCP Servers:**
- **Amplitude MCP** - Product analytics, charts, dashboards, experiments
- **PostHog MCP** - Analytics, feature flags, error tracking
- No official GA4 or Google Ads MCP found (but APIs easily wrappable)

### **Database/Query MCP Servers:**
- Apache Doris, IoTDB, Pinot (OLAP/real-time analytics)
- ClickHouse, PostgreSQL, MySQL variants
- Astra DB (NoSQL)

**MCP Registry:** https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io/

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## 6. SYNTHESIS & RECOMMENDATIONS

### **For Automated Report Generation (Best Stack):**

1. **Data Extraction:**
   - **GA4 Python SDK** for web analytics
   - **Google Ads API** for PPC data
   - Direct API calls from agent code

2. **Data Visualization:**
   - **QuickChart.io** ⭐⭐⭐ (Winner)
   - Simple URL-based chart generation
   - Instant embedding in reports
   - No authentication complexity
   - Free tier sufficient for most use cases

3. **Report Assembly:**
   - **Gamma.app API** for presentation generation ⭐⭐⭐
   - **Templated.io** for branded PDF/image reports ⭐⭐
   - Both support programmatic generation at reasonable cost

4. **Design Assets:**
   - **fal.ai** for AI-generated custom graphics ⭐
   - **Replicate** for reliable model chains
   - **Templated.io** for templated social graphics

### **Agent-Friendly Ranking:**

| Tool | Agent Usability | Cost-Effectiveness | Report Generation | Best Use Case |
|------|----------------|-------------------|-------------------|---------------|
| **QuickChart.io** | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Chart embedding in any format |
| **Gamma.app API** | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Full presentations from data/prompts |
| **Templated.io** | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Branded graphics & PDFs |
| **fal.ai** | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ | AI-generated hero images |
| **GA4/Ads API** | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | N/A | Data extraction |
| **Replicate** | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ | Reliable image generation |
| **Canva API** | ⭐⭐ | ⭐ | ⭐⭐ | Enterprise only - not accessible |

### **Avoid:**
- **Canva Autofill API** - Enterprise-only pricing barrier
- **Beautiful.ai** - Limited API documentation/availability
- Traditional BI tools (Tableau, PowerBI) - Complex setup, not agent-friendly

### **Ideal Workflow Example:**
1. Agent pulls data from GA4 + Google Ads APIs
2. Agent generates charts via QuickChart.io URLs
3. Agent creates presentation via Gamma.app API with embedded chart URLs
4. Agent generates branded cover image via fal.ai
5. Result: Fully automated, professional analytics report

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## 7. IMPLEMENTATION NOTES

### **Easiest to Implement (Today):**
- **QuickChart.io** - Zero setup, URL-based
- **fal.ai** - API key + Python/JS SDK
- **GA4/Google Ads SDKs** - OAuth setup, then straightforward

### **Moderate Setup:**
- **Gamma.app** - Requires Pro account for API
- **Templated.io** - Account + API key
- **Replicate** - Account + API key

### **Complex/Blocked:**
- **Canva API** - Enterprise plan negotiation required

### **Cost Efficiency:**
QuickChart (free tier) + fal.ai (pay-per-use) + Templated.io (affordable plans) = Most cost-effective stack for small-to-medium scale automation.

---

## SOURCES
- Canva Connect API: https://www.canva.dev/docs/connect/
- Templated.io: https://templated.io/canva-api/
- fal.ai Docs: https://docs.fal.ai/model-apis/quickstart
- Replicate CLI: https://github.com/replicate/cli
- Gamma API: https://developers.gamma.app/docs/getting-started
- QuickChart: https://quickchart.io/documentation/
- GA4 API: https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/reporting/data/v1/
- Google Ads API: https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/client-libs/python
- Figma API: https://www.figma.com/developers/api
- MCP Registry: https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/servers

**Research completed:** 2026-02-05 20:45 EST
