ChatGPT with canvas: How to use OpenAI's new workspace tool
What's the story
OpenAI has announced the beta release of Canvas, a novel workspace interface for its AI model, ChatGPT.
The company revealed this development on its official blog.
Canvas is designed as a virtual space for collaborative writing and coding projects. It enables users to interact with ChatGPT on specific aspects of their work.
Currently, the feature is accessible to ChatGPT Plus and Team users. Enterprise and Edu users are expected to gain access next week.
Feature details
The tool can provide inline feedback specific to the project
Canvas opens in a new window, allowing you to use ChatGPT for a specific task or project.
"With canvas, ChatGPT can better understand the context of what you're trying to accomplish. You can highlight specific sections to indicate exactly what you want ChatGPT to focus on," per the company.
"Like a copy editor or code reviewer, it can give inline feedback and suggestions with the entire project in mind."
Usage flexibility
User-friendly access and automatic activation
Canvas can be activated either manually by typing "use canvas" in the prompt or it can automatically launch when it identifies a situation where its assistance could be beneficial.
This flexibility in usage is designed to enhance user experience and efficiency.
The feature also includes several shortcuts for both writing and coding projects, further simplifying its use.
Advanced features
Canvas offers advanced editing and coding assistance
In Canvas mode, users can request ChatGPT for suggested edits, length adjustments, reading level alterations, and emoji additions on writing projects.
For coding tasks, ChatGPT can review specific code lines, add logs/comments for clarity, fix bugs or port coding to different languages like JavaScript, TypeScript Python Java C++, or PHP.
These advanced features aim to enhance the functionality of the interface beyond basic editing tasks.
Market comparison
Canvas aligns ChatGPT with other AI assistants
The introduction of Canvas aligns ChatGPT with other AI assistants like Anthropic's Artifacts and the coding-focused AI model Cursor, which also have separate workspaces for project concentration.
OpenAI describes Canvas as "a new approach and the first major update to ChatGPT's visual interface since we launched two years ago."
The company plans to make this feature available to all ChatGPT Free users once it exits beta testing.