OpenAI recently launched Canvas, a new tool designed to take ChatGPT beyond simple chats and a more collaborative workspace for writing and coding. Unlike a standard chat window, Canvas opens a separate workspace with a chat window on the right, allowing users to work collaboratively with ChatGPT, refining and editing ideas directly within their documents or code. With this addition, OpenAI clearly responds to the main problem of its previous interface: Conversation back and forth, cleaning and repetition of the output, and the limitation of the response of the characters is not good for working in complex projects, more steps. the time.
While I haven’t been able to try it live yet (the company said it started rolling it out to Plus subscribers today, but it hasn’t reached me yet), the demos clearly show both its cool potential and its limitations. The new user experience is a response to what others have already done in the AI-enhanced manufacturing environment. Both Google and Microsoft were working on their own AI integrations—Gemini in Google Docs and CoPilot in Microsoft Word—before Canvas came out. In fact, Gemini and CoPilot both take basically the same approach to human-AI interaction within document editing.
What exactly is Canvas
Canvas brings a new UX and workflow to ChatGPT, especially in its ability to understand and adapt to the context of what users are trying to accomplish. Intended to work as an interactive editor, it provides feedback directly from text or code. For writers, the company says, it can suggest editing, adjust the length of the document, and even change the reading level to adjust the tone.
For codes, the tool reviews code, adds debug logs, and comments, translates code between programming languages if needed. OpenAI states that “Canvas can provide in-line feedback and suggestions with every project in mind,” enhancing interaction between the user and AI in a way not possible with a conversational interface.
Rather than duplicating ChatGPT’s output to find what you’re looking for, or asking it to quickly rewrite a section, Canvas allows people to select text in a live document, then ask AI to help refine the selected section. As do Docs and Word.
According to OpenAI, Canvas is available to ChatGPT Plus and Team users starting today, with Enterprise and Educational users getting access next week. A wide release to all free ChatGPT users is planned after the beta phase. Currently, the tool is an exclusive feature for GPT-4 users, which starts automatically when ChatGPT detects writing or coding situations where it can help. Users can also launch it manually by typing “run canvas” quickly.
Google and Microsoft tracking
From the demos, it’s clear that Canvas will be a lot more useful than the current mode if your goal is to write long documents or code. But its simplicity and beauty—and from what I’ve seen—give it an edge over Google Gemini in Google Docs when it comes to writing and word processing. The Docs sidebar icon is similar to Canvas, but it gives you more options including the ability to adjust tone, shorten, create characters, expand, shorten, rename, and an open command that can do anything you ask, like rewrite. your prose becomes poetry.
Documents may be the most powerful yet, but the interface is more complex and cluttered than Canvas. For example, hijackers take part of the text you want to edit to show the results of your commands before moving them to the page. This modal window adds the option to refine the output further before inserting the selected text or inserting it as new paragraphs. ChatGPT’s Canvas, on the other hand, has the quality of simplicity, writing directly over the text as if some invisible collaborative editor takes over the writing. The result sounds sharp and very inviting.
Maybe I’m talking about the author’s mind, but this simplicity and cleanliness of the interface helps you to get into the zone, focus and not be distracted by unnecessary UI features of the old word processor. I’m a fan of iA Writer, a super clean word processor designed for writers that’s the closest thing to writing on a typewriter with the added benefits of being digital. Canvas feels like that, except it’s artificial intelligence benefit from it.
Canvas can switch to its “programming persona” when it receives coding tasks. It can help users to review, debug, and port code between languages. OpenAI’s blog post seems to indicate that the company will be embracing this changing personality, adapting to what it feels users might want. Perhaps in the future it could automatically switch from “novel writer persona” to “college essay persona,” integrating the tools available in the sidebar. That seems like a good, different UX approach to take.
For now, Canvas seems to be the answer to the limitations of its current UX. It provides a very focused, clean work environment, but its basic approach reflects much of what Google and Microsoft have already used, instead of presenting a UX that is really designed to address the same problem. It’s a cool thing to have, and it will be very useful for pure ChatGPT fans, but will it be enough to replace an old word processor or editor with an AI assistant on the side?
