ChatGPT Launched Canvas for Writing and Coding Tasks
ChatGPT is already well-known for generating content and code. Examples include drafting a blog post, writing a short story, or helping with Python scripts. However, generating is only half the battle. Editing and refining can often be more time-consuming.ChatGPTwants to solve that with the Canvas feature—a dedicated user interface for efficiently editing and managing content or code.
Table of Contents
What Is ChatGPT Canvas
Canvas is a new split-pane or dual-pane UI designed to refine your writing and coding skills. In the standard ChatGPT interface, you can ask to generate content or code and provide additional prompts to tweak things. But let’s face it, the regular chat interface isn’t always the best for polishing things efficiently.
In contrast, Canvas presents your content or code in a full-page layout. So you converse with ChatGPT on the left window-pane and the code will be generated on the right. you’re able to also manually edit it if required as if you are working alongside the AI. You still have the option to provide additional prompts from the left sidebar, but the key advantage is that you can make inline edits by selecting a specific section and asking ChatGPT to modify only that part.
Additionally, Canvas includes built-in tools to streamline the content or code creation process, which we’ll explore further below. Overall, the feature is quitesimilar to Claude’s Artifacts feature, where you may edit text or code collaboratively with the AI.
Using Canvas for Coding
When you askChatGPT to generate or modify code, it automatically activates the Canvas layout. Your code appears on the main pane, and you can interact with ChatGPT through the sidebar on the left. In this view, you can directly edit the generated code yourself, you can also highlight specific parts of the code and ask it to make changes. This is helpful especially when working on large codebases or making incremental updates.
At the bottom right corner, you should see a floating button to access coding tools. Currently, there are five tools:
Once the changes are made, Canvas also allows you to switch between versions. In case ChatGPT results are not satisfactory, you can switch back to the previous version quickly.
Using Canvas for Writing
Just like with coding, Canvas also enhances your writing experience by providing a structured and interactive workspace. Your text appears on the main pane, while the sidebar lets you consult withChatGPT. you’re able to directly edit the text or highlight sections to request improvements, making it an excellent tool for large documents or precise revisions.
Similar to the coding tools, the writing section offers five key tools, accessible via a floating button in the bottom right corner:
Once you’ve used these tools, you’re able to seamlessly switch between sections to further refine your document. Whether it’s tweaking a line or polishing an entire draft, Canvas gives you flexibility across both writing and coding tasks.
Who Can Access Canvas and How
Currently, Canvas is in beta and available to ChatGPT Plus and Team users. Accessing the feature is straightforward: Just change theAI model to GPT-4owith Canvas. Now when you ask it to generate the code or text, it will automatically trigger the canvas.
Next time, when you hop on the same chat, you can see the code or the content in this ChatGPT Canvas section. Click on the expand icon on this to open the Canvas layout again.
ChatGPT will decide which content it needs to trigger. For example, I asked it to generate a small story and it launched Canvas, however, when I asked to write an email, it did not. If you need Canvas in such situations, try using a different prompt like ‘Draft me an email’, or ‘Let’s work on this email together’, etc.
What’s Next For ChatGPT?
Canvas is a good addition to ChatGPT which can help you fine-tune the ChatGPT’s code and content in a way that you prefer. We can manually edit or ask ChatGPT to edit only specific parts. Also, we have a set of writing and coding tools that help in the creating and perfecting process.
However, Claude’s Artifacts feature can also show the output of the javascript code inside the chatbot itself. So you can check results and proceed with further adjustments which is not possible on the Canvas currently. Also, you cannot use Canvas inside your GPTs, it can be implemented as an option in the Settings similar to Claude rather than a completely different AI model. But Canvas alone makes usingChatGPT a better tool than Gemini,especially for coding and content creation tasks.
Ravi Teja KNTS
Tech writer with over 4 years of experience at TechWiser, where he has authored more than 700 articles on AI, Google apps, Chrome OS, Discord, and Android. His journey started with a passion for discussing technology and helping others in online forums, which naturally grew into a career in tech journalism. Ravi’s writing focuses on simplifying technology, making it accessible and jargon-free for readers. When he’s not breaking down the latest tech, he’s often immersed in a classic film – a true cinephile at heart.
