ChatGPT's new Canvas feature

Since ChatGPT was launched in late 2022, people have been using it and other generative AI tools for both writing and coding, with varying degrees of success. OpenAI seems confident that its models are capable collaboration tools, as it now presents “canvas", a feature that essentially turns ChatGPT into an AI-powered word processor.

Canvas is based on OpenAI's GPT-4o model. As such, you can choose "ChatGPT 4o with Canvas" in the model selector to actively trigger the feature. However, OpenAI also created a Canvas to automatically launch based on the prompt. If you ask ChatGPT to write a blog post, for example, the Canvas is supposed to open. (You can also ask ChatGPT to open the Canvas for you.) OpenAI says it has also trained the feature to avoid launching when you ask ChatGPT for help with things that probably don't need a Canvas. process so complicated editing.

When active, Canvas opens your query in a new window, displaying your text or code as if it were in Google Docs or Word. From here you can continue writing like any other processor of texts: The idea is not to let ChatGPT do it all work, since you can continue writing whatever you want at any time.

Of course, you can turn to ChatGPT for help whenever writer's block hits. You can highlight individual words, sentences, or paragraphs, and while you have access to formatting options like bold, italics, and heading size, you can also click on Ask ChatGPT to query your selection. I typed “hello” at the end of my text, highlighted it, and asked ChatGPT if the word was out of place. Instead of giving me an answer, ChatGPT simply deleted the word and said it “removed the word ‘hello’ that looked out of place.”

When your canvas is set to write text (as opposed to code), there are five main ChatGPT shortcuts that you'll find in the bottom right corner of the window:

• Add emojis: This option automatically distributes emojis throughout the document with “relevant” icons. It’s probably useless unless you really want to piss off whoever you’re texting this to.
• Add the final glaze: ChatGPT will review your text for aspects such as grammar and clarity, and automatically make changes accordingly.
• Change reading level: This option adjusts the reading level of your piece. You can choose between kindergarten, middle school, high school, college, and graduate school. In my experience, graduate school seems to throw in random “big” words like “imperative” and “facilitate,” while I think kindergarten students would have a hard time reading what ChatGPT thinks is an article written at their reading level.
• Adjust length: You can choose to have ChatGPT lengthen or shorten your piece.
• Suggest edits: Choose this and ChatGPT will review your article and highlight the parts where they would make changes. It feels like an editor sending you back a document of Google with notes online. You can choose to apply automatically delete any of these suggestions or discard them. For example, ChatGPT wanted me to remove emojis it added on two separate occasions. I refused.

With Canvas, OpenAI is competing in some ways with other generative AI writing tools, perhaps most notably Anthropic Artifacts which allows you to move content to a dedicated window. It also comes to mind Apple Intelligence, as you can call upon Apple's AI at any time to help you rewrite your text. Of course, it's also similar to AI assistants in dedicated word processors, such as Gemini in Google Docs or Copilot in Microsoft Word.

Ideally, I could see that the feature has some merit. An AI editor could be useful in pointing out places in your text that could be clearer, helping you learn to write better and become a self-editor.

In practice, however, it suffers from the usual problems that AI generative text is known for: for example, changing the reading level, especially increasing it, usually means awkwardly swapping in larger words each time the robot find an opportunity. I also found many editing suggestions to be somewhat unhelpful, or an attempt to take away personality from the writing.

This is still in beta, but as with most AI writing tools, I'll be passing the canvas around for my own work.

Canvas is also designed for editing code. I don't know how to code, so I can't speak from personal experience, but OpenAI says coding shortcuts include:

• Review code: Similar to Suggest Edits, this option suggests inline edits to your code.
• Add records: This option adds print statements to help you debug and understand your code.
• Add comments: Insert comments next to the code to make it easier to understand.
• Fix bugs: Finds problems and rewrite the code to fix them.
• Porting to a language: Translate code to JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Java, C++ or PHP.

If you are interested in trying out the Canvas beta, you will need to be subscribed to ChatGPT Plus or Teams. If so, the feature is no longer available. As we move forward, OpenAI Please continue testing it, the company will roll it out to free accounts in the future.