OpenAI introduces 'Canvas', a new ChatGPT interface designed for writing and programming projects.

OpenAI has introduced a new way to interact with ChatGPT, called "canvas." This product launches a separate window alongside the usual chat window, which serves as a workspace for writing and coding projects. Users can generate content or code directly in the canvas and then highlight sections of the work for the model to make edits.

Access to canvas is beginning in beta for ChatGPT Plus and Teams users, while Enterprise and Edu users will receive it next week. This trend towards editable workspaces has become a common feature among artificial intelligence providers to facilitate the use of generative AI. The new ChatGPT interface presents features similar to Anthropic's Artifacts, which was launched in June, as well as the popular programming assistant, Cursor.

OpenAI aims to compete and launch new capabilities in ChatGPT to increase its paid user base. Although AI chatbots still cannot complete large projects from a single message, they are capable of providing a good starting point. Editable workspaces, like the canvas, allow users to correct parts of the output generated by the chatbot without needing to review the original message and generate an entirely new set of code.

OpenAI's product manager, Daniel Levine, mentioned that this new interface facilitates collaboration with ChatGPT. During a demonstration, he explained that users would need to select "GPT-4o with canvas" from a list of models, although OpenAI assures that canvas windows will open automatically when the system detects that an additional workspace might be useful, especially for longer outputs or complex coding tasks. Additionally, the project window can be activated simply by typing "use canvas."

In the demonstration, Levine showed how ChatGPT could assist in drafting an email, which would be generated and appear in the canvas. Users could adjust the text length and make specific modifications, such as requesting a friendlier tone or adding emojis. It is also possible to ask ChatGPT to rewrite the email in another language.

Regarding the canvas functions for programming, they are slightly different. Levine demonstrated that when requesting the creation of an API server in Python, the code was generated immediately in the canvas window. By pressing an "add comments" button, ChatGPT would add inline documentation explaining the code in simple language. If a section of the code is highlighted, users can ask the assistant to explain how it works or answer questions about it. Furthermore, ChatGPT will introduce a "review code" button, which will suggest specific edits for the content within the window, allowing users to approve, edit, or decline the suggestions. If approved, the model will attempt to fix the errors.

Once canvas completes its beta phase, OpenAI plans to offer this feature to free users as well.