OpenAI Unveils ChatGPT Canvas, Competing with Claude Artifacts

OpenAI recently announced an update to its popular AI app, ChatGPT, introducing a new feature called Canvas. This innovative tool enables users to view, edit, and modify specific sections of the chatbot's outputs in a convenient side-by-side panel.

Canvas is powered by OpenAI's advanced GPT-4o model and offers the ability to suggest and implement changes to responses without requiring users to generate an entirely new output. This move directly competes with Anthropic's Artifacts feature for its chatbot, Claude, which was launched in June 2024 and also provides a side panel for running simple Python programs based on user prompts.

Initially rolled out to ChatGPT Plus and Teams users, Canvas will soon be available to subscribers of the Enterprise and Edu tiers, with plans to expand to all ChatGPT users after the beta phase.

In a recent media interview, Daniel Levine, the product manager for Canvas, discussed how the traditional vertical chat interface often restricts common use cases such as writing and coding. "We recognize that when users want to make revisions or edits, the chat format can be limiting. Canvas addresses this by simplifying the process of comparing changes and improving collaboration," Levine explained.

Without Canvas, users must repeatedly prompt ChatGPT for revisions, leading to potentially drastic or subtle changes that can be challenging to track. Canvas streamlines this process, allowing users to modify text directly without copying it to another document.

How to Use Canvas

To access Canvas, users simply toggle the model picker where they select OpenAI's models. ChatGPT can also automatically detect when Canvas should be activated, particularly when prompted with "Use Canvas." Once activated, users can prompt ChatGPT to generate text or code, which will appear in a separate Canvas window.

Within Canvas, users can refine text continuously, incorporating edits directly or by highlighting text to guide ChatGPT's suggestions. The interface features shortcuts for adjusting text length, reading level, and even adding emojis or final touches. Users can also receive suggestions that appear as comment-like text boxes, similar to Google Docs, and translate text into supported languages.

The Canvas interface varies depending on the task; the writing version resembles a Word document, while the coding version includes line numbers for better editing. Unique shortcuts for coding allow users to review, fix bugs, add comments, and switch programming languages with ease.

Competing with Anthropic Claude’s Artifacts Feature

OpenAI's Canvas draws comparisons to Anthropic's Claude Artifacts, which provides a similar window for viewing changes made in response to prompts. Michael Nunez from a media outlet remarked that accessible interfaces are crucial for modern chatbots, calling Artifacts "this year’s most important AI feature." Unlike Canvas, Artifacts is currently available for all users of Claude.

Both Canvas and Artifacts address a common challenge faced by smaller AI applications—making chatbots more user-friendly and easier to engage with. Tools like Hyperwrite, Jasper, and JotBot also aim to streamline text editing within chat interfaces to enhance collaboration.

As demand for more user-friendly collaborative tools rises, features like Canvas and Artifacts are likely to become mainstream. "We believe collaborative work is essential in today’s workplace," Levine stated. "This is just our first step toward that goal."