OpenAI is set to revamp the ChatGPT interface, transforming it into a digital workspace for projects. This groundbreaking change was announced by OpenAI on Thursday, introducing a beta “canvas” feature for writing and coding tasks. Unlike the conventional chatbox interface which can make idea development and refinement cumbersome, Canvas provides a fresh approach to brainstorming and editing work tasks.
The introduction of Canvas represents the first significant redesign of the ChatGPT interface since its inception in 2022. During this period, OpenAI has been engaged in numerous activities such as launching the multimodal model GPT-4o, the reasoning model o1, and securing $6.6 billion in its most recent funding round. As reported by the New York Times, OpenAI has communicated to its investors its plans to amplify its revenue from $3.7 billion in the current year to $11.6 billion by 2025. Modifications to ChatGPT, such as making it more interactive and user-friendly, could potentially contribute to OpenAI achieving its ambitious financial targets.
For the time being, Canvas is exclusively available to subscribing users, although OpenAI has stated its intentions to extend access to non-subscribers once it exits beta. If you’re using ChatGPT Plus or Teams, you can choose “ChatGPT 4o with Canvas” from the model dropdown menu and begin your work. Access for Enterprise and Edu subscribers is set to roll out next week.
To activate Canvas, all you need to do is input a prompt related to writing or coding, and a new window will open. According to OpenAI, ChatGPT is trained to identify specific prompts that activate Canvas. For writing assistance, users can highlight certain parts of the text and click “ask ChatGPT” to edit or ask specific questions about the highlighted text.
Canvas also comes equipped with a variety of shortcuts for suggesting edits, shortening text, altering the reading level, correcting grammar, and adding emojis. The ChatGPT format is retained in a left sidebar if you wish to continue the conversation.
Canvas works similarly for coding tasks. It identifies coding-related prompts that trigger a new window. Some of the shortcuts include: Review code, Add logs, Add comments, Fix bugs, and Port to a language, which translates your code into a different programming language (like JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Java, C++, or PHP).
If you make an error, you can use the back button to revert to the prior version. When you’re done working, just close the window, and you’ll be returned to the standard ChatGPT interface. To revisit the project, simply click on the saved module in your chat history.
