OpenAI is constantly adding new features. Chat GPT To make it essential for everyday needs and in our workflow. Recently added. Canvas feature — unveiled last month — has transformed my ChatGPT workflow and I choose to use it almost every time I reach for a chatbot.

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Canvas is a new interface that makes it easy to collaborate on your writing and coding projects with ChatGPT. If you use ChatGPT as a co-editor, you’ll never use ChatGPT again without this feature. Don’t believe me? The concept is best understood visually, so stay with me. Here’s how Canvas works.

Interface

If you a Chat GPT Plus SubscriberYou can select the “GPT-4o with Canvas” beta from the model selector dropdown in the ChatGPT interface. After selecting the option, your page may look the same, but once you enter your project, you’ll see the magic happen.

For my example walkthrough, I’ll use an article I published as an undergrad because I don’t use AI tools To edit or write my ZDNET articles in any capacity. I copied and pasted the text of the article into the text box with the prompt: “Can you help me edit this article?”

As you can see below, instead of just outputting the revised version below the initial prompt, ChatGPT with Canvas automatically opened a new interface. My edited project was placed on the right side of the screen, while my initial prompt was on the left, with a text box available to ask additional questions.

With this interface, no matter how many questions you ask or how many edits are made, your project will always be in the same place on the right side, giving you easy visibility of every What does the text look like after editing and how does it fare next? to the original.

What makes the Canvas interface a game changer? Typically, when you ask ChatGPT to revise text, the AI ​​outputs the new version as the next message, allowing you to compare the original and edited piece side-by-side and track the changes. It becomes difficult.

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For example, with the regular interface, if you ask something like, “Can you revise this cover letter?” and then follow up by asking to revise a specific paragraph, ChatGPT may only output the new paragraph, which may force you to piece the two generations together, especially if You switch between the two versions and there’s more. Talk in between.

Although ChatGPT has advanced writing capabilities, it is still An AI prone to delusionsso it’s useful to double-check the edits. Keeping track of edits is also useful as it helps you learn from changes and potentially implement them next time. This approach also prevents you from constantly scrolling up and down your conversation to find suggestions and edits.

Shortcuts

Another game-changing element of the Canvas feature is the new shortcuts that are available. On the page where your project resides, a button in the lower-right corner — represented by a pencil — contains four one-click shortcuts that can change your project.

Writing shortcuts help users adjust length, change reading levels, add emojis, and “add the final polish,” which checks for grammar, clarity, and consistency. Coding Shortcuts can review code, add logs, add comments, fix bugs, and port the language. Buttons are a quick and efficient way to implement the change you want without using text prompts.

Here’s another handy tool (and my personal favorite): you can highlight parts of your project for specific changes. You just need to highlight your text or lines of code, and another set of shortcuts will appear. This time, Canvas enables you to change the formatting with options like bold, italicize, or change the text type, and asks ChatGPT directly for help with that specific section.

After editing this section is complete, the changes will be reflected in the larger project, keeping the rest of the text intact and making only the changes requested by the user. It’s satisfying to see a part of your live project change. This approach can be especially useful for resumes, cover letters, or other job application materials.

What about the quality of editing? Because Canvas uses GPT-4o — OpenAI’s most advanced, well-rounded model — the edits made are worthwhile and improve the overall quality of the text. If you ask for general editing, Canvas will check grammar and spelling (as Grammarly does) and syntax.

My favorite way to use this feature, which I’ve defaulted to almost every day since launch, is to polish personal email correspondence. Sometimes, it’s hard to get the words right, especially when sending cold emails. So, I put my draft into ChatGPT (with the GPT-4o canvas enabled) and ask the tool to polish my text.

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Depending on the results, I’ll go to the right side of the page and either add inline text myself and then ask ChatGPT to polish the email or highlight a section I like. No and will use the shortcut to specify how I want to change this section?

Cost

Unfortunately, all of the wonders described above come at a price. To access the feature, you must be a subscriber to ChatGPT Plus, which costs $20 per month. If you are a user of Chat GPT Power, the price may be justified as it comes with other perks, such as Advanced voice modeChatGPT search, and unlimited Image generation.

According to OpenAI, Enterprise and Edu users will get access to Canvas this week, and ChatGPT free users will get access in the future once the tool is out of beta.